Wednesday 26 January 2011

Day 27 - Chickpea Soup

Potatoes, peeled and diced fairly smallish
Red pepper, diced
Onion, sliced
Garlic, minced
Passata
Courgette
Chickpeas (canned or cooked)
Vegetable stock (I used Marigold Bouillion)
Nigella (black onion seed)

And then, mixed in a big teacup with water to make a paste, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, pinch of nutmeg, 1 tsp ginger, half a tsp cinnamon, half a tsp paprika, 1 tsp garam masala, a pinch of turmeric, salt and black pepper.

Prepare the potatoes, courgettes, pepper and chickpeas and put them into your slow cooker. In a frying pan, brown the onions and garlic, before adding the spice paste and allowing to cook through gently. Then add the passata and the onion seed, mixing it together thoroughly before pouring it into the slow cooker over the vegetables and chickpeas. Finally, top it up with vegetable stock, give it all a stir and then leave it to cook overnight. I did mine on high as I get up so early but you know your slow cooker best, adjust it to suit.

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Day 26 - Pasta with ragout, again

Well, there's not a lot to say for this day either except that it was very lovely and as a variation we added a splodge of Quark...the recipe is the same as we made here :)

Monday 24 January 2011

Day 25 - Gill's Night Off!

We went to see Black Swan and ended up eating at the Village Cafe in town, so no cooking for me today! (Noodle soup, if you're interested, was what I had).

Sunday 23 January 2011

Day 24 - Slow cooker chicken and butter bean casserole

Today we had our first day off together in about a fortnight and rather than spend it chained to the cooker I decided to rework this recipe that we made a couple of weeks ago, making it in the slow cooker so we could go out and look at suits for Chris for the wedding.

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Chicken thighs - skinless, boneless, and trimmed of all the snorgly bits
Lean bacon, trimmed and fat removed
1 lemon
Onion
Celery
Red peppers
Courgettes
Garlic
Smoked paprika - I used hot rather than sweet today
Pinch of saffron threads
Hot chicken stock - made with a cube is fine for this
Chopped tomatoes
Black pepper
Butter beans

Chop your pepper and courgettes and put them, along with the butter beans, into the bottom of your slow cooker.

In a pan, brown the chicken and bacon thoroughly together, adding the onion, celery and garlic and allowing them to soften. Transfer them to your slow cooker, sitting them on top of the veg. Chop the lemon up and put it in too.

In a big jug mix the tomatoes, stock, paprika and saffron together and then pour it over the chicken, veg and beans. Season with black pepper, stick the lid on and leave it to cook on slow. It's not going anywhere :)

We had it with some broccoli.

Saturday 22 January 2011

Day 23 - The Fastest Chili In The West

Today I spent more or less the whole day with my friend who just lost her father, and then went to see my parents who live nearby. With the husband type safely at work with his tasty packed lunch I was rather bereft when I got home, however there was turkey breast mince defrosted so I made a ginormous bowl of barbecuetastic comfort food. It's not classy but it tasted good.

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free
Turkey breast mince
2 trimmed slices of bacon, all fat removed
Pepper
Courgette
Onion
Garlic
Celery
Canned tomatoes
Small can of refried beans
And then my secret weapon: a sachet of Smoky Barbecue Fajita Seasoning. Muahaha.

Serve it with brown rice if you're starving.

So. Stick the rice on. It's brown rice, it'll take about half an hour. You can do the rest in half an hour. Just chop fast.

Brown the turkey and bacon in your pan in some low fat cooking spray. Add the onion, celery and garlic, keeping the heat high but keeping an eye on it. While they are softening, finely chop your pepper and courgette and then sling them in, too. Keep an eye on it, you don't want it to burn. When everything is looking soft, and that won't take long if you've chopped it small, add the tomatoes and barbecue seasoning. The refried beans go in right at the end as they only need to heat through.

I recommend scooping it all into an enormous bowl, making a big glass of squash and eating it with a spoon while you slump on the sofa and watch Ace of Cakes. Ah Geof Manthorne, be still my heart, and thank God you will never see me devouring a huge bowl of turkey chili like I've been starved. Haha.

Friday 21 January 2011

Day 22 - The Pasta Salad of Misery

You know...I barely know why I am posting this except that I said that I would put everything I eat on here. This was a combination of bare cupboards, extreme hunger, and having too much other stuff to do.

