Quick Dinner

Another quick dinner tonight....childcare duties...!!

This is a portion of the Sausage and Ale Casserole I did for British Sausage Week.....it made six portions and hubby doesn't like sausage casserole so instead of scaling it down for me I made the full recipe and froze some portions for emergency days.....like today...!!

Had some thin asparagus spears that needed using so roasted them with some WW Balsamic Glaze (its 0sp but if you use 2 sachets, as I did, it is 1sp) and 'riced' a bit of cauli that was rolling around in the bottom of the fridge.....but to add a bit of variety I decided to soak a few stems of Saffron in some warm water and add that as I microwaved it.....you can't see in the photo but it did go a lovely pale lemony colour

So....all in all, a freezer friendly, quick fix meal for 6sp (5 for the casserole and 1 for the balsamic glaze)

Smoked Mackerel Broccolisotto

Hi all.....Tuesdays are always a bit hectic in our house so dinner has to be a quick fix deal....Often we have his and hers versions of fish and chips (check mine out here ) but tonight I needed to use up some mackerel I had left from some I bought for last nights dinner (here)

So......here it is .....I haven't done a recipe as such because its a take on this Broccolisotto  recipe.   I made the broccolisotto with riced broccoli stalk, vegetable stock, Philadelphia cheese, capers and stirred in a couple of strips of Smoked mackerel that I flaked with a couple of forks. Have to say it really was delicious....I topped it with a scraping of Parmesan and some croutons done in our airfry....scroll down to the bottom of This Page to check it out.

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

This popped up on my newsfeed in fb the other day....its from those lovely chaps at TwoChubbyCubs who follow the Slimming World plan and post delicious recipes (pop over and have a look at their site, the link is below) and I've been dying to give it a go.

I'm not really big on pasta these days (used to LOVE the stuff pre WW but I get bloated on it now) so I served mine with Courgetti and topped it with a couple of Mackerel strips, therefore I left out the bacon pieces so when I put it into the recipe builder it came out at 1sp per portion (the recipe serves 4). Its a lovely smooth, creamy sauce that tastes amazing. I counted 4sp for the mackerel and 1sp for the parmesan I added as well.

I have to say that although it was creamy and tasty I felt it was lacking a little something because I left the garlic out....next time I have a portion I'm going to put a squirt of chilli paste in it too.

The original recipe is here

Ingredients

600g of butternut squash, cut into 2cm cubes
1 red onion, chopped (I used white because I was leaving the garlic out)
1 garlic clove, minced (I left this out)
250ml chicken stock ( I used my Vegetable Stock )
1½ tsp dried sage
1½ tsp dried thyme
200ml Almond Milk (if you use skimmed milk or semi skimmed milk please remember to recalculate points)

 

 

Method

Spray a large saucepan with the spray oil and bring to a medium heat
Add the onion and cook for about 1-2 minutes
Add the garlic and stir for about thirty seconds, then add the butternut squash, stock, sage and thyme

Stir well and cover, and leave to cook for about 15 minutes
When the squash is softened (you should be able to poke a fork into it with a little resistance), pour the lot into a food processor, add the milk and 50ml of water and add a bit of salt or pepper and pulse until smooth

Serve with your chosen pasta adding the appropriate points. Here's my sauce all portioned up....!!

I used one of these for my dinner tonight and I felt there was slightly too much sauce for my veg noodles.....so I'm going to split the remaining three portions into four. With that in mind I looked again at the WW recipe builder and recalculated.....6 portions would work out at 0sp each

Sue
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Carbonara a Bit Lighter

I love this dish....I've said before that I love creamy sauces and this fits the bill for me....of course I don't put pasta with mine, I have spiralized veg (whatever I have in or whatever I am in the mood for) but its light enough so that you can put pasta with it if you want. This recipe serves 1 and is 6sp (please remember to recalculate if you increase the portion size)

Ingredients

frylight

2 Turkey rashers, chopped

1/2 Banana Shallot, diced (or 1/2 of a medium red onion)

2 tbsp Tesco Fat Free Greek Style Yogurt

1 tbsp Philadelphia Light with Smoked ham

10g Parmesan, divided in half

salt and pepper to taste

I find the easiest and most accurate way to measure my grated Parmesan is to weigh the slab first and then grate some off and weigh again to see how much there is left.....

