canape and lunch fillings

These fillings you can serve with lettuce leaves, with crudites or crisps or in my pastry cases that i just uploaded.

Prawn filling: mexican inspired- 1/2 cup freshly cooked king prawns roughly chopped, juice of half a lime, 1tbsp freshly chopped coriander, 1 tsp sweet chilli sauce, 1/4 tsp garlic paste, 1 finely chopped spring onion. combine together :)

prawn #2: prawn cocktail filling- 1/2 cup freshly cooked prawns roughly chopped, 1 tbsp tomato sauce (1 syns), 1tbsp 0%fat yoghurt, salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1tsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp garlic paste, 2tbsp small diced cucumber, the finely diced green part of a spring onion. combine altogether!

curried chicken: half a cup f leftover cooked chicken, 1 tsp mild curry powder, 1 tbsp mango chutney (2  syns), salt, pepper, freshly finely chopped coriander (1 tbsp), 3 tbsp 0% fat greek yoghurt, handful finely chopped chives.
Combine the herbs, spices, mango chutney and yoghurt, stir thoroughly then add in the chicken, done!

Easy family pasta/spaghetti Bolognese

So anyone that knows me, knows that i am OBSESSED with pasta, which is good because on slimming world the majority of pasta is syn free :D
Here is my family favourite of spaghetti bolognese, very filling, very easy. if you haven't got a food processor you could just grate the majority of these vegetables. If you want to make this meat free just replace the beef mince with quorn.
If you dont have much time, just fry off your mince grate your veg and bung it all in your slow cooker!

serves 6 people generously (good to take to work though)
500g pasta/spaghetti of your choice.
500g extra lean beef mince (or leftover beef or lamb from a roast)
2 large carrots
2 red onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 small aubergine
1 medium courgette
(you can always add mushrooms too!)
2 tins of tomatoes
1 large broccoli head. (cook this with your pasta, optional)
1 tsp garlic italian by schwartz
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1 tsp oregano
fry light
2 tbsp tomato puree
Get your trusty food processor out, set it up to grate.  peel and chop your onion in small dice.
It a large pan start browning your mince until it gets crispy.
while your mince is cooking grate all your veggies  (other than the onion)
Once your mince is brown add all your veggies in and cook until they start to soften, add your tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, pepper, herbs and half a tin of water.
cook for 20 minutes.
after the 20 minutes is up cook your pasta according to instructions (but cook for 2 minutes less and save some of the pasta water)
Drain, add back to the pot you were cooking it in and stir through your mince.
if you are cooking this in the slow cooker just add the pasta to the slow cooker and stir through,.
Done!
i hope you enjoy this dish. :)

Pad see ew (stir fried noodles thai)

So without a doubt one of my favourite thai dishes (because its so easy and tasty) is pad see ew (which is literally translated as fried noodle soy sauce!)
(makes delicious leftovers to bang into the microwave at work!)

If you cannot find these thick rice noodles (you can buy them online at asian grocery stores) just substitute for  tagliatele noodles but cook AL DENTE if the packet says cook for 7-9 minutes, cook for 6 minutes.. how long you cook your noodles for is CRUCIAL for this dish to be delicious!
(no specific serving size, serves one large or 2 small really and is easy to double)
200g thick rice noodles OR 200g of tagliatelle pasta. (cooked to packet instructions just remember to leave off about 3-4 minutes)
3 boneless skinless chicken thigh cut into thin strips (or you can use quorn substitute! maybe 2-3 handfuls?)
1 large white onion sliced into semi circles about 1-2 cm thick
Now here is where i cheat, traditionally the thai use a vegetable called kai-lan, luckily it is very similar to spring greens! use 4-5 leaves of spring greens (take the hard part out of the middle and slice the middle thinly and the leaves into chunks). alternatively you can add fresh green beans and bok choi if you can get it.
2tbsp soy sauce
1tsp oyster sauce (mix all 3 together)
2tbsp water
2 minced or crushed garlic cloves
about 1/2 tsp of fresh cracked black pepper.
Get a pan nice and hot using coconut fry light (adds a beautiful fragrance, if not any frylight of choice)
add the chicken and let it sit for 30 seconds then flip it over and add the hard parts of the greens, let it cook for 30 seconds.
Add the onion and garlic, give the pan a toss and let it sit on the heat for a minute (the key to this dish is a little charring)
Toss and add the leaves of the greens, put the noodles ontop and let it sit for another 30 seconds.
Make sure you mix the ingredients through the noodles really well then add the sauce and coat the noodles.
Let it sit in the pan for 2 minutes until you hear crackling, stir it again or flip it over and let the other side char for 2-3 minutes.
remove from the heat, serve and sprinkle with black pepper and some of my delicious garlic greens which will be my next recipe!!

i hope you give the recipe a try, if making for a whole family only put the black pepper on the adults dishes so it is then still suitable for children. (my sister likes hers with sweet chilli sauce as the sweetness helps to counteract the saltiness of the soy)

:)

Syn free scotch eggs

You really do not miss the bread crumbs here. Now if you want to make mini scotch eggs i would suggest mashing up the egg and mixing with the smallest amount of extra light mayo, at which point you would get a tablespoon of mince, flatten it out, put a little of your egg mixture inside then conceal it inside the meat and roll into the ball ready to bake.
Here are the large versions!

6 medium eggs (boiled to your liking, just remember they are going to bake in the oven! another tip is to add 1/2 tsp bicarb to the water, it makes the eggs easier to peel)
500g extra lean pork mince
1tsp dried sage
generous amount of salt and black pepper
3tbsp water (yes, my water trick again)

Pre heat the oven to 170oC
peel your eggs
mix the mince with the water thoroughly so it absorbs the water and becomes smooth.
mix in the sage, salt and pepper (a good half tsp of each!)
cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
 get a bowl of water to help you wet your hands to mold the scotch eggs.
seperate the meat into 6 and one at a time take 1/6 of the meat, flatten it on your hand, place the egg in the middle and wrap the meat around it, place it onto a lined baking tray and repeat with the rest of the eggs and mixture.
bake for 7 minutes then turn over to cook for another 7 minutes.
these will last for 3 days in your fridge.

Enjoy :)