This is a blast from the past for me, I actually had it this Saturday night past when I wasn't feeling very well and my dad picked me up and took me to my parent's house (on request I might add...and I should also say that the husband type creature was on shift at the hospital, so it's not just that he's rubbish if I'm sick!! Haha!).
All you need to count for this is your chicken breast per person, so be generous and allow about 3 Points each. The sultanas are such a small amount I wouldn't worry but if you're really paranoid call it half a Point. This recipe feeds 4. Serve it with rice and salad.
Quoted verbatim from my mom's e-mail:
I used to cube the chicken breast and you need to fry this off first; now I leave them whole so everyone is sure to get their full share. Remove the chicken from pan and then fry off onions (as many as you like I used 4 or 5) 2 sticks of celery and garlic - I used 5 cloves with salt and black pepper till well soft. Put the chicken back in the pan and add a tin of chopped tomatos, a chicken oxo cube dissolved in a small amount of (about 100ml) water. I then use about 3 teaspoons of Schwartz or Asda mild curry powder and 1/4 tsp dried ginger and a good tablespoon tom puree and mix well in. Then chuck in a 250g tub of mushrooms (roughly sliced) and any other veg u like. I always put in carrots but I have to cook them first and then mash them you could grate them if you want and usually a courgette or a leek and yes the sultanas about 50g.
This doesn't need much cooking - about 20 - 30 minutes, but it's better left overnight for the flavours to blend.
And there we have it. Thank you mom! :)
NB I should just point out that when she says 'fry' she means 'saute whilst watching like a hawk so it doesn't stick and cremate because you're using spray oil'. :)
Monday, 18 October 2010
Smoky turkey and beans
This happened when Chris came home from the supermarket with a lovely lean turkey breast fillet and I realised we had more cans of pinto beans in the cupboard than two modestly hungry thirtysomethings could ever eat. This makes three portions - two to eat with rice, if you like, for dinner - and one to stick in a box for lunch tomorrow. Yum yum. 5.5 Points per portion (and just add however many you eat with the rice added).
Ellie, if you're reading this - I know you don't like smoky so don't make it smoky! Use unsmoked bacon and regular paprika.
1 lean turkey breast fillet (from ASDA - it was 340g)
4 rashers of (ASDA) smoked streaky bacon
2-3 wands of celery
2 cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of tomatoes in their juice (they don't have to be chopped in the tin but they need to be chopped in your pot! ;) )
2 big onions, finely sliced
Peppers, either green or red or - as I used - one of each, diced
1-2 courgettes, diced to your preference
Garlic, to taste (if it's our house, an obscene amount)
Big squirt of tomato puree
Bit of Marigold vegetable stock powder, or a chicken stock cube
Spanish smoked bittersweet paprika, to taste
Cayenne pepper, if you like it
Brown the chopped up bacon in the pan and add the turkey, sealing and browning well. Add the onion, garlic and celery and get it all soft and lovely and golden.
Stick the peppers and courgettes in and then pop the lid on and turn it down to halfway. It needs about 5-7 minutes for the vegetables to cook through and soften a bit. Then, add the tomato, tomato puree, paprika, cayenne pepper and stock, stir well, turn it down with the lid on and leave it as long as you can bear to. Enjoy!
Ellie, if you're reading this - I know you don't like smoky so don't make it smoky! Use unsmoked bacon and regular paprika.
1 lean turkey breast fillet (from ASDA - it was 340g)
4 rashers of (ASDA) smoked streaky bacon
2-3 wands of celery
2 cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of tomatoes in their juice (they don't have to be chopped in the tin but they need to be chopped in your pot! ;) )
2 big onions, finely sliced
Peppers, either green or red or - as I used - one of each, diced
1-2 courgettes, diced to your preference
Garlic, to taste (if it's our house, an obscene amount)
Big squirt of tomato puree
Bit of Marigold vegetable stock powder, or a chicken stock cube
Spanish smoked bittersweet paprika, to taste
Cayenne pepper, if you like it
Brown the chopped up bacon in the pan and add the turkey, sealing and browning well. Add the onion, garlic and celery and get it all soft and lovely and golden.
