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.

Griddled Chermoula Pork

This dish is normally done with lamb but as i couldn't get the cut of lamb i needed i decided to substitute it with pork and it turned out lovely.
It is sweet, spicy and juicy. It is great hot or cold.

3 syns for the whole tenderloin on extra easy.

Ingredients

1 large pork tenderloin all the fat removed and cut into 8 pieces.
½ red onion
1 small bunch of coriander
3 cm ginger
juice ½ lemon
1 tbsp honey 3 syns
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
salt and pepper to season


Method

Blitz everything but the pork in a blender, rub the marinade into the pork and leave it to marinade for  at least 2 hours.
Heat a griddle pan until it smokes, then spray the pork with frylight and griddle for 3-4 minutes on each side.

I served the pork with a beautiful Orange, Harrisa and  Giant Cous Cous Salad.

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.

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.

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.

Corned beef Hash

Another dish you thought you couldn't eat while being on Slimming World!! Comfort food at it's best!!

Unfortunately it is not syn free, but it is low in syns, as the only syns are in the corned beef.

The whole dish is 4 syns.

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

Ingredients

1lb potatoes peeled and diced

1 tin lean corned beef 200g

1 onion finely chopped

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp worcester sauce

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 fried eggs to serve.

Method

Lay the diced potatoes on a baking sheet sprayed with frylight and season and spray with more frylight, bake for 30 minutes, tossing and spraying again half way through.

In a frying pan sprayed with frylight, fry the onion until soft and golden, add the corned beef and fry till soft, add the tomato puree, worcester sauce, paprika and cayenne pepper, fry for 5 minutes, stirring often, add the potatoes to the pan and mix together, then serve with a fried egg on top.

Paprika Pork One Pot

This recipe is an adaptation of the Paprika Pork in the Slimming World Family Feast on a Budget recipe book.

I have added orzo to the recipe to make it a one pot dish. I also omitted the yogurt as i personally thought it was creamy enough without it.

Syn free on extra easy.

Ingredients

1 large onion cut into wedges

1 red pepper diced

1 pork tenderloin all fat removed and diced

8 oz cremini mushrooms

1 red chilli sliced

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 tbsp paprika

500 ml chicken stock

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 cup orzo pasta

handful of roughly chopped coriander leaves

6 tbsp fat free yogurt (optional)

Method

In a large pan sprayed with frylight fry the onions till golden, add the pork and brown. Add the peppers and mushrooms and fry till golden, then add the chilli and garlic, fry for 1 minute. Stir in the paprika and red wine vinegar, then pour in the stock and season. 

Bring to a boil then add 1 cup of orzo pasta, stir, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

If using the yogurt, take the pan off the heat and stir it in. Sprinkle over the coriander and serve.

Potato, Mushroom and Aubergine Curry

I found this recipe on the Good Food website and as it looked so tasty decided to adapt it for Slimming World.

You don't have to use the vegetables i've used, you can add about anything. I think next time i make it i will add cauliflower, butternut squash and mangetout.

It was very tasty and spicy, but you can adjust the spice by the amount of paste you put in. I used 4 tbps, and i would say it was about as spicy as a madras from a take away.

It made a huge pot about 6 serving, depending how hungry you are. The whole pot was only 1.5 syns on extra easy, but you could make it syn free by using different yogurts.

Curry Paste Ingredients

3 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp salt

1 inch ginger 

4 garlic cloves

1 tbsp tomato puree

4 tbsp white wine vinegar

Method

Dry fry the whole spices till they are fragrant for about 2-3 minutes.

Blitz the whole spices in a coffee or spice grinder, then put everything into a blender and blend until its smooth. This makes more than you need for this recipe, so divide the mixture into tbsp spoon portions and put into an ice cube tray and freeze what you don't use for another time.

Curry Ingredients

2 onions roughly chopped

1 large potato cubed

1 aubergine cubed

1 red or yellow pepper diced

800g button mushrooms

2-4 tbsps curry paste

300 ml vegetable stock

3 tubs muller light greek style coconut yogurt, 0.5 syns each

handful coriander leaves roughly chopped 

Method

Fry the onions and potatoes in a large pot sprayed with frylight for 2 minutes, then cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, keep checking that they aren't sticking to the pot.

Add the mushrooms, pepper and aubergine and fry uncovered until golden. Stir in the curry paste and cook out for 5 minutes, season and add the stock, bring to a boil them simmer till potatoes are cooked.

Take the pot of the heat and stir in the yogurts and coriander, if needed, gentle heat the curry through, careful not to let it split.

Serve with rice.

Beef Chilli

This is a tasty beef chilli, spicy, rich and full of vegetables.
Syn free on extra easy.
Great with rice, jacket potato and as Chilli Cheese Fries, or just by itself!

Serve 8

Ingredients

2 onions chopped
3 carrots chopped into small dice
2 red peppers diced
8 oz mushrooms chopped
1 kg extra lean mince beef 5% fat or less
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 red chillies finely chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp celery salt
2 tsp red chipotle powder or hot smoked paprika
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tube passata
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 litre beef stock
salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large pot sprayed with frylight, brown the mince then remove, respray the pot then fry the onions for 2 minutes, then add the carrot and red peppers fry for 2 minutes, add the mushrooms, garlic and chilli fry for 1 minute. add all spices and herbs, stir in then add the tomato puree, passata, chopped tomatoes and beef stock, return the beef to the pan and bring to a boil the simmer for at least 2 hours, season to taste, if the chilli gets a bit dry add more water.

Syn Free Chips

How to make perfect syn free chips!

The type of potato is very important, and i always use Maris Pipers, they are always fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

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

Ingredients

1 lb Maris Piper potato
sunflower frylight
salt
paprika

Method

Peel and cut the chips.
Parboil the chips till slightly tender, drain them and shake them up slightly to make them rough on the outside. let the dry out.

Spray a baking tray with the frylight, spread out the chips in a single layer and spray with frylight, then sprinkle with the salt and paprika. bake in the oven for 15 minutes then remove from the oven turn the chips and spray again with fry light, bake for another 15 minutes till golden and crispy.

Chicken Hash

This is pure comfort food!!

Who would have thought you could eat food like this on Slimming World!
Well you can and to top it off this meal is syn free on extra easy!
The cheese is your healthy extra A.


Serves 2

Ingredients

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts  roasted with fry light for 20 minutes at 200c, 400f, gas mark 5.
1 lb maris piper potatoes, peeled and cubed, then roast for 30 minutes with fry light, turning and spraying again half way through.
1 onion chopped
8 oz mushrooms chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 cup jalapenos
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp worcester sauce
2 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
2 eggs fried in fry light or poached
70g full fat cheddar or 90g half fat cheddar grated

Method

While chicken and potatoes are roasting fry the onion with fry light till soft, add the mushrooms and onions and fry for 2 minutes.
Add the jalapenos, tomato paste, worcester sauce, paprika and salt and pepper, cook out for 5 minutes.
Chop the chicken into cubes and add to the onion mixture, then stir in the potatoes, sprinkle over the cheese and melt in oven for 3 minutes.
Top with an egg and serve.