Today
Extra Easy, all food free

Tuna
Pasta (preferably wholegrain)
Cucumber
Salad leaves (whatever you've got)
Baby plum tomatoes
Sliced sweet onions
Sliced beetroot (yes, from a jar)

Er...cook the pasta. Open the tuna. Put everything in a bowl and stir. Eat, wishing you'd had the forethought to put soup in the slow cooker, but being silently determined not to crack and go to the chippy. Wedding dress, honeymoon! Wedding dress, honeymoon! *sigh*

Thursday 20 January 2011

Day 21 - Cottage pie!

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free - except for MINIMAL Syns for a spoonful of wholegrain mustard.

Extra lean ground beef
Optional couple of slices of bacon with all fat trimmed and removed
Carrots, sliced thin
Mushrooms
Onion
Kallo beef stock cube OR Marmite
Black pepper

Potatoes!
Wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper

Oh man....okay it's a cottage pie. Boil the potatoes, drain, and mash, seasoning and adding the mustard. Lovely.

Make the filling by browning the bacon and beef in low fat cooking spray, and add the onions, cooking until soft and golden, along with the Marmite or stock cube. Finally, pop the carrot and mushrooms in; add a bit of water so it all stays moist and doesn't stick. When it's done, just pile it into the bottom of your oven dish and put the mash on top. Do it like my nan and rake it about with a fork so it's all rough and goes crispy in the oven.

This will go happily into the fridge or even into the freezer til you're ready for it; it needs about 45 minutes from chilled in the middle of the oven at around 190 degrees, or until a knife poked into the middle and held against your bottom lip is piping hot.

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Day 19 - Harissa chicken with roasted chickpeas

This is not particularly spicy-hot, but it's interestingly chewy and tasty and warming. The chicken and the roasted chickpeas and cauliflower give a lovely contrast with the soft, slippery, tomato-and-pepper sauce. Yum!

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Chicken - either diced breast, or thigh, as long as it's skinless/boneless, and well trimmed
Onion
Garlic
Pepper - red, yellow, or orange, or all three
Harissa
Can/carton of chopped tomatoes
1 chicken stock cube, or a spoonful of chicken bouillon concentrate

For roasting:
Cauliflower, in small florets
Canned chickpeas, drained and blotted dry
Sea salt
Ground cumin and coriander

To serve: cous cous or brown rice (I like the cous cous better, and it's quicker)

To start: put the broken up cauliflower and drained chickpeas in a large roasting tin, spray with low-fat cooking spray, and sprinkle liberally with the ground spices and salt. Turn to coat well and roast in the middle of the oven at 180 degrees, turning regularly, for about 40 minutes or so. It's going to catch and go chewy. It's all good! When it's done just turn off the oven and leave the pan in there til you're ready. Move it to the bottom though.

Meanwhile, in a pan, brown the chicken in low fat cooking spray, adding the chicken stock cube/bouillon, garlic, sliced onion and peppers, and turning gently. Let it cook slowly together until it's really melty and soft, and then add as much harissa as you want, and a carton of chopped tomatoes. Let that cook down gently together until it's bubbly and thick, and turn off the heat. Make up your cous cous in a large bowl, and while that's soaking turn the roasted chewy cauliflower and chickpeas into the tomato sauce. Serve them over the cous cous and enjoy!

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Day 19 - Chinese 5-Spice Pork and Sprouts

...yes, sprouts. Not BEANsprouts. Sprouts. You know, the Brussels kind. The Christmas ones.

I love sprouts with a passion; Chris, before I made them with bacon and chestnuts (yeah...that'll be where my festive belly came from!) for Christmas last year, was not a fan. As we all know, if you say you don't like something then it's game on as far as I'm concerned...ha! Anyway, inspiration struck in ASDA whilst shopping as I realised I'd got some pork leg steaks in the freezer to be used up and there were readily available sprouts for the asking. *rubs hands together*

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Pork leg steaks, trimmed and all fat removed
Leeks, sliced thinly
Garlic
Grated carrot
Courgette, diced very fine
SPROUTS
Chinese Five-Spice
Dark soy sauce
Pork stock cube
Boiling water

Brown rice to serve

To begin with, blanch your sprouts. Drain and set aside.

