Seafood All'arrabbiata

I had been to the gym and came home ravenous and craving carbs, so instead of using loads of syns on bread i decided to take the time and cook some pasta. I decided on seafood which seems to be the norm with me and pasta, i wanted a kick so i add some chilli, then decided i would make my version of an all'arrabbiata. I will say for a dish that i just made up and knocked together it was really very good!!!

Syn free on extra easy.

Serves 2

Ingredients

Pasta of your choice

1 tin tomatoes

2-3 large mushrooms chopped

1 tbsp capers

1 red pepper chopped

1 garlic clove finely chopped

1- 2 red chillies finely chopped

1 tin of tuna in brine or spring water drained

8oz cooked shrimp

large handful rocket leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Cook the pasta as per packet instructions.

In a large pan sprayed with frylight, fry the mushrooms until golden. Add the red pepper, chilli, and garlic, fry for 1 minute, add the tomatoes, capers and tuna, bring to a boil then simmer gently for 10 minutes, season to taste, add the shrimp, simmer for 2 minutes, take of the heat and stir in the rocket and serve.

Pesto Linguine with Shrimp and Rocket

I didn't know what to have for my lunch the other day, i didn't want to use my healthy A & B in a sandwich, but i was craving carbs and was starving, so i decided to cook up some pasta. Then i had to decide what to put on it??

I found a jar of reduced fat pesto in the cupboard, so i looked up the syns and it was only 1.5 syns for 1 tbsp on extra easy, so i decided to see if it was any good.

As jarred pesto goes and bearing in mind it is low fat, it was very tasty and i'd say worth the syns. If i'm perfectly honest i don't think you could make a proper pesto for that many syns. Just add some fresh basil and grated parmesan to freshen up the pesto.

It was quick and easy to make and delicious!!

3 syns per serving on extra easy if you use part of your healthy A for the cheese.

Serves 2

Ingredients

½ packet dried linguine, cooked as packet instructions

8oz cooked shrimp

4 tbsp reduced fat basil pesto (6 syns)

1 red chilli finely chopped

handful basil leaves

½ packet rocket

½ cup pasta water

salt and pepper

30g parmesan optional

Method

Put the cooked pasta in a large bowl with the pesto, chilli, shrimp and pasta water, tear in the basil leaves and season, toss up and serve, Sprinkle over the rocket leaves and grate over the parmesan.

Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato

I found a recipe for Chipotle Chicken on Pinterest, and it looked good, I was always told you eat with your eyes. I decided to adapt it for Slimming World.

You have the spiciness and smokiness of the chipotle and the sweetness of the sweet potato with a tang from the cheese.

I also had some rice left over from last nights meal so decided to mix that in too, and it works very well.

The whole dish is 1 syn on extra easy, so if serving two it's only ½ syn per person.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes baked

2 chicken breasts roasted and shredded

2 tbsp chipotle paste 1 syn

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp lime juice

2 garlic cloves grated

salt and pepper

8oz mushrooms chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 onion chopped

1 cup cooked rice

handful coriander leaves

80g reduced fat cheese

Method

Mix together the chipotle paste, chilli powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, lime juice and grated garlic, season with salt and pepper, set aside.

In a frying pan sprayed with frylight fry the onions till golden, add the mushrooms and fry till golden, then add the red peppers, fry for 2 minutes, stir in the chicken, rice, coriander and sauce, heat through for 2 minutes.

Cut the sweet potatoes in half, scoop out most of the middle, spray the inside of the skins with frylight and put back in the oven for 10 minutes. Save the middles for another meal.

Stuff the potato with the chicken mix then bake for 10 minutes, sprinkle with the cheese and put bake in the oven till the cheese has melted.

Serve with a green salad.

Ginger and Coriander Baked Tilapia

This is a light refreshing dish, full of superfree. The fish is light, moist and flaky with a delicate flavour, but it stands up to the punchy flavours of the sauce. The flavours just dance on your tongue.

This dish serves 2 and is 2 syns on extra easy per person.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

4 tilapia fillets

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 inch ginger grated

1 red chilli finely chopped

handful coriander leaves

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil (2 syns)

1 tbsp shaoxing rice wine (2 syns)

Stir Fried Vegetables

1 onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

½ chinese leaf lettuce

8oz oriental mushrooms

½ head broccoli

1 red chilli sliced

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp fish sauce

remaining juices from the fish

handful coriander leaves

Method

Lay the fish in a baking tray sprayed with frylight.

Combine the garlic, ginger, chilli, light soy sauce, shaoxing rice wine, sesame oil and coriander together, pour over the fish. Bake for 8 minutes.

Spray a hot wok with frylight, add the broccoli with 2 tbsp of water to create some steam to help it cook, add the stems of the chinese leaves and onions, fry for 1 minute, add the red pepper, chilli and mushrooms, fry for 2 minutes, add the soy sauce, fish sauce and remaining juices from the fish, fry for 1 minute the stir in the chinese leaves and coriander.

Serve up the vegetables and lay the fish on top, spoon over sauce and serve with basmati and wild rice.