Stick the peppers and courgettes in and then pop the lid on and turn it down to halfway. It needs about 5-7 minutes for the vegetables to cook through and soften a bit. Then, add the tomato, tomato puree, paprika, cayenne pepper and stock, stir well, turn it down with the lid on and leave it as long as you can bear to. Enjoy!
Chicken, fennel and mushroom risotto
This, depending on how much chicken and rice you are hungry for, is around 7 or 8 Points; allowing 3 Points for a generous chicken breast each, and about 80g of rice (4 Points). If you're hungry have 100g, that's 5 Points worth. So, this comes in at 7-8 Points per person, which is good for a filling main meal. Serve it with a fresh rocket, red onion and balsamic vinegar salad on the side.
To serve two:
2 chicken breasts
risotto rice (as you like, see above)
Mushrooms - whatever sort you like but I like portabella and organic chestnut
Bulb of fennel, sliced thinly
3-4 wands of celery, sliced thinly
1 large onion, sliced thinly
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 green pepper, diced finely
1-2 courgettes, sliced finely or diced, however you'd like really
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Kallo organic stock cube (or your stock cube of choice, but I really like those)
And then:
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried tarragon
Black pepper, to season
This is so so easy.
Cube your chicken and brown it generously in a pan. As it's releasing its juices, melt the stock cube in and stir well to coat the chicken. Also add the white wine vinegar and allow it to cook in. Then, add the onion, garlic, fennel and celery, plus a splash (JUST a splash!) of water if it's looking really dry. Turn the heat down a bit and put the lid on. You're aiming for it all to be golden brown and slippery soft, but not burned and welded onto the pan, so do give it a shake/stir and keep an eye on it.
When it's looking good and ready, add the other veg along with the herbs and black pepper, turn it down to halfway, get the lid on and let the veg sweat down. When everything is cooked through add the rice and just enough water to barely cover it and leave it to cook through. Stir stir stir as it starts to suck all the water down and once the rice is done and it's at a consistency you like, enjoy!
To serve two:
2 chicken breasts
risotto rice (as you like, see above)
Mushrooms - whatever sort you like but I like portabella and organic chestnut
Bulb of fennel, sliced thinly
3-4 wands of celery, sliced thinly
1 large onion, sliced thinly
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 green pepper, diced finely
1-2 courgettes, sliced finely or diced, however you'd like really
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Kallo organic stock cube (or your stock cube of choice, but I really like those)
And then:
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried tarragon
Black pepper, to season
This is so so easy.
Cube your chicken and brown it generously in a pan. As it's releasing its juices, melt the stock cube in and stir well to coat the chicken. Also add the white wine vinegar and allow it to cook in. Then, add the onion, garlic, fennel and celery, plus a splash (JUST a splash!) of water if it's looking really dry. Turn the heat down a bit and put the lid on. You're aiming for it all to be golden brown and slippery soft, but not burned and welded onto the pan, so do give it a shake/stir and keep an eye on it.
When it's looking good and ready, add the other veg along with the herbs and black pepper, turn it down to halfway, get the lid on and let the veg sweat down. When everything is cooked through add the rice and just enough water to barely cover it and leave it to cook through. Stir stir stir as it starts to suck all the water down and once the rice is done and it's at a consistency you like, enjoy!
Garlicky root mash
I know, I KNOW you don't need a recipe for mash. Only...maybe you DO. This was inspired by a WW recipe which involved turnips and butternut squash, but I don't like turnips and I need the squash to make Chris's favourite curry (see previous post), so I improvised with what we had in the cupboard. All you need to point/count for this, if you're counting WW Points, is the potato. Everything else is free. Potato works out at 1 Point per 100g, so you do the maths. Just do the quantities as per how many people you've got, or how hungry you are. We were starving and this worked out at about 2 Points each (I mean we filled our BOOTS).
So.