Spray your pan with low fat cooking spray and brown off your finely diced pork, before adding the leeks, garlic and grated carrot. Sweat down gently until it's all soft and golden and add the courgette. Pop the soy sauce, five spice, pork stock cube and water in, cover and leave to bubble.

Cook some rice!

Add the quartered sprouts into the vegetable and pork mix right as the rice is about to finish cooking, and serve with great amusement as your husband type proclaims that "sprouts don't taste of farts! Sprouts taste of nutty!" *facepalm*

Monday 17 January 2011

Day 18 - Lamb curry with yellow lentils and spinach

This is a medium-hot curry (well, the way I've made it, anyway); serve with brown rice if you're starving. Heh.

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Lamb leg steak, trimmed, all fat removed
Onion
Garlic
Ginger (copious amounts of all three)

In your biggest teacup, mix 1 tsp medium curry powder, 1 tsp ASDA tandoori blend (I know, I know, just do it), 3/4 tsp cumin, half a tsp turmeric, shake of asafoetida, shake of fenugreek, and add water to make a paste.

Tomato puree
1 carton of tomatoes
Mushrooms
Courgette
Pepper
Yellow lentils
Spinach

RIGHT then. As always start with the meat, browning thoroughly in low fat cooking spray. Add the onion, and minced garlic and ginger and stir gently until golden brown, and then add the spice paste, cooking it through gently. Add the tomato puree and stir to mix well and then add the mushrooms, pepper and courgette, Turn it all round thoroughly together and pop the lid on to let it all cook down.

After a few minutes add the tomatoes, and a shake of black onion seed if you've got it (this is pretty optional). Leave it for another few minutes and then add your lentils and some water for them to cook in. Finally, add spinach, wilt it in and serve. Yum!

Sunday 16 January 2011

BY THE WAY...I forgot my weightloss this week!

I lost another 4lb, so that takes me just over half a stone in two weeks. So far...so good. *shovels in dinner*

Day 17 - Beef ragout with pasta

Yeah yeah...if you were round my house I'd be calling it spag bog. Anyway, you know what it is, I'm just afraid of the Authentic Italian Food Police!! ;)

Ellie this one's for you, it's the slow cooker version I was making when I saw you earlier. Although as usual I forgot to take a photo. It's spag bog though, you know what it's supposed to look like!!

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Extra lean beef mince - make sure it is the extra lean stuff!
Couple of slices of smoked bacon (optional) - trimmed, all fat removed
Onion
Garlic (as much as you care for)
Courgette (or two)
Green pepper
MUSHROOMS - don't care what sort, as long as they're tasty!
Can of tomatoes (400g)
Splodge of tomato puree
Kallo beef stock cube
Nutmeg
Teeny splish of balsamic vinegar
Black pepper

Oregano, sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, parsley - or, alternatively, just use mixed herbs. No REALLY. I'm not being snobby about this, cook it for long enough in the slow cooker and it becomes a thing of MAGIC.

Begin by browning the bacon in some low cal frying spray. Add the beef, shredding it up well with your fingers; no chunks please! When it's starting to look foxy, add the nutmeg, balsamic vinegar, black pepper and stock cube, mooshing it up with the juices from the meat and stirring it in well. While that's doing, slice up your onions and crush the garlic, and add it to the pan. Stir it well and let everything brown and be golden.

While that's happening, chop your courgettes, mushrooms and pepper, and pop them in the bottom of your slow cooker. Give them a turn about so they're mixed up a bit. How is the beef/onion mix looking? Add the canned tomatoes, tomato puree and herbs; the main one should be oregano, with basil and parsley coming next, and then a pinch of all the others. Seriously, if you haven't got them...stick mixed herbs in and while you're out at work grab some oregano to pop in at the end. All will be well. Right. If it's heated through, pour it all into the slow cooker pot, stir it through gently and stick the lid on. You can cook this on low for pretty much as long as you want to, if I'm honest.

Serve it with some wholegrain pasta and salad.

Saturday 15 January 2011

Day 16 - Chicken with puy lentils and rocket salad

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Chicken thighs, skinless, boneless, trimmed and all fat removed
Bacon, trimmed and all fat removed
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Garlic
Courgettes
Mushrooms
Yellow pepper

Bay leaves
Thyme
Rosemary

Puy lentils
Chicken stock
Black pepper, to taste

To serve - either make a salad with rocket, cucumber, tomato, etc, or - as we are going to - sprinkle the rocket over as you dish up and eat it with.

