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. 

 

Cinnamon Crisps with Mixed Fruit Dip

I love surfing the net for ideas of what to make. I mostly just type in just one or two keywords and press “Images”; and take a look at the pictures that come up. Usually I can find a recipe I can adapt or I get an idea for a completely new one. This is something that I would never even have considered, but it was certainly worth the effort. It's very different and the texture of the crisps goes well with the softness of the fruit. Remember to syn the fruit if you cook or purée your fruit or berries.

** I used frozen mixed fruit (apples, blackcurrants, redcurrants, blackberries and raspberries) from Farrington Gurney Farm Shop. It is available loose, has a lovely fresh taste and saves a lot of chopping. 

 

Serves 2

Syn free*

* providing you use the wraps as your Healthy Extra B

2 BFree Wheat and Gluten Free Wholegrain Wraps

2 tbsp sweetner

1 tsp cinnamon

finely chopped fruit or soft berries to serve**

Cut each tortilla in 12 pieces and place on a pizza cooking plate. 

 Spray with Fry Light. Mix together the sweetener and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the tortillas. Spray with Fry Light again over the top and bake in the oven at 200-210°C for around 5 minutes. 

You need to keep an eye on it as they can easily burn. They are done when slightly puffed out and have turned crispy. 

 

Leave to cool on a tray until cold. 

 Serve with the fruit for dipping. 

 

Leftover Meatloaf Hash

Mondays are nearly always leftover days, and today I managed to empty no less than eight containers when cooking our lunch – not bad going eh? 

 

This is not a recipe as such, more of an idea of what to do with leftovers. Using the remains of the meatloaf as a base, I added nearly all the leftovers I had in the fridge. The list looks like this:

meatloaf

cooked Jersey Royal potatoes

cooked carrots

cooked baby sweetcorn

cooked tenderstem broccoli

cooked sugarsnap peas

grilled cherry tomatoes

I also had containers with Oriental coleslaw and Vietnamese pickled vegetables which I mixed together, and half a box of salad leaves which I served alongside the hash. 

 

I started off by crushing the potatoes between two palms, then tearing them roughly with my hands. In a large pan sprayed with some Fry Light, I sautéed the potatoes for a few minutes before adding everything else. I found it to be a little dry, so I added some water to make it a smoother consistency and some chilli flakes to zest it up a little. 

I do love leftovers, and the challenge of creating something that tastes good.

Turkey and mushroom stroganoff

This dish is nowhere near as difficult as it looks and is sure to impress your guests. It has plenty of superfree, especially as I served it with carrots, sugar snap peas and baby sweetcorn. 

 Lots of superfree

Serves 4

Syn free on extra easy

500g turkey breast, cubed

200g mushrooms, sliced

3 leeks, sliced

200g fat free fromage frais

1-2 tbsp bouillon powder

½ tsp mustard

1-2 tbsp sweetener

dash of Worcestershire sauce

500g wholewheat tagliatelli

Sauté the turkey, mushrooms and leeks in Fry Light until the vegetables are soft and the turkey cooked through. Turn the heat right down and add fromage frais, bouillon powder, mustard, sweetener and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Stir until heated through, but make sure it doesn't boil at it will curdle. You may want to add some water to get the right consistency.

Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelli as per packet instructions, and drain. Grease a doughnut-shaped baking tin and stuff the pasta in the ring. Place a flat serving dish over the top and put the whole thing in an oven on very low for a few minutes to firm it up a bit. It is best to have a dish that is quite a bit larger than the size of the ring as the content will spill over the edge when you cut into it if the plate is too small (as I found out). When you are ready to serve, turn the plate upside down and ease the tagliatelli out of the ring. Spoon the stroganoff into the centre and serve with vegetables or a salad. 

 

Kiwi and Blueberry Cheesecake Cups

I love cheesecakes but they are so not diet foods, but this gives me a little bit of relief from my cravings without breaking the syn bank. This is a nice and easy recipe which is assembled in minutes. 

 

Serves 2

Syn free on Extra Easy*

* providing you use the cream cheese as your Healthy Extra A

2 kiwis

a handful blueberries

150g Philadelphia Light

200g fat free fromage frais

sweetener to taste

a few drops rum essence

2-3 tbsp caramelised buckwheat

In tall wine glasses, place the finely chopped kiwi flesh and blueberries. Mix together the cream cheese, fromage frais, sweetener and rum essence and spoon over the fruit. Just as you are about to serve, sprinkle the buckwheat over.

American Style Meatloaf

Take one recipe you find on line and start to follow it, then begin your own modifications. You think you have only made a few small changes until you see your notes.... I like to call it “being creative”.

Serves 4-6

Syn free on Extra Easy*

* providing you use the bread as part of your Healthy Extra B

3 slices wholemeal bread from a 400g loaf, roughly torn

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp celery salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp dried thyme

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 red pepper, roughly chopped

500g of 5% fat minced beef

1 egg, beaten

500g passata

1 tbsp sweetener

½ tsp mustard powder

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp bouillon powder

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

dash Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp ground cumin

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Whizz the bread to rough crumbs in a food processor and place in a large bowl. Pulse the red pepper in the same way, followed by the onion, but do them separately, making sure they are finely chopped but not processed to a pulp. Mix in with the breadcrumbs and add the cumin, paprika, smoked paprika, ginger, white pepper, garlic powder, celery salt, nutmeg and beef. Mix very well together, then add the egg and continue stirring until everything is very well combined, but avoid squeezing the meat.

Grease a loaf tin and pack the meat mixture into it. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and invert the loaf onto it. Place near the bottom of the oven. 

Combine the passata. Sweetener, mustard powder, paprika, smoked paprika, bouillon powder, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and cumin. When the meatloaf has been in the oven for about ten minutes, brush the glaze over it and continue cooking for 35-45 minutes until it id cooked through.

Serve the remaining glaze as a sauce to accompany the meatloaf.