One Pot Pasta

I found this dish when i was looking for something quick and easy to make as i wasn't feeling well.
I was a bit sceptical about just throwing everything in one pot and cooking it, but it worked and it was delicious!!!
I adapted it so it is syn free on extra easy and as the oil has been left out the starch from the pasta does make it a bit stodgy, but it still tastes great!!
You can put anything you like in this dish, i made mine on an Italian theme.
This dish is syn free on extra easy and serves about 4 people.

Ingredients

500g of any pasta you like.
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes halved
1 small onion sliced
1 vegetable stock cube
2 tbsps capers
2 cloves of garlic sliced
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp chilli flakes
4.5 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
big handful basil leaves.

Method

As the title says, put everything in a large pan, apart from a few leaves which you save for garnish.
Bring the water to a boil, then boil for about 8 minutes until the pasta is cooked and the water has been absorbed. Stir the dish from time to time to stop it sticking on the bottom.
Serve straight away, garnished with the rest of the basil leaves.

Pico de Gallo (Salsa)

This is a fantastic salsa!! it is so versatile it goes with anything and is just as great by itself with some chips to dip for a treat!!
It is so easy to make and best of all syn free on extra easy.
I first made this dish to go with the Mexican Salmon Stack.

Ingredients

6 tomatoes deseeded

1 garlic clove chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 onion chopped

1 red and 1 green chilli deseeded and chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chilli powder

¼ tsp smoked paprika

¼ tsp salt

handful coriander finely chopped

Method

Couldn't be simpler, put everything but the coriander in a blender and blitz until it is all combined and coarsely chopped. Pour into a bowl and stir in the chopped coriander. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for the flavours to mingle.

Roasted Vegetable Tortilla

I first made this dish to take on a picnic, it went down so well unfortunately there was no left overs.

Now i make it for all occasions also i have it for lunch, dinner, brunch, and even breakfast, it even makes a great snack.

It tastes great hot or cold. It is jam packed full of superfree and you can use whatever veggies you like.

Best of all it is synfree on extra easy!!

This one was made in a 20cm frying pan and depending how hungry or greedy like myself you are will serve 6 to 8 people.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

1lb maris piper or any waxy potato diced

8oz cremini mushrooms quartered

1 red pepper diced

1 onion diced

1 small sweet potato diced

1 garlic clove minced

6 eggs whisked

1 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

Method

Whisk together the egg garlic and salt and pepper, set aside.

On a large baking tray sprayed with frylight spread out all the vegetables so they are in a single layer, spray with more frylight and sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden, tossing them half way through.

Transfer all the veggies to an oven proof frying pan or dish and pour over the egg mixture, bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the egg is set.

Delicious with a big salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing.

Spanish Hash

I love this dish, it is so versatile and goes with anything or just great by itself. Yet again another comforting dish!!
The cheese is optional, i used my healthy A or you can syn it. You can add anything you want to this, maybe some peppers, mushrooms or onions, as i said so versatile.
Best of all, all this flavour is syn free on extra easy!!

I also discovered that the tomato sauce, is great cold as a ketchup, my son loves ketchup, but this he couldn't get in his mouth quick enough, and the plus side is it's home-made so you know exactly what's in it and it's better for you.
Just keep it in the fridge.

Pre heat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

This dish served 2 but were greedy.

Ingredients

1lb potatoes peeled if desired then cubed

4 eggs

60g goats cheese (optional)

Sauce Ingredients

1 onion chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

1 red chilli chopped

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tin tomatoes

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Method

Spray a baking tray with frylight then lay out the potatoes and season and spray again. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until golden, tossing and spraying half way through.

While the potatoes cook make the sauce.

In a blender blitz the onion, garlic and chilli. Fry in a pan sprayed with frylight for 2 minutes, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened to you liking. Then put it all back into the blender and blitz until smooth.

Pour into a seal-able container, you won't need all of it for this dish.

In a large oven proof pan, pour in the cooked potatoes, pour over as much sauce as you require, make 4 holes and crack in the eggs, add the cheese if using, then bake in the oven until the eggs are cooked to your liking, and serve. I served mine with Grilled chicken and a green salad.