To make a generous potful, you need:
400g peeled and diced potato
4-5 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 celeriac, peeled and diced
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped in half
Salt and black pepper
About 100-120ml vegetable stock (I used Marigold powdered vegetable bouillon)
Just sling all the veg into a pot with cold water and a pinch of salt, and bring it up to the boil, then simmer until they're tender at the tip of a knife. Drain them well and then mash in together with the vegetable stock and the black pepper. For the whole pot, it's 4 Points, and if you have plenty of other tasty 0-Point veg this would serve 3-4. Ace!
So.
To make a generous potful, you need:
400g peeled and diced potato
4-5 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 celeriac, peeled and diced
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped in half
Salt and black pepper
About 100-120ml vegetable stock (I used Marigold powdered vegetable bouillon)
Just sling all the veg into a pot with cold water and a pinch of salt, and bring it up to the boil, then simmer until they're tender at the tip of a knife. Drain them well and then mash in together with the vegetable stock and the black pepper. For the whole pot, it's 4 Points, and if you have plenty of other tasty 0-Point veg this would serve 3-4. Ace!
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Chris's favourite curry (for now, at least)
I made this a couple of weeks ago for Chris to heat up for himself during the day before he went off for the late shift. He doesn't like things as spicy as I do and I pretty well made this up as I went along. No claims for authenticity or any of that malarkey; it's just a nice, rounded, autumnal curry with no hard edges.
As always, quantities to be altered for however many are eating, but a standard portion consisting of one medium-large chicken breast, half a tin of chickpeas (drained) and a reasonable portion of boiled rice on the side (say, 70g) would set you back 8 Points per serving. All the veg etc are free, so that's a good way of working it out :)
So. For two people, one of which is a large, hairy, hungry man:
2 courgettes, diced
2 red peppers (or one humungous one, your call)
1 small-medium butternut squash
1 carton organic chickpeas (Sainsbury's; any you can get your hands on are good), drained
1 can/carton chopped tomatoes in juice
tomato puree
two onions, diced fine
Garlic - LOTS. About five cloves. We like garlic.
2 large chicken breasts, about 300g each
1 Kallo chicken stock cube
Then for spices -
2 tsp ASDA tandoori blend
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
5 cardamom pods (whole, fish em out at the end)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2tbsp black onion seeds
So, it is the usual drill - brown the chicken, onions and garlic while the squash gently roasts at about 200, peeled and cubed and sprinkled with salt and black pepper.
Once the squash is soft, just take it out of the oven and wait until you're more or less ready to serve. Don't stick it in the curry, it'll go soggy.
When the chicken/onions/garlic are lovely and brown, mix all the spices except the onion seeds in a cup with some water to make a loose paste, and add to the pan. Cook it through gently, adding a healthy squirt of tomato puree while it does so. When that's looking good, add the chopped pepper and courgette, cover and allow to cook through and soften. Finally add the tomatoes, the stock cube and the onion seeds. Leave it to cook down (this isn't a fast curry) for at least 20 minutes or so but preferably up to an hour on a low heat.
When you're ready to eat, cook some rice. While the rice is on, take the cover off the curry to let it come down a bit, and add the drained chickpeas and roasted squash. Delishos, even if I do say so myself. Particularly sexy with some salad, mango chutney and some extra browned onions on top, but I'm not preaching ;)
As always, quantities to be altered for however many are eating, but a standard portion consisting of one medium-large chicken breast, half a tin of chickpeas (drained) and a reasonable portion of boiled rice on the side (say, 70g) would set you back 8 Points per serving. All the veg etc are free, so that's a good way of working it out :)
So. For two people, one of which is a large, hairy, hungry man:
2 courgettes, diced
2 red peppers (or one humungous one, your call)
1 small-medium butternut squash
1 carton organic chickpeas (Sainsbury's; any you can get your hands on are good), drained
1 can/carton chopped tomatoes in juice
tomato puree
two onions, diced fine
Garlic - LOTS. About five cloves. We like garlic.
