Barbacoa Beef Wraps

This dish is so easy to make, you just throw it all in the slow cooker and wait!! I have used romaine lettuce leaves instead of wraps, which makes it less synful and you get a lot more super free. You can top the meat with anything you like, i only used coriander, chilli and yogurt, but you could use peppers, refined beans, cheese, salsa, avocado, but remember to syn the things that aren't free!!
The whole dish is 2 syns, but it served 4/6.

Ingredients

3lb braising steak cut into 2 inch chunks
4 garlic cloves
1 onion
2 tbsp chipotle paste 2 syns
juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp cider vinegar
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves
200ml beef stock

Method

In a blender blitz the onion and garlic until smooth with a tbsp of water.
Mix all the ingredients together then put into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
When the meat is cook shred it in the slow cooker and let it cook for 10 more minutes so it absorbs the juices. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon so it is not too wet in the wrap.

Slow Cooked Italian Pot Roast

I love a great roast on a sunday, but most of the time haven't got the time to do it, so cooking my beef in the slow cooker really helped and the meat was so moist and tender too.
This dish is syn free on extra easy and there is loads of leftovers which could go great with pasta, rice or a jacket potato.

You need to make up a onion mix for the dish, it is very simple and makes the dish taste great. Don't worry about the amount of onion in it as you can't taste it in the end.

Ingredients

1 large onion sliced
8oz cremini mushrooms sliced
2 carrots roughly chopped
2lb braising steak all fat removed
300 ml beef stock
500 ml passata
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp italian seasoning

Onion Mix

8 tsp dried onion flakes
1.5 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp celery salt
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp sweetener
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

Mix them all together.

Method

In a slow cooker, layer the onion, carrot and mushrooms on the bottom, lay the beef on top, sprinkle over the onion mix and pour over the passata and beef stock, mix in the tomato puree and Italian seasoning. Set to cook on low for 8 hrs. Break up the beef and serve covered with the sauce.

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.

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!

Salsa Chicken with the Works

Craving nachos, Tex Mex or something spicy then this is the dish for you!
This dish takes a long time to cook but is so easy to prepare. Just stick it in your slow cooker in the morning and your meal is ready when you get home from work or play!

Depending on what salsa you use in this dish, makes a difference on the syns per portion.


Serves 6

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 oz mushrooms sliced
2 red peppers diced
1 cup of salsa, shop bought or homemade
1 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp fajita seasoning
8 spring onions chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp chilli flakes
1 cup basmati rice

Method

Lay the chicken breasts on the bottom of the slow cooker and sprinkle with the fajita seasoning, layer the rest of the ingredients on top of the chicken, pour over ½ cup water, stir it all together and set the slow cooker to 8 hours, an hour before the cooking ends stir in the rice.

I served the Salsa Chicken with coriander leaves, 30g grated cheddar cheese, sliced jalapenos, and instead of sour cream i made a coriander and lime fat free creme fraiche. Instead of having nachos i used crisp little gem leaves.

Slow Cooked Lamb Curry

If you have a lot of time and fancy doing some cooking with great results this dish is perfect, it will impress any curry lover and they won't believe it is so healthy!!

Syn free on extra easy!!


Serves 4

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

3 onions finely sliced
3 inches of fresh ginger peeled
3 garlic cloves
3 green chillies, deseeded if you like
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp cinnamon
4 cloves
3 cardamon pods
1 kg lamb neck fillet, all fat removed and sliced
5 tomatoes quartered
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
½ tsp garam masala
large handful of coriander leaves

Method

Blitz the ginger, chilli, and garlic in a blender.
Heat a large oven proof pan sprayed with frylight and fry the onions until golden, add the ginger, chilli, and garlic, and fry for 2 minutes.
Add all the spices except the garam masala, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves fry for 2 minutes, then add the lamb cook until the lamb is browned, gently stir in the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves, cover and bake for 2 hours, check that it hasn't gone too dry every 30 minutes, if it has add some water. When the lamb is tender, serve with rice and sprinkle with the coriander leaves and garam masala.

I also like to serve it with Mint Yogurt Sauce