Monday 19 November 2012

French Toast

This recipe is inspired by the SW site and is a delicious breakfast that will surprise you by being very low syn. It’s free if you leave out the honey!

Serves 2

Extra Easy – 1 syn, HEXb, HEXa

Ingredients
150ml skimmed milk (HEXa)
2 eggs
2 tbsps Sweetener
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp Ground Ginger
½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
½ tsp Ground Allspice (optional)
½ tsp Vanilla Essence
4 slices of Wholemeal from a 400g loaf (HEXb)
Frylight
Mixed Berries
0% Greek Yoghurt
2 tsps Honey (2 syns)

Method
      1. Mix together the milk, egg, sweetner, spices and vanilla essence in a shallow dish and leave the bread to soak in the mixture for a couple of minutes.
      2. Spray a frying pan with frylight and fry the bread on both sides until browned and crispy.
      3. Place on a plate and spoon on a tbsp of greek yoghurt onto each slice, top with mixed berries, and drizzle with the honey.




Tuesday 13 November 2012

Lamb Tagine

A delicious recipe that's easy to prepare and cook.

Serves 2-3

Extra Easy - 0 syns

Ingredients
2 Extra Lean Lamb Steaks, chopped into chunks
1 large Onion, sliced
1 Red Pepper, sliced
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
225ml Chicken Stock
Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
Tin of Mixed Beans
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
Pinch of Saffron  
175g dried Couscous
Salt & Pepper
Frylight

Method
1. Prepare the stock and add the saffron and leave to infuse.
2. Fry the onions and peppers in a hot frying pan, sprayed with frylight, until slightly softened. Add the lamb and garlic and seal the meat.
3. Put the lamb, garlic and onions into a large saucepan and add the hot stock, tinned tomatoes, mixed beans, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, ginger, coriander and cumin, and season. Leave to simmer for an hour or until the lamb is cooked through and tender and the liquid reduced by half.
4. Just before serving, prepare the couscous according to the packet instructions and season to taste. Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick from the tagine and serve.

N.B. Add 9 halved dried Apricots to the saucepan at the beginning of cooking and add 2.5 syns per portion.


Tuesday 6 November 2012

Chicken & Chorizo Paella

I came across this on Minimins but couldn’t find it again to let you know the author. This is really yummy and would be great with prawns and mussels. Experiment with different vegetables, meats and seafood to get your perfect combination.

Serves 2

Extra Easy – Approx 5.5 syns per portion (dependent on the brand of Chorizo using)

Ingredients
2 Chicken fillets, sliced and seasoned
50g Chorizo ring, sliced (approx 11 syns)
1 large Red Onion, diced
1 Red or Yellow Pepper, sliced
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
150g Paella rice
Handful of Frozen Peas
1pt Chicken Stock
Pinch of Saffron
Dried Herbs
Chicken Seasoning (or something similar)
Salt and Black Pepper
Frylight

Method
1. Add the saffron to the hot chicken stock and leave to infuse. Put the raw chicken in a bowl and coat with chicken seasoning, the garlic and mixed herbs.
2. Meanwhile, fry the onion and red pepper in a deep frying pan sprayed with frylight until soft.
3. Add the garlic and chicken and fry until the chicken is sealed.
4. Add the chorizo and rice and fry until the rice has been mixed through.
5. Add the stock, saffron, herbs and peas and season.
6. Stir everything through and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave for 20 minutes or until the stock has been absorbed and the rice is cooked through. Do not stir the mixture once it is simmering!