Cook up a treat with the ever decreasing (in size) ladies from the infamous shiney weightloss/healthy eating thread.....

[TheMitsubishiWarrioress]

Tried and tested and highly commendable, Might help 'as part of a calorie controlled diet'...

Recipes pending.........

Wow Sazzles

Carrot soup

1kg bag of carrots
1 large onion
1 chicken oxo cube
1 pint of water
Blob of butter

Wash, peel and chop the carrots into 1cm pieces,
Roughly chop the onion (not too small)
In a big heavy bottomed pan, melt the butter, add the carrots and onion and stir so that there is a fine coating of melted butter covering carrots and onions.
Make up 1 pint of chicken stock with oxo cube and boiling water, add a splash to the pan and put the lid on.
Let the carrots and onions sweat in the pan (low heat) for 15 mins.
Then add the rest of the stock and simmer until carrots are cooked.
Leave to cool slightly (half an hour roughly), then blend, adding milk, water or more stock to get the required consistency.
Reheat as you need it, adding salt and pepper to taste.

It also freezes well

Carrot and butter bean soup

15g butter
150g onions
450g carrots
100g leeks, chopped
300g potatoes, chopped
1teasp ground coriander
1 clove garlic, crushed
225g canned butter beans, drained
10fl oz skimmed milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
salt and black pepper

1 Melt the butter, add onions cook together
2 stir in carrots, leeks potatoes, ground coriander, garlic and cook for 5 mins
3 Add butter beans and 900ml of water and bring to boil. The reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20 mins
4 Remove soup from the ehat and puree it . Stir in milk and chopped coriander and season to taste. Gently reheat.

Lamb Shank Korma:

4 lamb shanks

Few strands saffron
I tbsp rosewater (called Keora in Indian shops - cheaper to buy it there)
3 x large onions, chopped
1 oz chopped cashews nuts
1 oz almonds
2 x cinnamon stick (or cassia bark sticks)
4 x green chillis, chopped
2 x bay leaves
Ginger, a bit the size of your thumb, chopped
3 x garlic cloves, chopped roughly
2 x tbsp corainder powder
1 x tsp garam masala
2 x tsp red chilli powder (or failing this hot paprika)
Half pot yoghurt
1 tsp mace
4 x green cardamoms - bashed up
Juice of a lime

-soak the saffron strands in the rosewater, set aside

-Splash quite a bit of oil in largest pan you have got. Add onions, cinnamon stick and 1 x bay leaf. Cook onions on low-medium until they are brown for about 20 mins. Do not skip this step, this adds loads of flavour. Add nuts midway through.

-When done put in a blender and smooth to purée.

-in same pan put in more oil, brown off lamb shanks then remove and out aside. In remaining oil saute chillis, other bay leaf, ginger, garlic, coriander powder, half garam masala and pinch rock salt, heat on medium for 10 mins, stirring constantly. Then, add chilli powder (or paprika) and yoghurt. Then stir for 5 mins or so on LOW, then put lamb shanks back in.

-put in onion puree and mix in. Then add rest of garam masala, mace, cardamoms and stir through on low. Then, add about 700 ml or so of stock (I use those Marco Piere White Knorr chicken stock thingies, chicken usually because that is what I have around, have used Marigold powder but chicken stock is better). Give it a big stir, then put lid on and leave it for a couple of hours on the lowest setting, untl meat is tender.

-Just before serving, stir in lime juice and saffron/rose water.

Best served with Dhal (mashed up so is like mashed potato).

This is best made and then reheated and served the next day (leave the lime and saffron water til then). I have made it overnight and left it on the hob, however I have an induction hob which has a really low setting, i wouldn't do that with a gas or electric hob.

It's gorgeous, genuine North Indian recipe.

Tunisian Harissa Stew

For Lamb Meatballs:

500g mince lamb
1 onionm very finely diced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp ground ginger
rock salt
egg, beaten.