Method

If you are using pasta put your pasta on to boil well before you make this sauce as it makes very quickly

Spray a frying pan with the frylight and bring to a medium heat, fry the turkey pieces for a few minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan. Spray the pan again and fry the shallot for a few minutes until softened, While the shallot is cooking, mix the yogurt, Philadelphia and half of the Parmesan in a small bowl. When the shallot is cooked through add the turkey back to the pan and stir to combine. Add the creamy mix from the small bowl and lower the heat to allow the sauce to warm through slowly. Season to taste.

 
At this point you could microwave your veg noodles (I was having courgetti with mine and there is a tip here about how I do mine that you may or may not find useful)
 

When everything is ready, tip your chosen noodles into the pan and turn over several times to combine.

Serve on a warmed plate and sprinkle over the rest of the parmesan, season again with a little more black pepper

Sue
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Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Apple Butter

Hey guys...this is a BEAUTY!!!

Some time ago I was browsing the internet and came across a recipe for Slow Cooker Apple Butter by Gina Homolka at Skinnytaste (Recipe here)....It sounded fab so I thought I would have a go.
However I tweaked it to ensure it was 0sp using Truvia (haven't got a recipe as such but next time I make it I'll post it). When using Truvia the packaging indicates that you should use about 1/3 of Truvia to the quantity of sugar required in the recipe. I did this and the original batch of Apple Butter was unpalatably sweet. So I made another batch with NO Truvia in at all and mixed the two together. The resulting mix is lovely. So.... I made it and then thought ...what am I going to do with it (because I'm a bit like that!!)?

I found this recipe from Crystal & Co so I made it last week. It was really scrumptious!! Obviously I scaled it down for two of us and tweaked it a bit (I added some mushrooms too)
I chopped two medium onions and put them in the bottom of the slow cooker, added a handful of mushrooms and a squeeze of garlic puree, popped our chops on top and a tablespoon of apple butter on the top of each chop. I set my slow cooker to high and left it for 5 hours.

I weighed my chop before it went in and was intending to weigh the fat and the bone afterwards ....unfortunately hubby threw them away!!...so I've estimated 150g for the pork and calculated the points that way. It came out at 5sp for the pork....I served it with my Slow Cooker Butternut Squash (0sp) and my "Creamed" Leeks (2sp). Definite winner in our house...will be doing it again...stay tuned for more recipes using Apple Butter!!!
Sorry about my finished dish photo.....I should have styled it a bit better....sorry ....(but it really was delicious!!)

Sue
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"Creamed" Leeks

I LOVE creamy sauces........since I started my WW journey one of the things I have tried to do is re-create creamy sauces without the sp....not an easy task but I think I've cracked it. I've discovered these.......

....Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese.....these little beauties live in my fridge permanently....I use them for all sorts of things, I put them in sauces, risottos, toppings on bakes....they are so versatile and the flavours are fab.
I had some leeks that needed to be used up so I decided that I would try to recreate creamed leeks.....minus the oil, cream and cheese.....hmmm.....you might wonder how it can be creamed leeks then.....I'll tell you how..... read on.....this single portion works out at 2sp (don't forget, if you increase the recipe for more portions please recalculate the points accordingly)

Ingredients (for 1 portion)

Spray Oil
1 medium sized leek sliced
100 ml Vegetable Stock
2 tablespoons Philadelphia Light with Chives
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Spray a frying pan with spray oil and bring to a medium heat. Tip in your sliced leeks and turn them around in the pan to coat them with the oil. Pour in the veg stock and allow it to come up to heat. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes to cook and soften the leeks and reduce the liquid in the pan, add the Philadelphia cheese and season to your taste, allow it to melt down and meld with the small amount of liquid you still have in the pan. Serve and enjoy.

Sue
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Best Ever Cottage Pie

Great Cottage Pie recipe to put veg mash on top of........I served mine with Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and "Creamed" Leeks

This recipe makes 4 portions for 4sp each.

Ingredients

Spray Oil
1 medium Onion, peeled and chopped
2 medium Carrots, peeled and diced
500g Extra lean beef mince (5% fat)
250 g Chestnut Mushrooms, sliced
1 Tin Tomatoes
Beef stock cube
Salt and Black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Method

Spray a large frying pan with the oil and heat to a medium heat, add the onion and carrots and cook for about 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have started to soften

Add the beef to the pan and cook for about 5-10 mins, stirring to break up the meat, until it browns. Once the meat is crumbly, stir occasionally to prevent it sticking and burning, but don’t keep stirring it, otherwise it just cools the mixture, rather than letting the meat brown.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a few minutes

Pour in the tin of tomatoes, sprinkle in the stock cube and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring continually, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 mins, until it thickens slightly and the vegetables are tender. If the sauce seems very thick, just add a little boiling water.