Orange, Garlic and Soy Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken drumsticks are syn free on extra easy, so how about cooking up a batch as snacks for when your peckish.
These drumsticks are marinaded in just orange juice, light soy sauce and garlic and it adds such a depth of flavour. Unfortunately you have to syn the orange juice, but it adds hardly any syns to the drumsticks.
In fact some would argue that as your not actually eating/drinking the orange juice, you may not need to syn it.
I made a batch of 9 drumsticks and it works out as 0.2 syns per drumstick, so the choice of syning is totally up to you. You could marinade a lot more drumsticks in that amount of marinade.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

9 chicken drumsticks skin removed
100 ml orange juice 2 syns
100 ml light soy sauce
2 garlic cloves grated

Method

In a large zip lock bag mix the orange juice, soy sauce and garlic, add the chicken and rub the marinade in, marinade the chicken over night.
Lay the drumsticks out on a tray sprayed with frylight, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Asian Style Chilli Beef

I loved this dish, it was sweet, sour, spicy, and salty all the flavours you expect from an Asian dish. You can serve it with noodles, rice salad, and even chips like i did.

Its is also very quick to make so perfect for when your in a hurry!

It is syn free on extra easy.

Ingredients

500g extra lean mince beef 5% fat or less
1 tbsp ginger
3 garlic cloves
2 red chillies one de-seeded and one sliced
2 lemon grass outer layers removed and chopped
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sweetener
1 tbsp rice vinegar
coriander leaves
2 inches cucumber sliced
4 spring onions sliced

Method

Blitz the ginger, garlic one of the chillies and lemon grass in a blender with 2 tsp water.
In a pan sprayed with frylight brown the mince then add the garlic mix and fry for 1 minute. Stir in the soy sauce, sweetener, vinegar and 50ml water and simmer until the meat starts to get sticky, stir in the coriander then serve with the cucumber and spring onions.

Steak, Kidney and Mushroom Pie

I found a recipe for a steak and mushroom pie and really started craving one, i looked up the syns for pastry and almost had heart failure!!!

So i decided to to replace the pastry with a crispy potato topping instead, which is syn free.

The whole pot of pie filling which made 3 big pies came to 3 syns on extra easy.

It was rich, tender and very very tasty!!!

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

1 kg beef steak cubes

500g kidney diced

500g mushrooms quartered

3 carrots diced

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 large onion chopped

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp each of dried thyme and oregano

1 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

2 bay leaves

1 litre rich beef stock

1 tbsp plain flour 3 syns

Salt and pepper

2 potatoes thinly sliced

Method

In a large pan sprayed with frylight, brown the beef then remove, then brown the kidney and remove.

Spray the pan again then fry the onions for 1 minute, add the carrots and mushrooms and fry for 3 minutes until golden, add the garlic and all the herbs, cook for 1 minute, add the paprika and stir in the flour, return the beef and kidney to the pan and stir in the beef stock and season, bring it to a boil and then simmer over a low heat for 2 hours or until the beef is tender, stirring it often, if it starts to over thicken, just add some water.

Divide the mixture between the pie dishes and top in a single layer with the potato slices, spray with butter frylight and bake in the oven for 30/35 minutes or until the potatoes are crisp and golden.

Garlic, Rosemary and Orange Slow Cooked Turkey Breast

I had a large turkey breast in the freezer that needed using up, so i decided to slow cook it to use for snacks. It was great in sandwiches, on a baked spud, with a salad or just to pick at!

Ingredients

1 large turkey breast roast

2 garlic cloves sliced

¼ cup light soy sauce

2 tsp mustard powder

1 tbsp honey 3 syns

50ml freshly squeezed orange juice 0.5 syn

1 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

salt and pepper

Method

Make small holes all over the turkey breast and push in the slices of garlic. Mix together the rest of the ingredients. Place the turkey into a slow cooker, pour over the marinade and cook on low for 8 hours, you may want to baste every now and then.

When the turkey is cooked, remove and let it rest for 10 minutes, keep the sauce in the slow cooker you will need it. Using two forks shred the turkey, return it to the slow cooker and toss it into the remaining sauce. 

You can serve it hot or cold, the flavour improves if you leave it in the fridge until the next day.

Homemade Crispy Potato Skins

BEWARE!! these are probably considered a tweak!!

I was making a chicken hash and decided to roast the peelings off the potatoes to make some crisps.

As you could eat a lot of them before they fill you up it may be a tweak, in which case they will be synful, but i don't know how you would syn them.

I figure as i was already eating the potatoes and i could have cooked them with the skins on and they would have been free, then to me these crisps are free, as it is only the amount from the potatoes i cooked. But the choice is yours!

Needless to say they were so good!!

