Cheat's Chicken Fajita

Fajitas are a favourite in this house when we want something quick and easy for lunch or dinner, so when I discovered that I could have the BFree wraps as my Healthy Extra A, I was very excited. I would normally have (at least) a couple of fajitas, but thinking about it, the filling is what really matters. So I made one HUGE wrap today, full of flavoursome chicken and superfree veggies, with just 1 syn! Result!

I call this a “cheat's chicken fajita” because I used cooked deli chicken instead of chopping and frying my own.Tut tut tut.

 

Serves 2

1 syn on Extra Easy*

* providing you use the wrap as your Healthy Extra B

BFree Wheat and Gluten Free Wholegrain Wraps

ca 1/3 green pepper, thinly sliced

ca 1/3 red pepper, thinly sliced

ca 1/3 yellow pepper, thinly sliced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

250g cooked chicken, torn into small pieces

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp sweetener

4-6 tomatoes, depending on size, deseeded and finely chopped

½ onion, peeled and finely chopped

a few coriander leaves, finely chopped

½ tsp lazy chilli (or to taste)

salt and black pepper

2 tsp lemon juice

4 tbsp fat free fromage frais

4 tbsp Discovery Guacamole Style Topping (½ syn per tbsp)

salad leaves to serve

Sauté the peppers and onions in Fry Light until soft. Add the chicken and stir well. Mix the paprika, celery salt, salt, cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and sweetener and add 2-3 tbsp water to mix. Pour into the chicken and vegetable pan and stir well to coat. Continue stirring, adding more water if necessary, until everything is heated through.

While the vegetables are cooking, make the tomato salsa. Mix together the chopped tomatoes, onion and coriander, and add the lemon juice, lazy chilli and salt and pepper to taste.

Place one wrap on each plate and top with the salad leaves, followed by the chicken and vegetable mix. Divide the tomato salsa between the two plates and top with fromage frais and guacamole style topping. Roll up – if you can, mine was so fat it was almost impossible – and enjoy. 

 

Vegetable Couscous with Spiced Yogurt

This is a great way of using up leftover vegetables – anything will do as long as it is chopped finely enough. 

 

½ cup giant couscous

½ red pepper, chopped

2 onions, chopped

½ savoy cabbage, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

½ courgette, chopped

1 tbsp bouillon powder

1 tub 0% fat free plain yogurt

1-2 tsp harissa paste

Cook the couscous according to the packet instructions, adding the onion, pepper, cabbage and celery. Just before the cooking time is up, add the courgette.

Swirl the harissa paste into the yogurt, and serve with the couscous.

Lescó

This Hungarian version of ratatouille is often eaten by itself as a main meal, with or without bacon; but can of course also be used as a side dish. 

 

Serves 4

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 green peppers, thinly sliced

2 onions, thinly sliced

200ml passata

salt and pepper

2 tsp paprika or chilli powder

Sauté the onion and peppers in Fry Light until soft. Add the passata, salt, pepper and paprika and stir well. Simmer for a few more minutes before serving.

Ropa Vieja

This is a very traditional Cuban stew – the name, which means 'old clothes', refers to the fact that the meat is cooked so well it can be shredded. It's a great dish to cook in the slow cooker, although I am sure it would be equally successful to make on the stove top – you just need to adjust the timings accordingly. 

 

Serves 4

Syn Free on Extra Easy

Small beef roasting joint

1 red onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

salt and pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp dried rosemary, crushed

6 tbsp sherry vinegar

3 cups stock

200 ml passata

Remove all the fat from the beef and cut into 3 or 4 large chunks. Place in the slow cooker with the stock and cook for 7-8 hours on a low setting. About half way through, add all the other ingredients, except the passata. Once the beef is cooked, shred with two forks and add back into the stew with the passata. Stir well, make sure it all hot and serve. It's that simple.

Traditionally served with rice, as my dad doesn't eat rice, I made some mash from potatoes and sweet potatoes to go with it, on the advice of a very dear Cuban friend. 