Set oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.

Stir the Worcestershire sauce into mince, then spoon into a dish and level the surface.

Spread your preferred mash over the mince (adding any appropriate points). Score the surface with a fork. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 20-30 mins, or until the pie is golden and the filling is bubbling. Serve straight from the oven.

Original Recipe here

Sue
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Slow Cooker Butternut Squash

OMG!!!

At my recent WW meeting our leader told us about this way of cooking a butternut squash...... I was pretty excited to try this because I use a LOT of it in different ways....but..... when I've tried mashing it (I boil it first to cook it) it makes for a VERY watery mash....I was planning on microwaving it and then mashing it (I want to top a Cottage Pie with it)....but when Leslie (our leader) told us about this I dashed straight out and bought one so I could try it......!!!

I was told to pierce the skin of the squash all over and then put it in the slow cooker and cook for 3 hours....job done!!! I was considering buying  a small squash to ensure that it went into the pot but I found a large one that was squat and wide so took a chance on that. I pierced it all over and then put it into the pot, turned it to high and left it (I did actually turn it half way through but I don't think there is any real need for this)

While the squash was in the slow cooker I decided to see if I could find this method on the internet so I googled and there were actually only a couple of posts about it.......basically they were just "...chuck it in, turn it on and go back in 4-5 hours..." no mention of piercing the skin....so I'll try it that way next time.....because there will definitely be a next time....because this is what I found when I went back four hours later....

.......so I cut the top off then cut it in half....

 .......scooped out the seeds....

 ....you can see how much liquid is leaking out of the squash.....as I was holding the squash and scooping the seeds out the liquid was pooling on top of the squash as well.....you can see here how much there was after I had scooped the flesh into a bowl...

 ....so I decided to try and squeeze out some liquid. I put the flesh into a sieve, I then placed a small plate on top and put my granite trivet on top (its very heavy)....

 .....I then left it to sit for 20 minutes....this is how much liquid came out...
 

......I've always used a hand mixer to do my potato mash....ever since Delia showed us how to ....YEARS ago....and I've always had lovely smooth mash....so thats what I did with my squash....it was a bit more fibrous than potato but thats ok....it worked just fine.
I had some Cottage Pie bases that I had made up last week in readiness for my search for a good Butternut Squash mash, so I dug one out and defrosted it, placed my squash mash on top and popped it in the oven on 180 deg for 20 minutes, I finished it off under a hot grill for ten minutes too.
The squash is still wetter than a potato mash would be but significantly better than if I had boiled it.....a keeper of a method I think. I served it with "Creamed" Leeks

Sue
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My Shakshuka

I've made this recipe before and its a favourite but I've reviewed how to make it....its a Hairy Bikers recipe.The only thing with sp is the Lighter Greek Salad Cheese so the recipe comes out of the WW recipe builder at 1sp per portion. We're on lockdown as I write this so I've substituted 10gms of Parmesan (1sp) for the salad cheese and I only made one portion so mine tonight was 3sp (I also found some olives (1sp) lurking in the fridge so they went in too)


I think this is ideal for a light evening meal or a lunch dish.

The original Hairy Bikers recipe is here

Lets stay strong guys
Sue
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Ingredients

Spray oil

2 large Onions, thinly sliced

2 medium Red peppers, sliced lengthways
2 medium Green Peppers, sliced lengthways
4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
1⁄2 teaspoon Caraway Seeds
1⁄2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 tablespoon Tomato Purèe, or Red Pepper Puree
2 cans Tinned Tomatoes
1 small bunch Coriander,rough chopped
1 small bunch Parsley, rough chopped

8 medium Eggs, whole, raw

85g Tesco Light Salad Cheese, crumbled

120g Tesco Natural Fat Free Greek Style Yogurt, to serve, optional

pinch Salt
pinch Black pepper

Instructions

Put the peppers ) I used half red and half orange because we're on lockdown and thats what I had in) into a lidded microwavable dish and add a couple of tablespoons of water. Cook on full power for 2-3 minutes (depends on the power of your microwave) set aside until needed.

