Showing posts with label balsamic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label balsamic. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 September 2014

Fiery Asian Slaw



This is a great side dish for fish, chicken, beef, pork anything really!!
It is crunchy, has a kick and is so tasty that it gets your taste buds tingling and your mouth begging for more as so many flavours bounce off your tongue!!

Unfortunately it isn't syn free, but with all these fantastic superfree ingredients and so much flavour it is worth the small amount of syns it is!!

The whole batch is 5 syns on extra easy and i reckon as a side or in a salad it served about 4 people.



Ingredients

1 bag of slaw mix, i got mine from Asda, it had a ranch dressing in it, which my hubby had on his salad.
100ml fresh orange juice  2 syns
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil  2 syns
1 tbsp hot chilli sauce (sriracha) 0.5 syns
1 tsp grated ginger
½ tsp honey  0.5 syns
handful chopped coriander

Method

It couldn't be simpler, whisk all the wet ingredients together, then mix in the rest. let it rest for at least 30 minutes to let the flavours infuse.





Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Spicy Pork Pasta



This dish is great hot or cold. I had some leftover Spicy African Pork Tenderloin and decided to make a pasta dish out of it, as per usual i cooked far too much pasta, so ended up with two meals one hot and one cold for the next day, and it was so good, i didn't mind having it again!



Syn free on extra easy.

Ingredients

Leftover pork
As much cooked dried pasta as you like
1 tsp of the leftover marinade from the pork dish
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
dash of water
½ bag of rocket leaves


Method

Mix together the marinade, balsamic vinegar and water, stir it into the cooked pasta. Finely slice the pork and mix into the pasta, stir through the rocket leaves and serve, it's that simple!




Friday, 27 September 2013

Slow Cooked Balsamic Chicken



For on a day when you don't have much time to cook and don't want to spend ages in the kitchen, this dish is perfect.
Ok so it's not the prettiest looking chicken, but it sure makes up for it with flavour! and it is so tender too...

Syn free on extra easy.

Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts, or you could use thighs with all the skin and fat removed.
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsps dried onions
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 star anise
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp tabasco sauce (optional)

Method

Mix together the garlic salt, dried herbs, dried onion and rub into the chicken.
Lay the chicken into a frylight spray slow cooker and pour over the balsamic vinegar, add the star anise and season. 
Cook on high for 4 hours.
When cooked remove the chicken, pour the marinade into a saucepan add the tabasco if using and simmer down by half, use this as a sauce over the chicken.

I served the chicken with baked sweet potatoes and roasted thin asparagus.
The sweetness and creaminess of the potato cut through the tang of the sauce. Perfect combination!



Wednesday, 11 September 2013

Spaghetti Bolognese




This is a deliciously tasty bolognese sauce, which is completely syn free on extra easy, the parmesan is optional, and you can always use your healthy extra A for it.
The sauce is great for a lasagne, topping for a jacket potato, with syn free chips or wedges or as a base for a cottage pie.

Serves 6

Ingredients

500g extra lean beef mince 5% fat or less
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
8 oz mushrooms sliced
1 pepper pepper diced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
500ml passata
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp worcester sauce
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp celery salt
500ml beef stock

1 packet of spaghetti cooked as packet instructions

Method

In a large pot sprayed with frylight, fry the mince until it is browned, remove from pan and set aside.
Respray the pot and fry the onions till golden, add the carrots, mushrooms and pepper and fry for 2/3 minutes, then add the garlic
. Return the meat to the pot, mix together and add all the tomato ingredients, stir in the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer on a low heat for 2-3 hours.
Serve with the spaghetti, sprinkle with parmesan.



Saturday, 13 July 2013

Roasted Mushroom, Balsamic Tomatoes and Goats Cheese Burgers



These burgers are perfect for a green day or if you just don't fancy meat.
They are juicy and sweet from the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar with creamy, tangy cheese.

Syn free on extra easy as long as the cheese and wholemeal rolls are your healthy extras.


Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients

4 large portobello mushrooms
4 tomatoes sliced
60g goats cheese
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
4 small wholemeal rolls
salt and pepper

Method

Spray a baking sheet with frylight, lay the tomato slices and mushrooms on the sheet and spray with frylight then sprinkle over the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper, roast in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes, a minute before removing from the oven lay slices of goats cheese on the mushrooms and let melt.
Layer the ingredients in the rolls and serve.



Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Tilapia and Lemon and Caper Dressing with Orzo and Salad



This is a light and zesty dish, with a kick of chilli, which compliments the soft flakes of fish and crunchy salad.

Syn free on extra easy and lots of superfree too.


Serves 2

Ingredients

4 tilapia fillets
1 cup of orzo
2 tbsp capers
1 red chilli deseeded
juice of a lemon
handful of basil chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
¼ tsp sweetener
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 iceburg leaves
2 handfuls of mixed salad leaves
10 cherry tomatoes
2 inches of cucumber thinly sliced and cut into half moons
4 radishes thinly sliced
half a red pepper thinly sliced
4 spring onions thinly sliced

Method

Cook the orzo as per packet instructions. When cooked drain and run under the cold tap.

Blitz the chilli and garlic in a blender, tip into a bowl and add the lemon juice, sweetener, balsamic vinegar, chopped basil and capers, mix together.

Make up the salad with the mixed salad leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, peppers and spring onion, pile it all in the iceburg leaves.

Spray a frying pan with extra virgin olive oil frylight and fry the tilapia for 2 minutes on each side.

Serve everything up and drizzle over the dressing.


Tuesday, 21 May 2013

A Simple Ham Salad



The title says it all, the only time consuming part is all the chopping and making the dressing.
To be honest you can put whatever you like in the salad but this one was so   tasty i had to add it!


Ingredients

1/2 bottle of cheap balsamic vinegar
Mixed Lettuce leaves
Cherry Tomatoes
Celery the heart and the leaves
Capers
Cucumber
Radishes
Spring onions
Lean ham with all the fat cut off

Method

Tip the balsamic vinegar into a pan and boil down to half, so its thicker and sticky, set aside to cool.

Chop up all your vegetables and mix with the salad leaves, dice the ham and mix through.

Drizzle over the reduced balsamic dressing and serve.

Didn't i say it was easy!! Oh just one tip, don't lean over the pan when its boiling and breath in, the fumes can be quite lethal!!