Croque Monsieur

Recipe & Image taken from www.savuryandsweet.com

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons plain flour

2 cups hot milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

pinch nutmeg

12oz gruyere cheese, grated

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

8 croissants

Dijon mustard 

8oz honey roast ham

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over a low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour, stirring with a wodden spoon for 2 minutes.

Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter mixture and cook, whisking continuously until the sauce is thickened.

Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere and the Parmesan and set aside.

Half the croissants, place the slices on two baking trays and bake for 4 minutes.  Turn each slice over and bake for a further 2 minutes.

Lightly brush half of each croissant with mustard, add slices of ham and 1/2 the remaining Gruyere.  Top with the other half of the croissant. 

Smother the croissants in the cheese sauce and sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere before baking for 5 minutes.  

Finally grill the croissants for 3-5 minutes until bubbling and browned.

Baked Potato Soup

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

2 russet potatoes, washed and dried

1 small head of cauliflower, stem removed cut into florets

1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth

1 1/2 cups 1% reduced-fat milk

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup light sour cream

10 tbsp reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese

6 tbsp chopped chives, divided

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (you can use turkey bacon if you prefer)

Pierce potatoes with a fork; microwave on high for 5 minutes turn over and microwave another 3 - 5 minutes, until tender. Or if you prefer to use your oven, bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes.

Meanwhile steam cauliflower with water in a large covered pot until tender. Drain and return to pot. On medium heat, add chicken broth, milk, potatoes and bring to a boil. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. 

Add sour cream, half the chives, salt and pepper and cook on low another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 tbsp cheese, remaining chives, and bacon.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

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

4 - 5 skinless chicken breasts

3 cups of shredded cheddar jack cheese

2-3 cups of panko bread crumbs

3 eggs & half a cup of water to make egg wash

salt & pepper

garlic salt 

parsley

Sauce

10 ounce container of Cambells cheddar cheese soup

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp of sour cream

1/2 cup of water

1 tbsp of parsley

Pound chicken breasts until they areabout 1/2 inch thick.  Sprinkle each breast with salt and pepper and garlic salt and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Set up your eggwash in a bowl next to the panko breadcrumbs on a plate and the cheddar cheese on a further plate.  Dip chicken in the egg wash, then the cheddar jack cheese and then the panko crumbs and then place in a dish & sprinkle with parsley.

Cover the baking tray with foil and then cook for 35 minutes. Remove the foil after 35 minutes continue to cook the chicken till it is brown on top for approximately 8-10 minutes.

In a small saucepan melt the butter, then add the cheddar cheese soup, the sour cream and then the 1/2 cup of water. Mix together & Serve with chicken. 

Diet Coke Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1 pepper
1 onion
1 can of diet coke
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp Henderson’s relish or Worcester sauce
1 tbsp tomato purée

Fry off onions and peppers in fry light in a deep pan

Add chicken to the pan and leave on each side for 2 mins to create a charred and crispy texture! Don’t be scared it won’t burn if your pans on a middle temperature

When chicken is browned on both sides add the rest of the ingredients and mix in well.

Leave the sauce to simmer for 10 mins or until thickened and sticky.

Slow Cooker Diet Coke Beef

Recipe & image taken from http://backporchmusings.blogspot.co.uk

1 beef roast

1 can diet coke

garlic powder or 2-3 garlic cloves

bbq sauce of choice

Place roast in slow cooker and add Diet Coke

Sprinkle with garlic powder or make several small slits in roast and add sliced garlic.

Set on low and cook about 10 hours.

I cooked the roast, for this BBQ Beef, overnight.

When the roast is finished cooking, remove from cooker, cool enough to shred.  Add sauce and heat or serve sauce on side.

Serve on sandwich buns with sliced pickles, raw veggies, slaw and/or chips.

Slimming World Lamb Kofta Curry

Recipe & image taken from www.slimmingeats.com

For the Koftas:

500g of extra lean lamb mince

1 egg

1 small onion finely chopped

salt and black pepper

2 cloves of garlic crushed

For the Curry Sauce:

1 large sweet onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic crushed

1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger

1 courgette, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

150ml of vegetable stock

2 cups of passata

2 tsp of ground cumin

2 tsp of ground coriander

1/4 tsp of onion powder

1 tsp of curry powder

1 tsp of turmeric

1/4 tsp of ground cloves

1/2 tsp of paprika

1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

1 bay leaf

6 cardamom pods

1 tsp of brown sugar (1 syn)

salt and black pepper to season

For the yoghurt mint:

1 cup of fat free natural yoghurt

a few sprigs of fresh mint, finely chopped

juice of a 1/2 a lemon

Add all the ingredients for the Koftas to a large bowl and bind together, form into 6 large koftas or 8 medium sized ones.

Spray a frying pan with non stick spray and brown the Koftas on all sides. Remove from frying pan and set aside.

Add the onion, garlic and ginger to the frying pan along with a little bit of the vegetable stock and cook for approx 3-4 mins. Add the courgette and carrot and cook until softened.

Add the remaining stock, passata and all spices, sugar etc to the pan, bring to the boil, return the Lamb Koftas, reduce the heat and then simmer for approx 45mins – 1 hour.

To make the mint yoghurt, mix together the natural yoghurt, fresh mint and juice of 1/2 a lemon.

Serve the Lamb Kofta Curry topped with a couple of tablespoons of the mint yoghurt. You can also serve with some rice if you are doing an Extra Easy day.

Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Recipe & image taken from http://allrecipes.com

4 pounds pork baby back ribs

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups ketchup

1 cup chili sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons vinegar

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 dash hot sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Season ribs with salt and pepper. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and salt and pepper.

Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.

Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.