Spray a large lidded frying pan with the spray oil and bring to a medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and season with salt and pepper. Cook on a medium heat until they are just softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes ( I left the garlic out because hubby wasn't having the same meal as me...!!)

Stir in the tomato or red pepper purée and cook for a couple more minutes until the paste starts to separate. Add the tomatoes with a splash of water (I always swish out the tin to get all the juice out)

Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, uncovered, until reduced a little. 
Taste after 5 minutes and add a little sugar if you think the tomatoes need it (I didn't do this but would have used Canderel Sugarly for no extra sp). Keep an eye on the texture – you don’t want it runny, but it mustn’t get too dry, either. Add another splash of water if necessary. When the sauce is reduced, stir in the herbs ( if you don't have fresh coriander or parsley you could add a little of each dried herb at the same time as the cayenne pepper etc). You can pre make the dish to this point (as I sometimes do) and then just reheat it when you are ready to serve and carry on with the rest of the recipe.

Now at this point I vary from the recipe. It says to make 8 small wells in the sauce. Break an egg into a cup and drop carefully into a well, repeat with the remaining eggs. Cook for a few more minutes until the whites are just set and the yolks are still runny. So what I now do is to poach the eggs then serve up the mixture on to hot plates and add the poached eggs on top. Sprinkle over the crumbled greek salad cheese (I didn't have greek salad cheese so substituted 10gms Parmesan. Serve with yogurt on the side (you could sprinkle a little sumac onto the yogurt as I did)

Enjoy!!
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My Fish and Chips

When I first started WW 3 years ago I spent a lot of time planning food and thinking about what I was going to have for my evening meal.....and I still do that to a degree....but really...life gets busy and sometimes you can't always be that prepared......so its a useful thing to have a couple of staple things that are quick to grab from the fridge/freezer/storecupboard .....this is one of mine.

We had a busy day yesterday and I didn't have chance to think about something for my evening meal....and we had to go out after hubby came in from work so dinner was always going to be a bit later than normal (and therefore not giving me any time to rustle something up)....add to that the hubby pining for fish and chips and you have yourself a potential minefield for a weight watcher....

This is one of my go to saviours. I always have tins of salmon/tuna/sardines/crabmeat in the cupboard, so I opened a tin of salmon and had half of that (1sp) with a big salad and 100g of hubbies chips (7sp).....My version of Fish and Chips!!! So for 8sp hubby got his fish and chips, I stayed on track and I avoided a melt down over what to do for dinner ....result!!! Oh....and I got to eat the other half of the tin in a sandwich for lunch today.


Sue
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Spicy Sausage with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

 

So.......the last day of British Sausage Week .....I didn't know about it until Monday morning and have been busy researching sausage recipes all week.....but this one, co-incidentally, popped up on my newsfeed on Monday and I've had it waiting for attention all week....its from Gina at Skinnytaste. Gina is fab at low calorie stuff and I LOVE her site but I've tinkered again (only because pasta makes me feel bloated now so I did this and served it with carrot noodles) and this is what I've come up with.
I downsized the recipe tonight to make one portion and used a small tin of tomatoes, also used basil instead of parsley. Gina mixed the pasta into the dish but I've put it over the top (sorry that makes it look like the recipe I posted last night Heck Zesty Chicken Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and Boodles
The regular recipe comes out of the Recipe Builder as 5sp (without the pasta) and serves 4....

Ingredients

400g Tesco Healthy Living Sausage (if you use a different brand please remember to recalculate your sp)
Spray Oil
1 medium Onion, chopped
Jar of cooks&co Roasted Red Peppers, 320g drained weight, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
pinch Salt, to taste
pinch Black pepper, to taste
1 can Tinned Tomatoes, chopped
1 Chicken stock cube, made up to 125ml with hot water (I used my Vegetable Stock)
2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
1 sprig Parsley, fresh, to garnish

Method

Spray a large frying pan with spray oil and bring to a medium heat. Cook the sausage until browned and cooked through, breaking it up as it cooks. Set aside.
Add the onions, roasted peppers, garlic, salt and black pepper to the pan and cook until golden, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and chicken broth and return the sausage to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low 15 minutes.
Serve over your desired pasta (adding the appropriate points) and finish with the cheese and parsley.