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

Potato peelings

garlic frylight

salt

1 tsp paprika

Method

Spray a baking tray with the frylight, lay the peeling in a single layer, spray with more frylight, sprinkle over the salt and paprika then roast for about 20 minutes or until they are crisp and golden.

Steamed Thai Salmon

This is a beautiful light Thai dish, full of flavour!!

The original recipe called for the salmon to be grilled but i decided to steam the salmon instead as it remains nice and moist and enhances the flavours, plus it is healthier.

I served it with stir fried vegetables and noodles. I used the marinade from steaming it as a sauce for the vegetables and noodles, so the flavour ran through the whole of the dish.

I used a wok and a bamboo steamer. I put a plate in the steamer with the salmon and marinade on top. A trick to getting the plate back out the steamer is to put a clean new j cloth under the plate with the edges hanging over the side of the steamer, then you can take the plate out with the cloth, and that way you won't spill anything, as you are left with lots of lovely juices that you don't want to waste!

This dish serves two and is 1 syn each on extra easy.

Ingredients

1lb salmon fillet

1 inch ginger

2 red chillies

3 garlic cloves

¼ cup light soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil 2 syns

handful thai basil leaves torn

A selection of vegetables of your choice, enough for two. I used broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, chilli, spring onions and thai basil.

Dried egg noodles, cooked as per packet instructions.

Method

In a blender blitz the chilli, ginger and garlic, divide it into two portions.

In a bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients apart from the salmon. Add one portion of the chilli mixture to the sauce.

Place the salmon on a plate and put into the steamer on top of a j cloth, pour half the marinade over the salmon, leave for 10 minutes.

Fill the wok with water, up to the where the bottom of the steamer will sit, bring to a boil, place the steamer in the wok, turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked to your liking.

Take the steamer out the wok and with the j cloth lift out the plate, be careful it will be very hot.

Empty the water out the wok and spray with frylight, add the broccoli and mushrooms and stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables  and the second portion of the chilli mix, stir fry for 1 minutes, then pour in the remaining sauce and any juices from the salmon, stir fry for 1 minute, add the cooked noodles to the wok, warm through then serve with the salmon.

Greek Venison Shank

This meal is great for a Sunday roast and it's totally syn free on extra easy. The meat is so lean, but so tender and juicy. The sauce has so much flavour and warmth.

Served with syn free roast potatoes and lots of vegetables it make a fantastically comforting meal.

If you can't get hold of venison shanks, then lamb shanks will be a great substitute.

Ingredients

1 large venison shank or 2 lamb shanks

1 large onion diced

1 tin tomatoes

4 garlic cloves finely chopped

200ml beef stock

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp greek seasoning

juice of ½ lemon

salt and pepper

Method

In a large pan sprayed with frylight brown the shanks and then put them in the slow cooker.

Fry the onions until soft add the garlic, herbs and spices fry for 1 minute, then stir in the stock, tomatoes and lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the shanks and set the slow cooker to cook for 8 hours on low.

When the shanks are cooked remove from the cooker, and cover to keep warm.

Pour the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil then simmer down until it has slightly thickened.

You can now serve the sauce with the meat, but i like to push the sauce through a sieve so it is smooth, then i reheat it and serve it as a synfree gravy.

Revised Ceasar Salad Dressing

My Ceasar Salad Dressing was quite low in syns on extra easy, but i thought i would try and make it even better! I am really impressed with how it turned out, it is just as good as before, just as tasty, but less synful.

This recipe is only 2.5 syns on extra easy for the whole batch, which in my house made 8 portions and i like a lot of dressing!

I have left the olive oil out this one and i haven't added the parmesan cheese, you can always sprinkle on the salad when you serve it.

Ingredients

1 garlic clove

1 tin of sainsburys anchovy fillets drained

4 tbsp lighter than light mayonnaise  2 syns

2 tsp worcester sauce

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dijon mustard  0.5 syns

salt and pepper

Method

Put everything into a blender and blitz until it's smooth and creamy, then either chill or serve.

Char Siu Pork Roast

This is a slow cooker dish. It isn't syn free, but it is so delicious it is worth the syns. Full of lovely Chinese ingredients and the pork ends up so tender and juicy.

It is very versatile too, you can serve it with rice, pasta, jacket potato, or even in a bun as a pulled pork sandwich.

The whole dish is 16 syns on extra easy, i made 6 portions out of  the whole pot.