2 large chicken breasts, about 300g each
1 Kallo chicken stock cube
Then for spices -
2 tsp ASDA tandoori blend
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
5 cardamom pods (whole, fish em out at the end)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2tbsp black onion seeds
So, it is the usual drill - brown the chicken, onions and garlic while the squash gently roasts at about 200, peeled and cubed and sprinkled with salt and black pepper.
Once the squash is soft, just take it out of the oven and wait until you're more or less ready to serve. Don't stick it in the curry, it'll go soggy.
When the chicken/onions/garlic are lovely and brown, mix all the spices except the onion seeds in a cup with some water to make a loose paste, and add to the pan. Cook it through gently, adding a healthy squirt of tomato puree while it does so. When that's looking good, add the chopped pepper and courgette, cover and allow to cook through and soften. Finally add the tomatoes, the stock cube and the onion seeds. Leave it to cook down (this isn't a fast curry) for at least 20 minutes or so but preferably up to an hour on a low heat.
When you're ready to eat, cook some rice. While the rice is on, take the cover off the curry to let it come down a bit, and add the drained chickpeas and roasted squash. Delishos, even if I do say so myself. Particularly sexy with some salad, mango chutney and some extra browned onions on top, but I'm not preaching ;)
Friday, 24 September 2010
Pork and cider with lentils
I'm on a roll with the slow cooker. Don't mind me.
This will serve two hungry people generously (depending on how generous you are with your veg!) at around 9 Points each. If you put the apple in, bump it up to 9.5. That's not bad for a hearty main meal.
2 medium pork loin steaks
200g red lentils (dried)
500ml cider (one can)
And then in whatever quantity you please:
Onions
Leeks
COurgettes
Mushrooms
Green beans
Garlic (okay maybe not loads of garlic, it will smother everything)
Green and/or yellow peppers
Fine beans
You also need
1 pork stock cube (Knorr are good)
About a pint of water
Salt and black pepper
Sage and a bit of thyme
A bay leaf
If you're feeling frisky then a couple of apples would be good too - peeled, cored and sliced/chopped, or one big Bramley.
SO.
As ever, start by browning off the sliced pork loin steaks. I say sliced; I like mine chopped up into the stew but you can leave it whole if you prefer. When it's looking golden, or even a bit burned if you're feeling daring, add the onions, garlic and celery, and gently saute until everything is softened and slippery.
At this point add the rest of the veg, turn down to halfway, cover and leave to cook down for a few minutes, til everything is a little softened. Add your herbs and season well. Add your cider and bring it up to the boil briefly before turning it back down, and while that's doing make up your pint of pork stock with your cube and some boiling water, and either decant the stew plus the stock and the lentils into your slow cooker, or add the lentils and the stock to the pan. Either way all you're doing now is covering it and leaving it to do its work. In the slow cooker I'd say anywhere between 5 and 8 hours depending on what setting you put it on, and on the hob, depending on how high you leave the heat, give it up to about an hour or so.
This will serve two hungry people generously (depending on how generous you are with your veg!) at around 9 Points each. If you put the apple in, bump it up to 9.5. That's not bad for a hearty main meal.
2 medium pork loin steaks
200g red lentils (dried)
500ml cider (one can)
And then in whatever quantity you please:
Onions
Leeks
COurgettes
Mushrooms
Green beans
Garlic (okay maybe not loads of garlic, it will smother everything)
Green and/or yellow peppers
Fine beans
You also need
1 pork stock cube (Knorr are good)
About a pint of water
Salt and black pepper
Sage and a bit of thyme
A bay leaf
If you're feeling frisky then a couple of apples would be good too - peeled, cored and sliced/chopped, or one big Bramley.
SO.
As ever, start by browning off the sliced pork loin steaks. I say sliced; I like mine chopped up into the stew but you can leave it whole if you prefer. When it's looking golden, or even a bit burned if you're feeling daring, add the onions, garlic and celery, and gently saute until everything is softened and slippery.