Sue
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Sausage Meatballs

Day 6 and the penultimate day in British Sausage Week.......

I've been researching and blogging sausage recipes all week and have tried all the ones I have posted (and I might add I've enjoyed them, they will all be done again) which means I have had sausages every day this week!!!

This is one of my recipes....I haven't done a formal recipe but rather a description of what I did....basically because when I do meatballs and tomato sauce I often do it differently. I add different things depending on how I feel. This is just one portion and has 7sp.

My sausage meatballs are a permanent feature in my freezer....I always have them in there...as is my home made roasted tomato sauce. I've put my method of making both the meatballs and the tomato sauce at the bottom so you can follow it if you want to.

To make this dish I sprayed a frying pan with spray oil and brought it up to a medium heat, I chucked in a tablespoon of chopped red onion and let it soften down for a few minutes. Then I added my meatballs and turned them in the pan to make sure they browned all over. Then I added my tomato sauce, a tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce and some salt and black pepper. I let it simmer away for about 10-15 minutes to allow the meatballs to cook through. Meanwhile I microwaved my veg noodles (tonight was a mix of Courgette and Butternut squash) and put together a little salad of leaves, cherry tomatoes, red onion and basil leaves. To serve it I just chucked the noodles on a plate and arranged the meatballs and sauce on top. I grated some parmesan over and popped my little salad on the side with some WW balsamic glaze drizzled over.

To make my meatballs I skin a pack of Heck chicken sausages and mix them with a chopped onion and a slice or two of Weight Watchers Malted Bread which I've blizted into breadcrumbs. I then make 15 portions and roll them into meatballs....when I'm freezing them I put them on a tray lined with parchment paper and put them into the freezer, when they've frozen I separate them in to 3 portions of 5, label the bags and put them straight back into the freezer.

To make my tomato sauce I skin a shed load of tomatoes and cut out that little woody stalk thing, then I put them all on a baking tray and drizzle balsamic glaze (or vinegar if I have no glaze) over, sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs (usually Italien herbs, but maybe oregano and thyme if I have no Italien), I then roast them for 35-40 mins on 200deg until they have dried out a bit and condensed their flavour. When they are done I whizz them up in my food processor and then dicvide them into 1 portion pots and freeze.


Sue
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One-pot sausage and ale casserole

Day 5....sorry guys...its another casserole...but the weather is so pants at the minute I'm in the mood for comforting, warming winter food.
Ran this up for my dinner last night and served it with cauliflower rice. I usually have a jar of passata in the fridge but when I went to get it for this dish there wasn't enough...(why I had put that little amount back in the fridge is anyones guess!! :) ) so I substituted the passata for a small tin of chopped tomatoes, also, having made the sweet and sour slow cooker sausages the other night which called for 2 teaspoons of Tabasco (which was quite sufficient for me) I decided that the 2 tablespoons of Tabasco recommended for this recipe might be a bit much for my tastebuds (!) so I reduced it (altered the recipe to reflect that). I was considering trying to make it with a non alcoholic beer of some sort but then when I saw how many sp it was with the Guiness I just went for !!
This recipe serves 6 and comes out of the recipe builder at 5sp per portion and the other 5 portions have gone in the freezer.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
675g Tesco Healthy Living sausages (if you decide to use another brand please remember to recalculate your sp)
3 red peppers, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
2 large red onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
650ml ale (I used Guiness)
175g passata (or a small tin of chopped tomatoes)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
1 or 2 tablespoons hot sauce (depending on taste, 1 was plenty for me)
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Spray a large lidded flameproof casserole dish with the spray oil and bring to a medium heat. Cook sausages until browned on all sides. Remove sausages from pan, and set aside.

Pour in 1/2 of the beer to deglaze the casserole dish, scraping up any bits from the bottom.
Place the red peppers, green peppers, onions and garlic in the casserole. Stir in the remaining beer and the passata. Season with oregano, coriander, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Cover, and simmer until onions and peppers are tender.Slice the sausages into bite size pieces, and add to the casserole. Cover, and simmer until sausage is cooked through.

Sue
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Sausagemeat, Apple and Celeriac Bake

Day 4 of British Sausage Week...this time its a bake. I've adapted the Original Recipe (again!) and substituted celeriac for the potato. I didn't want to make a full 6 portion bake (hubby wouldn't eat it and I couldn't keep it) so I scaled down this recipe for my own portion. It comes out of the Recipe Builder at 6sp per portion.....next time I make it I will increase the amount of apple I put in my one portion and probably increase the amount of celeriac as well.
It was really nice and I'll be doing it again.