Ingredients

2 lbs of boneless pork, loin, shoulder or leg, cut all the fat off

¼ cup of light soy sauce

¼ cup hoisin sauce 10 syns

2 tbsp tomato ketchup 1 syn

1 tbsp honey 3 syns

2 tsps garlic finely chopped

2 tsps ginger finely chopped

2 red chillies finely chopped

1 tsp sesame oil 2 syns

½ tsp five spice 

½ cup chicken stock

Method

Combine all the ingredients apart from the pork in a large plastic bag, add the pork and rub in the marinade, marinade for at least 4 hours, i done mine over night.

Place the pork and marinade into the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove the pork and shred it, return to the marinade and warm back through then serve.

Spicy Tilapia Pasta

Another seafood and chorizo recipe you say!! I'm afraid it is, but i'm addicted to chorizo at the moment, i know it has syns, but the flavours and spices and smokiness is so worth it, it just makes the dish come to life!!! In the winter months i'm all about comfort food and this is on the list!

6.5 syns for the whole dish on extra easy, which in our house made 3 servings, but were greedy!!

Ingredients

4 tilapia fillets

100g cooking chorizo sliced 6.5 syns

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 red chilli finely chopped

1 tin tomatoes

250ml fish or vegetable stock

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper

handful coriander leaves

cooked pasta of choice

Method

In a large pan sprayed with frylight, cook the chorizo until it is golden, add the garlic and chilli, cook for 1 minute then add the paprika, tomatoes and fish stock, season and simmer for 5 minutes. Lay the tilapia in the sauce and cook for 8 minutes, add the pasta and coriander leaves to the dish stir into the sauce, gently breaking up the fish into large chunks and then serve.

Squid, Shrimp and Chorizo with Feta and New Potatoes

You may have started to notice that i love seafood and spicy food, well here is a recipe that combines the two and is so tasty!!

You've got the tender sweet shrimp and squid, with the spicy kick of chorizo and chilli, then a salty bite from the feta. Its a party on your taste buds!!

6.5 syns for the whole pot on extra easy, which served 2 in our house.

Ingredients

1lb new potatoes

100g cooking chorizo sliced and half mooned 6.5 syns per 100g

1 red chilli sliced thinly

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 red peppers jarred or fresh sliced (i used jarred)

20 peeled raw shrimp

8oz squid cleaned and cut into rings

1 tsp paprika

juice of ½ lemon

10 cherry tomatoes halved

90g feta healthy A

Method

Cut the new potatoes in half and boil until they are tender.

In a frying pan sprayed with frylight, fry the chorizo until it is golden, remove from pan, add the new potatoes to the pan and fry until crispy, remove from pan and keep warm in the oven.

Turn the heat up high and fry the squid for 1 minutes until cooked, don't overcook, remove from pan.

Add the shrimp to the pan and fry for 1 minute add the red pepper, chilli, garlic and paprika, fry for 1 minute then add the cherry tomatoes, squid, and potatoes back to the pan, sprinkle over the lemon juice, remove from the heat and crumble in the feta and serve.

Greek Lamb Meatballs

On a cold winters night, like we are getting at the moment there is nothing like a lovely warming dish of pasta and meatballs!

They are so easy to make and low in syns.

8 syns for the whole dish, mine served 3, but again it depends how hungry you are.....

Pre heat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Meatball Ingredients

400g 16% or less lean lamb mince 2 syns per 100g

1 onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp Greek seasoning or dried oregano

pinch of salt and pepper

Sauce Ingredients

1 onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove finely chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp Greek seasoning or dried oregano

500ml vegetable stock

500ml passata 

1 tin tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Method

To make the meatball, fry the onion in a pan sprayed with fry light until they are soft and golden add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes, set aside and let cool.

In a large bowl mix together the rest of the meatball ingredients and the cooled onions, try not to over handle the mixture as it will get tough. Roll the mixture in your hands to make balls the size of a golf ball, put in a baking tray sprayed with frylight. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes till golden, don't worry if they are not cooked through as they will cook through in the sauce.

While the meatballs are in the oven prepare the sauce.

In a large pan sprayed with frylight fry the onions until they are soft and golden, add the garlic and fry for 2 more minutes, add the tomatoes, passata, cinnamon, seasonings and stock and bring to a boil then simmer on a low heat for about 30 minutes until it has thickened and darkened in colour, season to taste, add the meatballs to the sauce and cook through for 10 minutes.

I serve mine with a big bowl of spaghetti.