 

Lobster Piri Piri

Frozen lobsters were on special offer at Costco a while back, and continuing with my 'international week', I adapted an original Nigerian recipe for this.

Many years ago I inherited 12 solid silver lobster forks – not the most useful of kitchen implements, not for me anyway: I think I have served lobster at home a total of four times including today! So at least the forks got a quick polish and an outing into the real world. The place mats with the fish motifs came from Bali. 

 

For some reason I wasn't expecting a great deal from this meal, but it was absolutely delicious! 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

1 cooked lobster, halved

200g cooked prawns

1 red onion

1 green pepper

200ml passata

small knob fresh ginger, cut into thin strips

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 tsp bouillon powder

½ tsp sweetener

boiled white rice to serve

Sauté the onion, pepper and ginger in Fry Light until soft. Add the passata, and chilli with some water to dilute to a thinner consistency. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the prawns and heat gently.

The recipe suggests adding the lobster to the pan to heat, but I decided to leave it cold until after we'd picked the meat off it, then mixing it all in with the sauce and rice, the lobster meat heated through that way. I find it difficult enough to get the meat out of a lobster without the shell burning my hands! 

 

Chakchouka Algerienne

Chakchouka is a popular breakfast dish all over North Africa, and this is my adaptation of it. You can of course omit the harissa paste if you don't want it spicy. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

1 onion

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 tin tomatoes

1 tsp harissa paste

2 eggs

Sauté the onion and peppers in Fry Light until soft. Add the harissa paste and tinned tomatoes and continue simmering for a few more minutes until the mixture has thickened and some of the liquid has evaporated. Divide the mixture between two shallow oven proof dishes and make an indentation in the middle. Carefully crack an egg into each dish and bake in the oven at 220°C for 15-20 minutes or until the egg is cooked to your liking. 

 

Ginger Salmon with Sweet Peppers

I'm not going to offer an exact recipe for this, as you can vary the amount of ginger to suit your taste. We both love ginger with a passion, so I used a knob about the size of my fist. If you don't like your food too spicy, you would probably be happier with a piece the size of your thumb. You will also want to adjust the amount of sweetener and soy sauce according to how much ginger you use. Husband graded my version a 7-8 on the hotness scale (out of 10). 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 salmon fillets

knob of ginger

sweetener to taste (I used ca 1 tbsp)

light soy sauce (again I used ca 1 tbsp)

1 each of red, green and yellow pepper

1 red onion

small handful of coriander leaves, chopped

Peel the ginger and whizz through a spice grinder. Alternatively you can finely grate it. Mix with the sweetener and soy sauce and use some of it to top the salmon steaks. Chop the peppers and onion and sauté in Fry Light until beginning to soften. Meanwhile grill the salmon for 7-10 minutes until cooked through. Add the rest of the ginger to the vegetables and stir well. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then stir in the coriander leaves and serve, topped with the salmon fillets. 

 

Green Salad Filled Egg Roll

Thanks to my friend Reiko for the inspiration for this dish.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

6 eggs

4 spring onions

80g spinach

1 green pepper, roasted and skinned, then sliced

2 tbsp lentil, pea and beans shoots

Watercress or other salad to serve

Whisk the eggs until slightly fluffy. Chop the spring onions and add to the eggs. Cook the eggs like you would a pancake, in two separate pans. When cooked, transfer to two plates, and fill with spinach, pepper and sprouting beans. Roll up like a pancake and serve with the watercress. 

 

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Red Pepper Coulis

I love rack of lamb, but you don't very often see the meat for sale in the stores, so when I see one I tend to buy it. Lamb is probably my favourite meat, so for me this was a real Saturday night treat. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

1 rack of lamb, ca 6 pieces, all visible fat removed

2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried basil

2 tso dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried sage

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp white pepper

1 red pepper

rice and vegetables to serve

Place all the herbs in a spice grinder with the salt and pepper and whizz until a fine powder. Use to coat the lamb. Cook at 200°C for 10-20 minutes depending on how well you like your meat cooked.

