Month: February 2017

Duck a l’orange

oh la la this was created by my OH Graeme and have to say huge thank you to him as it was gorgeous! as with all this fizzy drink recipes you need patience to reduce the liquid but its really worth it for the end result.

Spot the spelling mistake in the video should say ADD NOT ASS……ooooops! ahhhh well im sure you will get the drift!

Depending on the fresh orange you use you may need to bash it a bit to get it to release its juice ours fell apart in the pan under the heat i then sieved the sauce at the end to remove all the pith and bits.

The duck can be cooked to however you like it as your basically poaching it in the sauce which keeps it lovely and tender – and again take your time to render the fat out of the duck if using breast as you dont want that in the sauce also leave it to rest for 5 to 10 mins once rendered before you add i into the sauce.

Well worth making the tastes are so good

by julessmithie

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I have wanted to make this for ages but there are just like a million other things that take up your time but not today! Two tubs of high calorie high fat hummus used in 2 weeks tipped me over the edge ha! So i decided today was the day and it took all of 5 minutes why have i not done this before??? it was so simple to makes tastes amazing you can add whatever flavours you want  herbs spices whatever you have lying around bosh in it goes!

This batch was roasted red peppers from a jar but before i added them to the mix i washed the brine off as i didnt want that taste in the hummus.  I also used fage total yogurt 0% as im totally loving this for cooking with it really does make a difference to the taste but as always use what you have but remember to syn anything that carries a value.

Once blitzed place into an airtight container and keep in the fridge for about 4 days this makes approx 2 shop bought tubs for the cost of some chickpeas hmmmmmm wont be making that mistake again!

by julessmithie

Weetabix Waffles

Another variation of baked oats but this is using my new favourite breakfast Weetabix additions coconut i absolutely loved these and for me the other winner is there is no sugar or sweetener needed (well for me anyway)

If following slimming world these are syn free using weetabix as HEb and using a syn free yogurt the one i used was half a syn but it does make 5 waffles so well worth the syn in my eyes ha!

These also freeze well for batch cooking

by julessmithie

Diet Fanta Chicken

Sounds weird but it actually works well it actually works really well i made this recipe many years ago and decided today (16th June 2021) to give it a bit of TLC and update it.

When i originally cooked this recipe i added the vegetables, chicken and sauce to the frying pan and started reducing the sauce what a carry on! it took forever as we all know all vegetables are water so all you are doing is boiling the vegetables and adding more water to the sauce.

In this version i have cooked the chicken in the sauce and cooked the vegetables separately much better and certainly a whole lot easier, but as always you do whatever suits you and your family.

This recipe is claimed to taste like ” sweet and sour” hmmmm ok it kind of does but I’m going to be really honest there are two versions of sweet and sour on my website that knock the socks of this. However as a quick throw it in pan meal it works well and uses very little ingredients and for me those meals are always a winner.

If the sauce gets too thick add a splash of Fanta and Passata.

by julessmithie

Weetabix Muffins

Time for something sweet – these have been around for a while now but im not a huge fan of plain weetabix so really wasn’t that interested in making them that was however until weetabix upped their game to introduce the new additions range coconut and raisin i absolutely love anything coconut so decided now was the time to get my bake on! These make a fab grab and go breakfast or a late afternoon snack

I used weight watchers layered yogurt because the bottom compote layer adds a lovely sweetness to the muffins without the need to add sugar as you will see there is no sugar or sweetener in these muffins i personally dont think they need it but as always the choice is yours

Slimming world syns half a syn for the yogurt using weetabix as HEb you get 4 muffins from the mixture in the video so half a syn for all 4………….not too shabby eh??

by julessmithie