Brown off the chicken and bacon in low-cal cooking spray, and add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic and bay leaves. Allow to cook through until softened and golden, and then add the mushrooms, courgette and peppers. Allow to soften slightly before adding the rosemary, thyme and black pepper. When everything is as you want it, add puy lentils and enough chicken stock to cook them through, turn down to a simmer, and cover. Serve when the lentils are cooked through and tender, as above!

Friday 14 January 2011

Day 15 - Jollof rice a la Leno

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Lean chicken, diced, skinless
Butternut squash, peeled, diced, roasted with a bit of salt and spray oil
Red pepper, diced
Fine green beans. sliced into 1-2cm lengths
Courgette, chopped
Onion, diced finely
4-5 cloves of garlic
big squeeze of tomato puree
1 400g can of chopped tomatoes in juice
3 tbsp jollof seasoning
Rice - and although we usually use brown rice, it's REALLY hard to get it to cook using the absorption method unless you're really...reaaaaaaaaaaaally patient, so just use regular
Chicken stock (made with a cube is fine provided it's a nice cube!)

First begin by setting your oven to the highest it'll go and putting the oven shelf up near the top. Then, peel, deseed and dice your squash. Dice it quite small; you want it to be bite size and I personally like it to be a bit charred and chewy but I appreciate that's not everyone's taste! Put it in a roasting tray with some spray oil and a good sprinkle of salt. When the oven gets up to speed it needs to go in for 10-minute intervals, turning it at every ten, for about 20-30 minutes til it's as done as you like it. When it's done it can be put to one side if you're not ready with everything else.

While that's doing get the rest of the dish ready. Start with the diced chicken - get that browning thoroughly and while that's happening, get your onion chopped, your garlic crushed, your pepper and courgette diced and your beans cut up. When the chicken's browned add the onions and garlic, get them softened and caramelised a bit, and then add the other vegetables and the jollof seasoning. Give it a few minutes with the lid on for everything to soften, then add the tomato puree, the chicken stock and the canned tomatoes (and your squash if it's ready out of the oven).

When everything is looking like it's starting to come down, add the rice and water, stir well, cover it, turn it right down and go and have a sit down for ten minutes. After that it's just a case of regularly checking and stirring to make sure it's not all sticking and you're away really.

Serve it with a big side salad and I defy you to be hungry for another three days afterwards

Thursday 13 January 2011

Day 14 - Chili

I have about fifteen recipes for chili on here (or something ridiculous) but this is specific to what's in the cupboards today as Chris is cooking it while I'm at work.

Anyway...

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Extra lean beef mince (pack in fridge)
1 large onion
1 stick celery
4 cloves of garlic
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Beef OXO cube
Courgettes (in fridge, left hand drawer)
1 red pepper and the huge red and green one in the back of the fridge
1 carton chopped tomatoes
1 carton black beans
1 can of kidney beans (if there are none, use pinto)
Squirt of tomato puree
teaspoon chile ancho
half teaspoon chile chipotle
teaspoon cumin
teaspoon mexican oregano (in tin from Cool Chile)
Teeny shake of smoked paprika (in screw-top jar from my mom's)

Brown the beef thoroughly using some low-fat cooking spray, adding a shake of cinnamon and the OXO cube. When it's thoroughly browned add the onion, celery and garlic and cook til golden and softened. Then add the chopped peppers and courgettes, cover and allow to sweat down. Finally add the tomatoes, tomato puree, spices and oregano, turn to simmer and allow to bubble for about half an hour before adding the drained beans, turning right down, covering and leaving to think about its actions.