Syn Free Pate

I absolutely love pate, but never in a million years thought i could eat it on Slimming World. Thanks to Francesca Hayward for posting a recipe on a slimming group. I changed a few things and it came out delicious, considering there is no butter in the recipe it is rich, creamy and just like an ordinary pate.

It is completely syn free on extra easy too.....

Ingredients

500g mushrooms chopped

400g chicken livers chopped

1 garlic clove finely chopped

1 onion chopped

4 rashers bacon fat removed and chopped

1 tsp mixed herbs

2 tbsp of quark

salt and pepper

Method

In a large pan sprayed with frylight, fry the mushrooms till golden and set aside.

Re spray the pan and fry the onions till soft, add the garlic and mixed herbs and fry for 1 minute, then add the chicken livers and fry for 5 minutes, add the bacon and fry for 2 minutes. Let it cool down then blitz in a blender till smooth, mix in the quark and season to taste. Mix in the mushrooms and refrigerate. 

Sweet Potato, Tomato and Potato Bake

This is a lovely side dish that will go with anything, i served it with my Thai Crab Cakes, but it would be great with Cajun Chicken, Roast Pork, or a steamed fish fillet.

Syn free on extra easy....

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato sliced

1 lb maris piper potatoes sliced

3 large tomatoes sliced

1 large onion sliced

1 tsp mixed herbs

salt and pepper 

Method

Spray an ovenproof dish with frylight, lay the onion out on the bottom of the dish and layer the vegetables  on top like in the picture. Sprinkle over the herbs and salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil spray again and bake for another 30 minutes.

Hunters Chicken

Cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce on top of a chicken breast, served with a large side of Cajun Fries, are you sure this is a meal you can eat on Slimming World???

Well don't worry because you can and it's only a couple of syns too!!!

I used the BBQ sauce recipe that is on this blog and the recipe made 5 portions.

I used 1½ portions of BBQ sauce per person with this meal, which worked out at 2¼ syns per person.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 portions of Spicy BBQ Sauce (4.5 syns)

4 rashes of back bacon all fat removed

80g reduced fat cheddar (syn free if used as you healthy extra A)

Method

Put the chicken breasts in a foil lined baking tray sprayed with frylight. Cut a split down the middle of each breast and put ½ portion of BBQ sauce in each slit, cover with the bacon slices, 2 on each. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then sprinkle over the cheese and return to the oven until the cheese has melted.

Serve with Cajun Fries, a large salad and 1 portion of Spicy BBQ Sauce.

Gumbo

When we lived in the States, i always enjoyed the Southern Food, so when i came across a recipe for Gumbo i decided to adapt it and make it Slimming World friendly.

I love the smoky heat from the chorizo, that is what makes this dish, so there was no way i was going to leave it out, so again this isn't a syn free dish but so worth the syns it has as it is so tasty!!

The whole pot is 6.5 syns on extra easy, i made 3 portions out of it so it was roughly 2 syns, do bear in mind i'm greedy so you could probably make more portions!

Ingredients

100g chorizo sausage the raw kind (6.5 syns)

2 chicken breasts chopped

8 oz cremini mushrooms chopped

2 sticks of celery, or 1 tsp celery salt

1 large onion finely chopped

1 large red pepper diced

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp cajun seasoning

½ tsp cayenne pepper

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tin chopped tomatoes

500ml hot chicken stock

20 raw shrimp

handful of coriander leaves

Method

In a hot pan sprayed with frylight fry the chorizo till golden then remove from pan, add the chicken and brown, then remove from the pan.

Fry the onions in the fat from the chorizo till soft and golden, add the mushrooms, pepper and celery or celery salt and fry till mushrooms are golden, add the bay leaves, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato puree and tin of tomatoes and cook for 1 minute then add the stock and chicken and chorizo back to the pan, bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the shrimp to the pan with the coriander leaves for the last 2 minutes of cooking.

I served mine with rice.

Garlic and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

It isn't often i do a roast dinner and never on a Sunday, so i thought i'd treat my husband to a lovely midweek roast, well i guess well be having a roast more often now as it went down so well. The pork was so juicy and tender and the marinade was amazing!! This has got to be one of the best Pork dishes i've ever had!!

Oh did i forget to add it is so easy to make too, only downside is it isn't syn free but at only 3 syns on extra easy for the whole tenderloin it was so worth it!!!

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

1 large pork tenderloin any fat removed

2 garlic cloves sliced

¼ cup light soy sauce

2 tsp mustard powder

1 tbsp honey (3 syns)

1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary

Method

Put the loin on a foil covered baking tin, poke holes all over it and push in the slices of garlic, mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the pork, let it sit for at least 30 minutes, basting it with the marinade every 5 minutes.

Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, basting it half way through.

Remove from the oven and let the pork sit for 10 minutes. 

Put the remaining marinade into a pan and heat through, use a jus over the pork.

I served mine with roast potatoes, minted cabbage and roasted asparagus.

Spicy BBQ Sauce

I got the inspiration for this recipe from one of my favourite American Chefs Ina Garten. I have adapted it to be as Slimming World friendly as possible.