At this point add the rest of the veg, turn down to halfway, cover and leave to cook down for a few minutes, til everything is a little softened. Add your herbs and season well. Add your cider and bring it up to the boil briefly before turning it back down, and while that's doing make up your pint of pork stock with your cube and some boiling water, and either decant the stew plus the stock and the lentils into your slow cooker, or add the lentils and the stock to the pan. Either way all you're doing now is covering it and leaving it to do its work. In the slow cooker I'd say anywhere between 5 and 8 hours depending on what setting you put it on, and on the hob, depending on how high you leave the heat, give it up to about an hour or so.
Beef stew
I have a real thing for a stew tonight after watching the lovely Hugh Fearlessly Eats-It-All on telly last night.
Here is my preliminary stew recipe, quantities to be adjusted after the first run.
4 rashers ASDA streaky bacon
400g lean stewing steak
400g potato (can you see a pattern here?!)
2-3 carrots
leeks (as many as you want)
3 parsnips
onion
1 clove of garlic
Beef OXO cube or some Marmite
Mushroom ketchup if you've got some
Balsamic vinegar if you've got some
Rosemary, perhaps?
A bay leaf, or two
Lots of good black pepper and salt
Water to cover
A bit of flour to dredge the meat in - we're not even going to count this, just go for a walk while the stew's simmering.
Other veg - well, you could add courgettes, or mushrooms, or whatever you like really.
This will serve 4 people at 5.5 Points per serving depending on how well you've bulked it up with 0 Point veg, or 3 people at 7 Points per serving.
You could serve it with rice or with bread, whatever really and depending on how big your servings are. At the outside if you were both REALLY hungry, I'm not going to criticise you for having a good old trough and just splitting it in half for about 10.5 Points a person. And that would not be unreasonable either :)
So - method; frazzle the bacon til the fat runs out. While that's doing stick some seasoned flour in a ziplock bag and then throw your beef in there. Shake it all about and then add it to the pan. When everything is looking good and crusty and brown, add your onions and celery and garlic (if you wanted to use any). Get it all good and soft and then add everything else, including whatever flavours you enjoy - that's really up to you. Bring it up briefly to the boil and then either put it in your slow cooker and wander off, or turn it down to a simmer and cover.
Just taste it for seasoning as completion (and dinnertime) nears. Fab. Well, this is what's going in the pot tonight; let's see shall we?
Here is my preliminary stew recipe, quantities to be adjusted after the first run.
4 rashers ASDA streaky bacon
400g lean stewing steak
400g potato (can you see a pattern here?!)
2-3 carrots
leeks (as many as you want)
3 parsnips
onion
1 clove of garlic
Beef OXO cube or some Marmite
Mushroom ketchup if you've got some
Balsamic vinegar if you've got some
Rosemary, perhaps?
A bay leaf, or two
Lots of good black pepper and salt
Water to cover
A bit of flour to dredge the meat in - we're not even going to count this, just go for a walk while the stew's simmering.
Other veg - well, you could add courgettes, or mushrooms, or whatever you like really.
This will serve 4 people at 5.5 Points per serving depending on how well you've bulked it up with 0 Point veg, or 3 people at 7 Points per serving.
You could serve it with rice or with bread, whatever really and depending on how big your servings are. At the outside if you were both REALLY hungry, I'm not going to criticise you for having a good old trough and just splitting it in half for about 10.5 Points a person. And that would not be unreasonable either :)
So - method; frazzle the bacon til the fat runs out. While that's doing stick some seasoned flour in a ziplock bag and then throw your beef in there. Shake it all about and then add it to the pan. When everything is looking good and crusty and brown, add your onions and celery and garlic (if you wanted to use any). Get it all good and soft and then add everything else, including whatever flavours you enjoy - that's really up to you. Bring it up briefly to the boil and then either put it in your slow cooker and wander off, or turn it down to a simmer and cover.
Just taste it for seasoning as completion (and dinnertime) nears. Fab. Well, this is what's going in the pot tonight; let's see shall we?
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