Hope that's okay.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Day 13 - Chicken and mushroom risotto with thyme and tarragon

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Diced chicken breast
1 large onion, diced fine
4-5 sticks celery, diced fine
1 green pepper, diced fine
2 courgettes, diced fine
Mushrooms, sliced - whatever sort you like, but make them tasty!
dash of balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic
thyme
tarragon
black pepper
risotto rice
chicken stock

Spray your pan with low fat cooking spray and brown off the chicken - I mean REALLY brown it off, you want it tasty and golden and crusty. Add the splash of balsamic vinegar and turn it thoroughly so it's coated, and let it cook down til it's sweet and soft. Then add the celery, onion and garlic, stick the lid on and let it all sweat down. When that's golden and soft, add the peppers and courgettes and the tarragon and black pepper. Again, put the lid on and let it cook down and soften. Finally, add the mushrooms and thyme. When they've had a few minutes, add the rice and turn it to let it soften while you get the stock ready; then, I'm afraid, I was tired so I just added the stock in one go, stirred it well and left it to its own devices. I know that's not the rules but it came out fine. Just pour over enough hot stock to barely cover everything and keep an eye on it.

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Day 12 - Baked chicken with root mash and garlicky greens

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Chicken thighs, skinless, boneless, trimmed of all fat and snorgly bits
Back bacon, trimmed

Whatever root veg you've got - we had
1 big carrot
2 small parsnips
1 huge potato
half a celeriac
2 cloves of garlic
Marigold vegetable bouillion powder
Quark (optional)

Sprouts
a big leek
garlic

Salt, pepper to taste

This is very easy. Trim the chicken and wrap the bacon round it. Arrrange on baking tray, preferably one with a rack in it to let the juices drain away, and bake in the oven - this will take about 40-45 minutes at about 200.

For the mash:
Peel everything and stick it all in a pan. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil, and when it's tender drain it all and mash together with a sprinkled teaspoon of powdered Marigold and a heaped tbsp of Quark. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the greens:
Slice the sprouts and leeks thinly, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Drain, spray with cooking spray, and add about 2 cloves of garlic, or however you like, and salt and black pepper. Stir fry briefly to soften the garlic.

Serve together. The leftovers will make cracking bubble and squeak tomorrow with a crispy fried egg ;)

Monday 10 January 2011

Day 11 - Sweet and spicy chipotle pork with rice and beans (and chili veg)

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free - except for 1 tbsp honey, 2.5 Syns for whole dish.

1 pork tenderloin, cut into thick medallions
1 tsp Discovery chipotle paste
1 tbsp runny honey
200ml pork stock made with a Knorr pork cube

1 big onion
2 sticks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
2-3 courgettes (depending on size)
1-2 red/yellow peppers (depending on size)
1 can of chopped tomatoes
squirt of tomato puree
half tsp cumin
tsp chile ancho
quarter tsp chile chipotle
half tsp smoked paprika

To serve: brown rice (boiled, plain)
Refried beans

Pork first! In a large, non-stick pan sprayed with low-cal cooking spray, brown the pork tenderloins, then remove to a small pyrex dish and pour over the combined honey, chipotle paste and pork stock. Set aside.

In the same pan, soften the onion, garlic and celery til golden, and add the rest of the vegetables and spices. Cover and cook til jammy and thick. When that's looking good, turn it right the way down, and put the oven to 200 degrees.

For the last twenty minutes, boil the brown rice, heat the refried beans through, and bake the pork in the oven in its spicy sweet baste, turning occasionally.

Sunday 9 January 2011

Day 10 - Chicken and potato with saffron and lemon

On Friday night, Chris's mom made a delicious one-pot dinner with chicken thighs, potato and pepper, amongst other things, and it was so good I swiped the recipe and am now making a slight variation on it as we speak.

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free
Chicken thighs - skinless, boneless, and trimmed of all the snorgly bits
Lean bacon, trimmed and fat removed
Small potatoes - I'm using Vivaldi, halved
1 lemon
1 big onion
4 sticks of celery
2 big red peppers
2 big courgettes
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
pinch of saffron threads
hot chicken stock - made with a cube is fine for this
can of chopped tomatoes
black pepper
slug of hot sauce (if you like)

I would have liked to put some olives in this, but a: I didn't have any and b: those aren't free, so be careful how many you put in. ANYWAY.

Into the pot go the cut-up bacon and chicken to brown, followed by the onion, garlic and celery. Let it all cook in together and then add everything else, turn it right down and leave it to bubble gently until everything is cooked down.

This would also be nice with butter beans if you're not keen on taters, or both if you wanted some different textures. If you're not on Slimming World and can eat bread, that would go really well with it; if you want something extra or to make this go further (this makes a big potful, your portions are up to you), some broccoli goes well.

