Lemon Chicken and Orzo Soup

This soup is really easy to make and tastes amazing! It is light and refreshing but very filling.
full of super free and is syn free on extra easy.
Great on a cold evening or if you are feeling ill.

Ingredients

1 pound of chicken thighs with the skin and all the fat removed cut into inch chunks.
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 onion diced
2 carrots peeled and diced
8oz cremini mushrooms sliced
1 tsp celery salt
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp chilli flakes
2 bay leaves
1¼ litres chicken stock
1 cup orzo
1 sprig rosemary
juice of 1 lemon

Method

In a large pot sprayed with frylight, brown the chicken and remove.
Add the onions and fry until golden, add the carrots and mushrooms and fry until tender, stir in the garlic, celery salt, thyme, chilli flakes and bay leaves, fry for 1 minute then add the stock and chicken, bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Add the orzo and rosemary and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the orzo is cooked. Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

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.

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.

Chicken and Rosemary Casserole

I love the winter when all the one pot and warming comfort foods come out, just like this lovely chicken casserole, just what you need on a cold frosty night.

This is a cheats casserole though as it doesn't need hours of cooking.

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts roasted with rosemary

4 rashers of bacon with all fat cut off sliced

1 onion chopped

8oz mushrooms sliced

bunch of asparagus

600ml chicken stock

1 sprig rosemary finely chopped

1 tbsp flour 3.5 syns

½ tsp celery salt

fresh ground black pepper

Method

Fry the onions until they are soft, add the bacon and mushrooms and fry until golden, stir in the flour celery salt, pepper and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes, pour in the stock and bring to a boil, return to a simmer and add the asparagus and simmer for 20 minutes, until the asparagus is cooked and the sauce has thickened, and serve.

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.