Braised Red Cabbage

Serves 2-3

knob buter
1/2 red onion, finely chipped
1/2 red cabbage, roughly chopped
1/12 tbsp muscovado sugar
75ml balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp cranberry sauce

Soften onion in pan with a small amount of butter,


Tip in cabbage & saute until shiny ans well coated, add apple, sugar & vingear before reducing the heat to low and cooking for 30/40 minutes (covered & stiring occasionally)

Stir in cranberry sauce ans cook for a further 10/15 minutes.

Slimming World Vegetable Samosas

1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmaric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp madras curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp amchoor powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 onion, finely chopped
6 jus roll filo pastry sheets (each sheet cut into 6, 1 syn)
4 medium potatoes, peeled, cooked & mashed
110g frozen peas
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

Cook peas and set aside.  In a frying pan cook the curry powder, cumin, coriander, garlic salt, amchoor, turmeric, onion, potatoes & peas in some frylite.

Remove from the heat and add the red chilli & garam masala and set aside.

Heat over to 180 degrees C and line a baking tray with parchment.  Working wuickly, place 6 filo sheets on top of each other and cut in haf, then cut each half into 3 strips lengthways, giving you 36 pieces.

Lay out the pastry and spray with fry lite, place a spoonful of the mixture at the bottom of the strip and fold diagonally to enclose the ingredients and form a triangle, press down and fold again until you reach the end. Seal the ends with a dab of water.

Repeat until all the samosas are made and cook in the oven for 12-13 minutes until golden in colour.

Roasted Balsamic Sweet Potato

Recipe & Image taken from http://rufusguide.wordpress.com

¼ cup decent balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup butter

1 tsp salt

3-4 large sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into ¼” cubes

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large skillet bring vinegar and sugar to a boil. Reduce till sauce starts to thicken. Add butter and salt. Over medium heat mix till even. Place potatoes in pan and toss with sauce. Spread mixture into a baking pan and roast stirring occasionally till potatoes are slightly browned on edges, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

Artichoke Dip

Recipe & Image taken from http://www.joyfulabode.com

8 oz. Cream Cheese, warmed in the microwave for 2 minutes on 50% heat to soften it

1/3 cup sour cream 

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 cup of chopped spinach (either fresh, cooked, or frozen, thawed)

2 cans or jars of non-marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped

garlic salt

chili powder to taste

handful of shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix all ingredients in a baking dish, and sprinkle on a bit more mozzarella, then grill until the cheese is browned.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos

Recipe & Image taken from www.jamhands.net

3-4 medium sweet potatoes

1 can black beans, rinced

1/2 medium onion, dices and sauteed

spices to taste, cumin, minced garlic, salt & pepper

shredded montary jack cheese

spring onions, sliced

sour cream

flour tortillas

Cook sweet potatoes until soft using your prefereed method.  remove skins and mash until smooth.  season with salt.

In a food proicessor, combine the black beans, onions and spices.  Process until desired consistency.

Add all ingredients except sour cream to tortillas

Serve with sour cream

Dauphinoise Potatoes

Image taken from http://www.reallynicerecipes.com

1k potatoes
150ml semi skimmed milk
142ml double cream
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
pinch nutmeg
25g parmesan
40g cheddar
butter for greasing

Heat oven to 160 degrees c.

Line a casserole dish with grease proof paper and butter.

Peel and slice the potatoes about 3mm thick and set aside.

Pour the milk and cream into a pan with the garlic and heat until boiling point.  Cool slightly and remove garlic.

Layer half the potatoes into the dish and pour over half the cream mix.  Add the remaining potato and cream mix and then sprinkle with the cheese & nutmeg before baking for 1hr 30 or until cooked through.

Lemon & Mushroom Pilaf

Recipe & Image taken from www.bbecgoodfood.com

500ml vegetable stock

1 onion, sliced

300g mixed mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, crushed

200g mixed basmati rice & wild rice

zest and juice of 1 lemon

small bunch snipped chives

6 tablespoons soft cheese with garlic

Put 2 tablespoons of the stock in the non-stick pan and then cook the onions for 5 minutes untik softened.  Add a splash more stock if it starts to dry out.

Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.  Add the rice and lemon zest and juice, mixing well.  Pour in the remaining stock and seasoning before bringing to the boil/

Turn down heat, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the rice is tender.  Stir through half each of the chives and soft cheese and top with the rest.