Ingredients

2 medium Apples, finely diced
2 medium Carrots, raw, finely chopped
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoons Plain White Flour
pinch Salt, to taste
pinch Black pepper
900g Healthy Living Cumberland Pork Sausages, skins removed
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoonsSage, Dried
1000g Celeriac, raw, sliced
Spray Oil

Method

Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas 6. Spray a medium sized casserole dish with spray oil
Place the apple, carrot and onion in the prepared casserole dish. Stir in 1 tablespoon of plain flour, or enough to coat the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover the vegetables with all of the sausagemeat. Press it down so it is flat, even and without gaps. Sprinkle sage on top.
Boil the celeriac slices until just soft. Layer them over the sausagemeat. Brush with oil or butter. Season with salt and pepper.
Bake for around 40 minutes, or until the celeriac is browned and the carrots and onions are soft.

Sue
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Sweet and Sour Slow Cooker Sausage

Day 3 and another Sausage recipe......

One of the reasons I like the WW plan so much is that nothing is off the menu....I can have just about anything I want....its all about making compromises....and in this recipe thats what I've done....originally made with Smoked sausage (mmmm....yummy but containing ridiculous amount of fat and points) I've tinkered a bit.....used Tesco Healthy Living Cumberland Sausage, substituted Truvia for dark brown sugar and I replaced half the amount of ketchup it required with a small tin of chopped tomatoes to get the points down .....I didn't bother reducing the amounts to make one portion for me....I've frozen the rest for later!!!

 The original recipe from KKNOPF at KKNOPF at all recipes indicates that there are 8 servings and that it should be used as a side dish....I haven't done that....I did 4 portions and had it as a main...served over courgetti....as such the smart points are 7...and a word of warning ......I made it with 2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce as the recipe suggested and it was really nice....but if you are a bit nervous of spicy food then maybe 1 teaspoon might be enough

Ingredients

Spray oil

2 large Onions, sliced
30g Truvia Calorie Free Sweetener

200g Tomato ketchup
Small tin of chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons Tabasco
1 1/2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
400g Tesco Healthy Living Cumberland Pork Sausages
Salt and pepper

Method

Spray a large frying pan with the oil and bring to a medium heat.
Saute onions until tender. Stir in Truvia, ketchup, tinned tomatoes, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt and pepper.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
Place sausage in a slow cooker with the sauce and onions. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Sue
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Sticky honey and mustard sausages

Day 2 of British Sausage Week and here's another sausage recipe this time from Nams at All recipes..I had this for my dinner last night. I tweaked this a bit and managed to get it down to 5sp using Tesco Healthy Living Pork Sausages and Agave Nectar, it serves 4 people. Next time I do this I'm going to cut the sausages into bite sized pieces before I brown them.....then there will be more surface area for the sticky mixture to coat.
To go with it I did some broccoli with a Philadelphia cheese sauce (softened some onion in a little frylight, added two tablespoons of my Vegetable Stock and melted in two tablespoons of Philadelphia) and some butternut puree (boiled butternut squash whizzed in my mini chopper with a tablespoon of Yeo Valley Half Fat Creme Fraiche).....it was nice and I will actually be doing it again....just not this week!!!

Ingredients

Spray Oil
8 Tesco Healthy Living Cumberland Pork Sausages
2 teaspoons French mustard
2 tablespoons Agave Nectar
3 medium onions, finely chopped
300ml (1/2pt) Vegetable Stock

Method

Spray a large frying pan with spray oil and bring up to a medium heat.
Add the sausages and prick them so they don't burst.

When the sausages begin to sizzle, add 1 teaspoon of the mustard and 1 tablespoon of the Agave Nectar.

Gently fry the sausages in the Agave Nectar and mustard mixture until they are lightly browned all over, then add the onions and stir-fry until they soften and begin to brown. Add the stock and the remaining mustard and Agave Nectar.

Increase the heat to medium high and simmer, stirring, until the stock has reduced to a thick, sticky sauce, about 10 minutes.

Serve immediately with your desired side dishes ...don't forget to add any points
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Sausage Casserole

Hey.....it's British Sausage Week!!! Who knew there even was one.....so I've set myself a challenge to post a sausage recipe everyday this week.....I'll be eating them too!!!