For Stew

2 onions, chopped finely.
1 red onion, sliced into half moons
1 stick celery, chopped finely
1 sweet potato, chopped
2 parsnips, chopped
1/2 swede, chopped
3 cloves garlic
100g ready to eat apricots, each apricot cut into quarters
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
2 x tins chopped tomatoes
700ml chicken stock (use Marco Pierre White Knorr tubs)
Thumb sized bit root ginger, chopped
Whole jar rose harissa (I buy this from the poncey foods section of Sainsbos)

Pomegranate seeds
Chopped fresh coriander

-To make the meatballs, combine all meatball ingredients in bowl and leave for 20 mins. Then make into meatballs - half a desertspoon of mixture per meatball. Makes around 25-30ish meatballs. Fry these off in batches and set aside.

-Stew. Poor a hefty slug of oil in largest pan you have. Put in onion, celery, sweet potato, parsnip, swede, garlic, fresh ginger, apricots. I tend to chop these up and put them in as I go.

-Then add spices, tomatoes, rose harissa and stock. Season with salt and pepper and then leave on slow simmer for aabout hour and half.

-Add meatballs and heat through. To serve scatter pomeranate seeds and corainder on top. I serve this with Ainsley Harriot couscous with sultanas mixed in, with mint and yoghurt sauce on the side.

Yummy yummy yummy.

Vindaloo

Don't be put off thinking this is going to be too hot - you can vary the heat by putting in less chilli.

I try to avoid chopping up chillis as contact lens wearer, so more often than not use Englsih Provender hot chilli (in a jar) instead. So use 2 heaped teaspoons of this chilli instead of 5 scotch bonnets which this recipe calls for. Use as little or much as you fancy.

INGREDIENTS TO GRIND IN PESTLE & MORTAR
2 tsp poppy seeds
1 star anise
6 cloves
8 black peppercorns
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp cumin seeds

TO PUT IN BLENDER
Big bit of ginger - large thumb size, chopped
6 plump garlic cloves
3 heaped teaspoons paprika (Hot not smoked or sweet, I like La Chinata, sold in a tin in Sainsbos)
3 tsp coriander powder
5 scotch bonnets, chopped up, seeds removed or left in
3 desertspoons tamarind paste (go to Indian grocers for this as the stuff they sell in supermarkets is rubbish. Get the stuff sold in jars not the stuff you have to soak and sieve).
-3 tablespoons good quality cider vinegar

OTHERS
500g diced pork
2 large onions, chopped
2 cinammon sticks
2 x bay leaves
2 x tsp jaggery (solid palm sugar sold in Indian grocers, you have to hack it with a knife to get bits off)
600ml chicken stock
10-15 curry leaves

-in a heavy based pan, put in slug of oil and cook onions (with cinammon sticks and bay leaves) for a good 25 mins on low, until the onions are chestnut brown. Do not skip this step as adds real flavour.

-to make spice paste: bash all pestle & mortat ingredients and put in blender. Put all blender ingredients in a, um, blender. Mix well to make spice paste.

-add paste to onions and cook on low heat for 10 mins.

-add pork, stir through for 3 mins. Then add stock and cook on very low for a couple of hours.

-just before serving add jaggery and curry leaves.

Note - this makes a watery consistency curry, to bolster it I normally add part-cooked potatoes along with pork. To do these I chop 3 x baking potatoes into wedges, put in baking tray with slug of oil, chilli flakes and turmeric, and cook on high in oven for about 20 mins, then put in curry.

Spanish rice & Prawn Onepot

Serves 4
Low fat counts as 2 of 5 a day

1 onion sliced
1 red and 1 green pepper deseeded and sliced
2 garlic cloves crushed
1tbsp olive oil
250g/9oz easy cook basmati rice
400g can chopped tomatoes
200g/8oz, peeled prawns defrosted if frozen

Boil the kettle, in a non stick frying or shallow pan with a lid, fry the onion, peppers, chorizo and garlic in the oil over a high heat for 3 mins. Stir in the rice and the chopped tomatoes with 500ml of boiling water, cover, then cook over a high heat for 12 minutes.