As she put it it is a fusion of world wide BBQ sauces, a bit of Indian, Chinese and American, with a touch of Britain in it too!!

The whole pan is 7 syns on extra easy, so it's up to you how much you eat.......

Ingredients

3 shallots sliced 

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 tub passata

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tbsp hoisin sauce (4 syns)

1 tbsp honey (3 syns)

3 tbsp worcester sauce

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tsp english mustard powder

¼ cup cider vinegar

2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp hot chilli powder (more if you want more spice)

Method

In a large pan sprayed with frylight, fry the shallots till golden and soft, then add the garlic and fry for 1 minute, put into a blender with all the other ingredients and blitz till smooth.

Return the sauce to the pan and bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes until it has darkened and thickened. Season to taste.

Then serve with whatever you like....

Goes great on Hunters Chicken, as a dip for chips, with a juicy steak or even pulled pork..

Cajun Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger

I already have a burger recipe on here, but i thought i would design a different flavoured one and add a few more toppings.
To say it went down well is an understatement, my husband went mad for them and they go so well with the cajun fries.

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients

500g extra lean mince beef (5% or less)

2 tsp Worcester sauce

½ tsp garlic salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tsps cajun seasoning
2 onions sliced
4 rashers of bacon fat cut off
8 open cup mushrooms

4 small wholemeal rolls

4 slices of low low toastie cheese

Method

Mix together the beef, worcester sauce, garlic salt, 1 tsp of the cajun seasoning and pepper, make into 4 patties and chill for 30 minutes.

Heat a frying pan with frylight and fry the onions over a medium low heat until they are soft and golden for about 40 minutes.
In another pan sprayed with frylight cook the bacon and mushrooms, set aside and keep warm.
Wipe out the pan and spray with frylight again and brown the rolls on the insides.

Sprinkle the patties with the remaining cajun seasoning and fry the patties for 3 minutes, don't move or fiddle with the patties until they are to be turned over. Once you have turned them, cover them with a bowl to steam for 2 minutes then top the patties with a slice of cheese, cover again till the cheese has melted.
Put a layer of the caramelised onions on the bottom of the roll and add 2 mushrooms, top with the patty then the bacon and put the lid of the roll on, repeat with the rest of the burgers. Serve with synfree cajun fries.

Brownies

I made these brownies with high hopes that they would curb my craving for chocolate, and if i'm honest they do as they are very chocolatey!

I will say though if you're not a fan of the aftertaste you get from sweetener, then maybe you should give these a miss.

These are not gooey like a regular brownie but they are moist.

I personally won't be making them very often as i would prefer to use my syns on savoury foods, but for someone with a sweet tooth they are great!!

They would make a great dessert, served with fat free creme fraiche and berries.

The whole batch comes to 47.5 syns on extra easy, i managed to make 25 out of mine so they worked out at just under 2 syns each.

Preheat oven 180c, 360f, gas mark 4.

Spray a 20cm x 20cm tin with frylight and line with parchment paper.

Ingredients

400g butternut squash peeled and diced

100g 70% dark chocolate, chopped (26 syns)

4 medium free range eggs

70g sweetener (I used stevia as it is meant to have less of an after taste and doesn't make you crave more sugar, like the unnatural ones do)

75g cocoa powder (13.5 syns)

2 tbsp plain flour (7 syns)

2 tsp baking powder (1 syn)

Method

Put the butternut squash into a large microwave proof dish, splash with some water, cover with clingfilm and microwave for 10 minutes on high until the squash cuts like butter. Drain off any excess water. Add the chocolate to the dish, it should melt from the heat of the squash, with a hand mixer, whisk until its a puree.

In another large bowl whisk up the eggs and sweetener until it is light and fluffy, then fold in the cocoa, flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt.

Fold in the chocolate mix and pour into the tin, bake for 20 minutes, let it cool before removing from the tin.

Slow Cooked Squid and Shrimp with Fennel

I love seafood and i love pasta, so put together this is a match made in heaven!!

I have to say this is one of the best recipes i have done so far. really tasty, with a touch of anise flavour and a kick from the chilli. Cooking the squid for a long time makes it so tender. 

You can have it syn free on extra easy by leaving out the olives but for 1 syn for 8 olives, it's worth throwing them in!!

I served mine with linguine, but you could have this with anything you like, even a large chunk of bread would be good, but don't forget to syn it!!!

Ingredients

1 lb squid cleaned and cut into rings

20 shrimp raw

1 fennel bulb thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

16 olives stoned (2 syns)

2 tins tomatoes

1 tbsp capers

1 tsp chilli flakes

handful fresh tarragon and basil

300 ml fish stock

pinch of sweetener

salt and pepper

Method

Spray a large pan with frylight and fry the fennel till golden and soft, add the garlic and fry for another minute, add the stock and bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and stir in the tomatoes, capers, chilli flakes, sweetener and olives, then add the squid, season to taste, and simmer for at least an hour, keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't dry out, if it starts to get a bit to thick add some water.

When the squid is tender add the shrimp and cook for 5 more minutes then tear in the herbs and serve with side of choice.