For the coulis, grill the red pepper until it is starting to blister, then remove the skin under running cold water. Place in a liquidiser with enough water to make a runny sauce. Heat on the stove and serve with the lamb. 

Cut the lamb into chops and serve with rice, vegetables and the red pepper coulis. 

 

Spätzle with Spiced Chicken and Roasted Vegetables

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 chicken breasts, cut into smaller pieces

150g spätzle

½ red pepper

½ green pepper

½ yellow pepper

½ red onion

1 small leek

1 tbsp fresh sage leaves

1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

2 tsp bouillon powder

1 tsp celery powder

1 tso dried sage

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp paprika

Coriander leaves to serve (optional)

Cook the spätzle for 15 minutes or according to the packet instruction. Meanwhile, roast the vegetables. Chop the peppers, onion and leek in equal sized pieces, about 2cm². Place in an oven dish with the rosemary, sage and bouillon powder. Stir well to coat, then bake for 20-30 minutes according to how well you like your vegetables done.

Place all the spices in a spice grinder or food processor and grind to fine powder. Put the chicken in a large bowl and add the spice mix, stirring well to coat all over. Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer on a grill plate, and grill for ten minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through and beginning to brown.

Mix the spätzle with the roasted vegetables and top with the chicken pieces. Serve with coriander leaves if using.

Potato Stack

Having got some new food presentation rings today, I was eager to try them out, so decided to create a tian, or layered, potato dish. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2-3 potatoes, peeled

1 red pepper

100g (ca) spinach leaves

Cut the pepper in half lengthways. Using a cook's torch, char the skin all over and immediately place the pepper halves in a sealed plastic bag. Leave until cool, by which time the skin should scrape off easily under running water. To make a good fit, place the pepper on the work top (it should be fairly pliable now that it is skinless) and using the presentation ring as a cutter, create a piece the same size as the ring.

Cut the potato in very thin slices using a mandolin. Place the food presentation rings on an oven-proof baking sheet, and put a layer of potato slices in the bottom, then the pepper. Add a layer of spinach leaves, then top with a layer of potato slices. Spray the top with Fry Light and bake at 220°C for 20-30 minutes until browned on top and cooked through. Place a tian on each plate, then remove the rings.

Sea Bream with Ratatouille

I don't think I have ever made ratatouille at home in the 35 years we've been married, nor have I prepared sea bream. Two firsts in one dish! 

 

Serves 4

Syn Free on Extra Easy

4 sea bream fillets

1 large courgette, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 small aubergine, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 large tomatoes

250ml passata

2 tsp bouillon powder

pinch of sweetener

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

potatoes for mash

Sauté the onion in Fry Light for a few minutes, then add the courgette, aubergine and red pepper. Quarter the tomatoes, then cut each segment in half again. Add to the vegetables with the passata, bouillon powder and thyme. Cook for 10 minutes or so, until the vegetables are done to your liking.

Heat a pan and fry the bream fillets for a few minutes each side, depending on the thickness of the fish.

Boil and mash the potatoes.

Place a layer of mash on each plate, then a spoonful of ratatouille. Top with the fish and serve. 

 

Dirty Rice with Sausages

Dirty rice is a Cajun dish which is traditionally served with chicken livers. This is just a slight variation on a theme to fit in with the Slimming World Plan. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

3 Joe's sausages, cooked and thinly sliced

1 cup rice

2 tsp bouillon powder

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

handful cooked green beans, chopped

1 tbsp (or to taste) paprika

½ cup chopped parlsey

salt and pepper

Boil the rice in stock made with the bouillon powder according to the instructions on the packet. Drain. Meanwhile, sauté the onion, pepper and celery in Fry Light until soft. Add the drained rice, sausages, vegetables, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir for a few minutes. If the mixture is a little dry, add some water. Stir in the parsley and serve.