Days 8 and 9, and the first weigh-in

So, no posts for days 8 or 9 as we went to visit C's family and I didn't cook! However, huge thanks to my lovely m-i-l for helping me stick faithfully to the food optimising all weekend, even going so far as to dry roast some potatoes and parsnips for me when everyone else had a late Christmas roast last night!

In other news, I lost 4lb at my first weigh-in, after the first week on-plan, so I am quietly optimistic, because between you and me I ate my FACE OFF last week.

Right then! Back to normal programming.

Thursday 6 January 2011

Day 7 - Beef and Marmite Casserole

Today
Extra Easy, all food free
Lean back bacon, all fat trimmed and removed
Lean beef stewing steak, all fat trimmed and removed
1 large onion
3 sticks of celery
2-3 carrots (depending on size, I used two huge ones)
2-3 parnsips (same principle)
1 bulb of fennel
Thyme
Rosemary
Bay leaves
Black peppercorns (about 4-5)
3 small cloves garlic
Splash of Lea and Perrins, or - even better - Henderson's Relish
VERY heaped spoonful of Marmite
Splash of boiling water
Salt/black pepper to taste

Because the meat is so lean, you have to really watch it to make sure it doesn't burn and stick too much. So, I find it is easier, if you're not the fastest blade in the west, to prepare all your vegetables first. Slice the carrot/parsnip/fennel, and if you're doing it in the slow cooker (as I am), put them in the bottom. If you're doing the slow cooker version, sprinkle the thyme and rosemary, bay leaves and black peppercorns in with the vegetables and toss. (If you're not doing it in the slow cooker just pop them in a bowl until you need them.) Then, slice the onion and celery and crush the garlic, and put them to one side.

Now, the meat. Start with the bacon, in a large pan, sprayed with low-cal cooking spray. Once the bacon has started to cook and is releasing all its juiciness, add the beef and let it start to cook through. Hopefully lots of juices will come out of the meat; I poured them off into the slow cooker with the vegetables as I went along. When the meat is looking nice and brown, add the celery/onion/garlic to the meat pan, stir gently and put the lid on. This will encourage them to sweat down into the meat. Do keep an eye on them at this point.

When the celery/onion/garlic is looking softened and golden and the meat is browned, splash in some Henderson's or Lea and Perrin's (to taste, but even if you love it don't go overboard, because the Marmite's next). Put the lid back on and boil the kettle. When the kettle's boiled, add a big, gollopy spoonful of Marmite (and I do mean a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG one), pouring a splash of boiling water in to get it off the spoon and to help it dissolve so you can coat the meat and vegetables with it. I think I possibly added about a cupful in all but don't worry too much - just don't drown things.

When the Marmite is dissolved and everything is coated, decant the whole lot into your slow cooker, stick the lid on and stick it to high for an hour. There shouldn't be any need to add much liquid.

If you're not doing it in the slow cooker, at this point you should add all your prepared vegetables to the pan, along with another cup or two of water (slow cookers retain all the moisture so you always need less liquid). Don't sweat it if you put too much water in. That's what lentils are for. :)

That's it, really - leave it to cook long and slow, and enjoy with a baked potato, or some steamed broccoli/cauliflower...whatever you like!

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Day 6 - Christmassy tomato soup

Today is Chris's birthday so we are going out for dinner, however, here is what we had for lunch.

Extra Easy; all food free.
1 large onion, diced finely
3-4 sticks of celery, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carton of passata, plus about half a carton's worth of water (to get the last bits out)
A good slug of tomato puree
about 1 litre of Christmas turkey stock (strained and skimmed and clear)
Leftover roast Christmas turkey (frozen with the stock) - lean meat only, no skin etc
2 rashers of lean bacon, fat trimmed and removed
Black pepper
Parsley
Oregano
Basil
Pinch of sugar or PerfectSweet/Splenda
300g red lentils

Just brown the bacon, onions, celery and garlic in some low-cal cooking spray until golden, and then add everything to the slow cooker. Stir. Switch on slow cooker. Voila! When you get home from shopping...soup.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Day 5 - Retro-fabulous crab and noodle soup

This was our lunch, improvised after a very hungry-making trip into town round the sales. On the Slimming World website there was a recipe for a crabstick and noodle salad which looked kind of retro-cool (we've been watching a lot of the Supersizers, perhaps that's why) - but it's FREEZING today, so it became noodle soup instead.

