Liver and Bacon Sauté with Roasted New Potatoes

This may not be a dish for everyone as a lot of people don't like liver, but personally I love it and would encourage you to try it!
There is so much flavour to this dish and it is very low in syns. As the whole pot is 1 syn on extra easy.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

1 lb new potatoes
4 spring onions sliced diagonally
2 thick bacon chops, all fat removed and diced, or 1 large gammon steak
2 tsp paprika
250g liver sliced
200ml hot vegetable stock
1 tsp flour 1 syn
salt and pepper
4 tbsp fat free natural yoghurt

Method

Halve the new potatoes and boil until tender, let them dry, then lay them on a baking tray sprayed with frylight and spray them again then roast for about 20 minutes until they are golden and crispy.
Meanwhile in a large pan fry the bacon until it is golden. Season the liver with the paprika, salt and pepper and stir in the flour. Add the liver to the pan and fry until cooked to your liking. Add the spring onions and potatoes to the pan to warm through. Then divide between 2 plates.
Add the stock to the pan and scrap all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan to make a very tasty gravy, pour over the meals, dollop 2 tbsps of yoghurt on top of each and sprinkle with coriander.

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.

Seafood Salad

I didn't want to use my HE A&B on my lunch as i like to save them for using in my main meal or, as a nighttime snack of cheese and biscuits.

I found a baking potato in the potato bag so decided to have a baked spud. But what to put on it????

I fancied tuna, but i want to take it up a notch, so i defrosted some prawns and chopped up some veggies. 

It was delicious and only 1 syn on extra easy for the mayonnaise.

Preheat the oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

1 baking potato, baked in the oven for about an hour until the skin is golden and crispy.

1 tin of tuna in brine or spring water

A dozen cooked prawns

2 inches cucumber diced

half a red pepper diced

2 spring onions sliced

1 tbsp capers

1 tomato, deseeded and chopped

2 tbsp light than light mayonnaise 1syn

a good shaking of tabasco sauce

Method

It couldn't be simpler, just mix everything but the potato together, then put on top of the potato.

The Seafood salad is also very nice with a bowl of mixed lettuce leaves, or you could make wraps out of it using romaine leaves. You can also mix it with cold pasta to make a delicious pasta salad. You can use any seafood you like and any vegetables.

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.

Maple Cinnamon Quinoa Bake

I had better warn you from the start there is a bit of debate about the syns on these bakes!!

As any good consultant will tell you these are considered a tweak, which means as the main ingredient is being used for something other than a main meal, (the "supposedly" thing it is meant to be used for) you may eat more than you normally would, which can cause weight gain, so hence a tweak.

So it is totally up to you what you want to syn these at, if you find you do eat a lot and start gaining then it could well be down to these bakes, it is all about the individual.

To be honest, i don't think you could eat many of these at a time as i find them very filling and normal one is enough.

They are great with a dollop of yogurt and fruit, or as a grab and go breakfast bar, but just as nice eaten plain with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

I made 20 out of my batch, so mine worked out at 0.5 syns each, as the whole batch is 10 syns, but that is only if you don't syn the quinoa.

Preheat oven to 200c, 400f, gas mark 5.

Ingredients

2 cups of uncooked quinoa cooked as per packet instructions and cooled

4 eggs beaten

80ml skimmed milk 2 syns

60ml maple syrup 8 syns

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 tbsp ground cinnamon

Method

In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients, then pour into a baking tray lined with parchment paper and sprayed with frylight, smooth it out and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and set.

remove from the baking tray straight away so it doesn't steam. 

Cut the slab into portions and put onto a oven proof wire rack and put back in the oven for 10 minutes so the edges crisp.

You could always add nuts and raisins or cranberries to them, or maybe some chocolate chips, but these thing would have to be syned.