Day 1 .......This one is a staple dish in our house.....its one of my go to emergency dishes. Its originally a Hairy Bikers recipe but I've fiddled with it a bit and reduced the Smart Points somewhat.

I make it with Weight Watchers Pork Sausages and Mattesons turkey Rashers so it ends up being a really low point delicious meal. This amount makes 12 portions which I freeze for those times when I haven't been shopping or when I feel like something hearty and at 3sp for the portion you can pretty much have almost anything with it....result!

Ingredients

2 large Onions
2 teaspoons Paprika or chilli powder
2 cans Tinned Tomatoes
2 Chicken stock cubes
4 tablespoons Tomato Purèe
30ml Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons Dried Mixed Herbs
2 teaspoons Thyme, Dried
2 Bay leaves
24 individual Weight Watchers Premium Pork Sausages
Spray Oil
300g Matteson Turkey Rashers, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 deg c, 160 deg c fan gas mark 4

Grill the sausages under a medium grill until nicely browned all over. Cut each sausage into four pieces and transfer to a lidded flameproof casserole dish and set aside (the only reason I cut the sausages is so that they fit into my dishes for freezing you could leave them whole).

Spray a frying pan with the spray oil and fry the turkey rasher pieces until they begin to brown and crisp then add to the sausages.

Spray the pan again, place the onions in the frying pan and fry over a medium heat for five minutes until they start to soften, stirring often.

Sprinkle over the smoked paprika or chilli powder and cook together for a few seconds longer.
Stir in the tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce and herbs.Stir in a little water if you feel it needs it

Tip carefully into the casserole dish containig the sausages and bacon and return to a simmer, then reduce the heat, cover the pan loosely with a lid. Place in the preheated oven until cooked (I leave mine between 45-60 mins)

Original Recipe here

WW Piri Piri Chicken Bag and Bake

Very quick blog tonight.....Formula 1 GP is on the telly !!
Love this easy peasy dinner tonight....we've had this before but not for a while and I'd forgotten how tasty it is.
I sliced a red onion and a couple of small green peppers that were lying around in the fridge after hubby cleared out the greenhouse for the winter and added them to the bag with 2 chicken breasts that I had cut into large chunks, 30 mins later gorgeous spicy, tasty dinner.

 I served mine with Boodles drenched in a Philadelphia Chives sauce that I made by softening a tablespoon of finely diced red onion for a few minutes. I then added 2 tablespoons of Philadelphia cheese with chives and let it bubble up a bit, then just before serving I stirred in a tablespoon of Tesco fat free greek yogurt. It was really nice and a fab meal for 4sp......saving points because we're having a glass of wine while we watch the GP
x

Crayfish Omelette

Well that was a bit of a surprise!!!

I bought some crayfish the other day to go with the vegetable couscous I fancied as I was wandering around Tesco (ended up having the veg couscous with feta)....and when I checked the fridge this morning the best by date was today....uh oh....had to think of how to use them up....so did my standby omelette for breakfast. Normally hubby does brunch for us both on a weekend but this morning he fancied a fry up....can't fault him....so I was searching for inspiration...didn't expect to find it in a packet of crayfish tails....I usually have them in a salad or with veg couscous.

So I peeled a few cherry tomatoes and chopped a tiny bit of red onion to go with them and mixed them into some Two Chicks Egg White......

I use one of these to mke my omelettes in the microwave because I don't have to use any oil at all and its so quick and easy....I got mine in my WW meeting

So....a 30 sec blast in the microwave...a stir and then another 30 sec blast....another stir and a 20 sec blast and my omelette was done...I served it seasoned with salt and black pepper with two slices of WW malted Danish spread with Quark  ....yummy

Just a word about Butterbuds as well....these are a great substitution in dishes. Its marketed as a butter substitute but if you are looking for something to spread on your crumpets this isn't the product I would recommend....what I would recommend it for is to use in dishes where you want to remove some of the fat content but retain a bit of a creamy flavour....I use them all the time in my omelettes. I also use them in other dishes which require eggs for example when I make a quiche I substitute some of the egg for egg white and add a butterbud or two or if I want to remove some of the butter from a recipe I will think about substituting Butterbuds and if I just want to add a glossy shine to my steamed veg I'll dissolve a couple in hot water and drizzle them over. I make a judgement for each new recipe I find. They can be purchased in different packages on the internet (and I think I might have seen them on Lakelands website so they may be in their stores too, can't be sure of that though) I buy them in these sachets.