Before anyone gives me the Eyebrow, I KNOW crabsticks are not, ordinarily, the way forward. But for something pink, perfectly rectangular and suspiciously non-fishy, they come out pretty well really.

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Medium egg noodles
Crabsticks, shredded
Sliced veg - we had mushrooms, peppers, a courgette, and a couple of leeks
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Shake of Chinese 5-Spice
Black pepper
Glog of soy sauce
Wonton Soup Base Mix (we like Shanggie)
Spring onions, sliced, to serve

Stick all the vegetables except for the spring onions in the pan with some cooking spray and stick the lid on to allow them to cook through and soften. Then, add about 1.5 litres of boiling water, the 5-Spice, soy sauce and Wonton Soup Base Mix, bring it up to the bubble and drop in the noodles and crabsticks.

Give it 3-4 minutes for the noodles to cook and then chop the spring onions into it. Ladle into buckets generous bowls and schlurrp.

Monday 3 January 2011

Day 4 - Potato salad

We had a slightly uninspired day today (well, as far as recipes go); tonight's dinner was a salad, a gammon steak and a warm potato salad.

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Small potatoes - we used Charlottes - in their jackets, scrubbed and halved
Spring onions
Quark
Salt and black pepper

Er...boil potatoes, drain, stir everything else in and eat. *cough* Bit of a boring recipe, haha.

Sunday 2 January 2011

Day 3 - Christmas Minestrone

Now, this was technically yesterday's lunch, but since we ate at my mom's today I don't have anything to include of my own. SO, here is yesterday's soup recipe.

Extra Easy, all foods free.

1 onion, sliced finely
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 big carrot, grated
Mushrooms, sliced fine
Pepper, sliced fine (whatever colour you like)
3-4 sticks of celery, sliced fine
Bacon, all fat trimmed and removed
A leek, if you've got one that needs eating (we did)
Cauliflower, broken into very small florets
Can of butter beans, drained
Carton of passata (about 450ml or so)
About 1 litre of stock - and this is Christmas minestrone because I used the stock from the turkey!
Pasta - any kind you like, I used the Fantasie pasta my parents brought for us from Italy

You then need a bit of oregano and basil and parsley - or if I'm honest a bit of mixed herbs would do if you hadn't got them
Black pepper and salt to season

All you do is chop your bacon up small and cook it in some low-fat cooking oil spray, letting it brown up a bit, and then add the onions and garlic, allowing them to soften. Follow with all the veg except for the cauliflower and pop the lid on to allow them all to cook down a bit.

Add the passata, the stock, and the cauliflower and heat it back up to bubbly; add the pasta, beans and spices and turn it down. When the pasta is cooked it's ready to go.

Also good in this are sliced shredded cabbage or spinach if you want to use them up!

Saturday 1 January 2011

Day 2 - Spicy pork with sweetcorn and squash

Today:
Extra Easy, all food free

Pork leg steaks, all fat trimmed and removed
2 sweetcorn...cobs? You know, one each.
1 butternut squash (whatever size is fine)
1 red/yellow/orange pepper
1 big onion
garlic (to taste)
1 can of tomatoes
1 big courgette (optional but I'd got one lurking)
1 carton of black beans, drained
tomato puree

Smoked paprika
Cumin
Chohula chipotle hot sauce, to taste
Salt/pepper

Brown rice, to serve (optional)

Very simple indeed...as always, get the squash roasting first; peel, deseed and chop and whack it in the oven until it's soft.

While that's doing, brown the pork (using low-calorie cooking spray), and add the onion and garlic to soften and cook through. Add the pepper and optional courgette and allow them to cook through and soften. Then it's in with the tomatoes, black beans and the sweetcorn, which you've cut off the cob and added in "loose", as well as the spices, and then get the lid on to let it all cook through.

Whatever you do, anyway - don't add the squash until a few minutes before you're going to serve, because it will all go to mush in the pot. Once it's roasted it only needs to heat through so don't fret.

Whether you eat this with a bit of rice or just as is, it's very filling and the textures are really ace - if you're going to slow-cook it, though, don't put the sweetcorn in til nearish to the end as you want it tender and crispy.