Sweet Potato Falafels

Recipe & Image taken from www.bbcgoodfood.com

1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes (about 700g in total)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons ground coriander
juic 2 lemons
100g plain flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 wholemeal pitta breads
4 tablespoon reduced fat houmous
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 each white and red cabbage, shredded.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Microwave sweet potato whole for 8-10 mins until tender.

Leave to cool a little, then peel. Put the potato, cumin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and flour into a large bowl. Season, then mash until smooth.

Using a tablespoon, shape mix and into 20 balls. Put on an oiled baking sheet, bake for around 15 mins until the bases are golden brown, then flip over and bake for 15 mins more until brown all over.

Meanwhile, stir the vinegar and sugar together in a large bowl until the sugar has dissolved, toss through the onion, carrot and cabbage, then leave to marinate for 15 mins.

To serve, toast the pittas, then split.  Fill with the salad, a dollop of houmous and the falafels.

** To make slimming world friendly HEb will need to be used for any pittas**

Grilled Aubergine

Recipe & Image taken from http://www.mazamag.com

4 Servings

1 large eggplant
3 large tomatoes, to match the diameter of the eggplant
0.4 lbs feta, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
juice of half lemon
2 garlic cloves
½ extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut of the eggplant crosswise into ½” thick rounds. Lightly season them with salt and leave them for 30 minutes on a side to let water to come out of the eggplant.

Once ready drizzle some olive oil on top of each slice and grill them on a lightly oiled grill rack for 2 -3 minutes each side.

Blend the basil leaves with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in an immersion blender until smooth.

Cut the tomatoes crosswise to 1/4” thick rounds.

Lightly oil the baking pan. Arrange 4 eggplant rounds side by side. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the basil-garlic mixture on top of each one, then generously sprinkle feta crumbs.

Top each with tomato rings.

Add another layer of eggplant, basil spread, feta and tomato rounds and top with the rest of the crumbled feta.

Preheat the oven to 400F

.

Drizzle some olive oil on top of each stack and bake for 15 minutes.

Roasted Vegetables with Feta

Recipe & Image from http://www.slimmingeats.com

Serves 4

Extra Easy –  1 syn and 1 HEa per serving

2 large carrots, roughly chopped

2 large parsnips roughly chopped

1 large red onion, roughly chopped

2 fresh beets, (leaves removed, scrubbed and chopped)

mixed herbs

salt

2 teaspoons of olive oil (4 syns)

4x42g of Feta Cheese (4 HEa’s)

Preheat oven to 200c of 400f

Add all your vegetables to a large roasting dish

Sprinkle with mixed herbs and some salt

Drizzle over the top with the olive oil and roast in the oven until nice and caramelised.

Serve each portion topped with 42g of Feta Cheese (crumbled)

This is great as a side dish to many other recipes and is also great served on top of some pasta (for an Extra Easy or Green day)

Mexican Rice

Recipe & image taken from http://www.slimmingeats.com

Serves 2

Extra Easy – syn free per serving

3/4 cup (178ml) of long grain brown rice

1 cup (240ml) of passata

2 jalapeno peppers, (seeds removed)

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

2.5 cups (600ml) of chicken stock

Pam or Frylight spray

1 cup (240mls) of tinned black beans

Add passata, tomato paste, jalapeno’s, onion and garlic to a mini food processor and do a couple of whizzes of the blade.

Spray a large sauce pan over a medium high heat with some Frylight or Pam spray and add this to the pan, frying for approx 5 mins until softened.

Stir in the rice and add the stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer until stock is almost absorbed. Remove heat, but leave covered for about 10 mins, the rice will continue to cook from the steam.

Preheat oven to 180c or 350f (gas mark 4)

Mix black beans into rice and add to an oven proof dish and bake for approx 15 mins.

Serve topped with fresh chopped coriander and some lime wedges.

Roasted vegetable and bean salad

Photo from taste.com.au

1 red pepper, thickly sliced
1 yellow pepper, thickly sliced
2 courgettes, cut diagonally into 1cm slices
100g button mushrooms, halved
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g cherry tomatoes
200g green beans, trimmed
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.  Place peppers, courgette, mushroom and onion in a large baking dish.  Combine oil, vinegar & garlic in a bowl.  Drizzle over the vegetables and toss to coat.

Roast for 20 minutes.  Add tomatoes and roast for 15 further minutes until vegetables are tender and tomatoes and starting to collapse

Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil, cook beans for 3 minutes or until tender.  Drain the beans and refresh in a bowl of iced water before patting fry with a paper towel.

Add beans to vegetable mixture, toss to combine and sprinkle with pine nuts.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.