So when I put this through the Recipe Builder in WW the crayfish came out as 0sp although when I pointed them on my WW calculator prior to doing my omelette 60g came out at 1sp....will be checking with my WW leader....so the only points were in 1 1/2 slices of WW malted Danish bread ....2sp....result!! But to be fair even if the crayfish are pointed at 1sp its still a winner.
Going to use the other half of the pack tomorrow and will probably add some spices....going to google what will go well with them later...will post the result.

Chilli Con Carne

My husband and I often eat different meals...there's only the two of us at home now and its part of the way in which he supports my weight control regime....so when I can do a meal that we can both eat its a real bonus for me....Chilli Con Carne is one of those meals and its a throwback to when we had the kids at home...we could chuck a pan of this together and put a big plate of bread on the table and everyone was happy....its still a favourite of our eldest son who requests it everytime he comes to stay!!!. I've tried making it from scratch....I like it but hubby likes the traditional way we've always had it....so thats what I do.
I managed to get 6 portions out of this lot at 5sp per portion but obviously if you do bigger portions remember to recalculate. I only calculate 3 sp for my portion because I take the beans out of mine....not because I don't like them but its just something I've done since I joined WW.

Ingredients

Spray Oil
500g 5% fat mince
1 large Onion, sliced
Tin chopped tomatoes
Tin Red Kidney Beans
Packet of Swartz Chilli Con Carne Mix (41g sachet)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 deg/160 deg fan/ gas mark 4
Spray a large lidded oven proof casserole dish with the spray oil and bring to a medium/ high temperature. Add the mince and allow it to brown in the pan for a few minutes. Add the onions and stir to combine. Chuck in the tomatoes and fill the can with water and add that too. Add the Red Kidney beans and stir in the Chilli mix. Cover and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes until ready to eat.


I served mine with Cauli rice and hubbies with regular rice....delicious
x

Lynn's Broccoli and Cheese Soup

My lunch today. Hubby is at home and we went shopping....he then decides he wants a Greggs Corned Beef Pasty....now....back in the day I would have had one with him but now....no way. Now Greggs....I mean....its not really the type of place for a weight watcher is it....I mean lovely food but the calorie count is enough to make me need a lie down in a dark room.....I looked and the only thing that was anywhere feasible for me personally was the soup....but then I thought ....I have soup at home so why don't I have that...so I went home and rummaged in the freezer and this immediately caught my eye....Lynn's Broccoli and Cheese soup....just the thing
This recipe was given to me by a lady while I was having my nails done......hence the name. Its truly scrumptious and although I usually make soup that has 0sp this is a firm favourite of mine and I always have it in my freezer.....its only 2sp for a portion (if you have bigger portions please remember to recalculate)

This recipe Serves 6 at 2sp per portion

Ingredients

Frylight spray oil

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets

1 leek, sliced

1.5 litre of fresh veg stock

salt and pepper

180g Philadelphia lightest soft cheese

Method

Spray a saucepan with the frylight and fry the leek for a few minutes until it is softened. Add the stock and the broccoli, season well with salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the broccoli is cooked through. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little to avoid burning during the next step.

Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cheese and blend a little more.

Note:- You could use any of the other Philadelphia Light flavours and it would be 2sp per portion.

For example any of these....I always have all the flavours in my fridge so I can match with whatever I am making.

 I like to serve my soup in this lovely soup dish that I found in a local gift shop.....

 I believe that a big part of maintaining my focus on my weight is to give my food the respect it deserves.....so for example if you chuck an instant soup into a mug and drink it while you empty the washing machine you end up feeling cheated because you don't feel like you had your lunch.....so I always put my soup in this dish and make it presentable.....today I decided I would have some croutons made from a slice of WW Malted Danish bread cut into cubes, sprayed with spray oil, sprinkled with salt and baked in my Breville Airfry for 5 mins...(great machine but only comes in this one colour!!)

 I also like to use different herbs and spices to make the food stand out and today I used a sprinkle of Sumac, a morrocan spice which I picked up in Tesco

 .......and what better way to finish off than with some fresh fruit....

And all for 3sp....saving some points for a drink with hubby later!!!