Uncover then stir - the rice should be almost tender. Stir in the prawns, with a splash more water if the rice is looking dry, then cook for another minute until the prawns are just pink and rice tender.

Per serving - 356 kcals, protein 19g, carbs59g, fat 7g, sat fat 2g, fibre 4g, sugar 7g, salt 0.85g

WW points (as far as I can make out) 5.5

This was delicious, I halved the ingredients and made a huge amount for DH and me. Served with rice it has a total WW point score of 6.5.

Prawn, pea and tomato curry

Serves 4, 3 of 5 a day

1tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions halved each cut into 6 wedges
large knob of ginger chopped
6 garlic cloves roughly chopped
3 tbsp curry ( I used tikka masala paste)
400g shelled raw prawns
250g frozen peas
small bunch of coriander

Heat the oil in the frying pan, then fry the onions over a medium heat until soft and beginning to brown. Meanwhile reserve 8 of the tomato wedges then whizz the remainder in a food processor with the ginger and garlic.

Add the curry paste to the pan for 30secs. Stir through the tomato mix and remaining tomato wedges, then bubble over a high heat for 5 mins stirring so the sauce doesn't catch. Mix in the prawns and peas simmer until the prawns are cooked through. Scatter with coriander and serve with rice.

236 kcals
sat fat 1g

Carbonara a la Trills (for 2)
bacon (half a packet)
egg (2 yolks, 1 whole)
parmesan (as much as seems right, maybe 50g? who knows?)
pepper
cream is optional
half a small glass of wine is also optional
a spoonful of half-fat creme fraiche is good instead of the cream though
200g pasta if no-one is on a diet, less if they are

put kettle on to boil
chop bacon small, fry
put pasta in boiling water, boil for 10 mins
'deglaze' bacon pan with wine if using, with a bit of the pasta water if not
drain pasta, put in bacon pan (off heat), swirl around, add egg and parmesan and pepper and cream/creme fraiche if using
the heat of the pasta cooks the egg enough, if you put it on the heat you'll get scrambly eggs, not so nice

Lemon or Lime Chicken

OK, there are no measurements, I just put in what 'looks' ok to my taste.

Chicken breast chopped into rough cubes
Garlic (chopped)
Olive Oil (enough to marinate the meat)
Chopped Basil (coriander works too)
Rind of half a lemon (or lime)
Juice of a few lemons (or limes)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix everything in a bowl apart from the chicken. Add the chicken when it is all mixed and give it a good stir, making sure the chicken is covered in the marinade, cover with cling film. Put in the fridge for a few hours. Take it out, give it another stir and put the chicken into a heated frying pan and add the leftover marinade to add moisture to the chicken if/as needed. Fry till the marinated bits of the chicken go sticky brown and voila, ready.

*If you don't want to fry it, you can skewer the chicken and grill or BBQ and just keep brushing on marinade**

Serve with rice and a Riatta type dip.

Red Onion Marmalade

85ml olive oil
1.5kg red onions very finely sliced
120 ml sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons of creme de cassis
S&P

Heat oil, add onions & cook slowly until the onions are very soft and the sugary juices have caramelised and look thick, dark & sticky (about 1-1.5 hrs)
Add vinegar, creme de cassis and cook for 10 mins
Spoon into sterilised jars and top with a little oil to seal

Should last 6-8 weeks according to the recipe. I have kept mine for longer but normally gets demolished or handed to friends/family much quicker than that!

Kedgeree

250g smoked haddock
150ml milk
150ml water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp mild curry powder
125g bamati rice, rinsed
2 eggs, boiled until still a little soft inside
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
S&P

Put milk, water, bay leaf and fish into lidded pan and simmer for 2 mins
Remove from heat, set aside liquid and flake the fish
Heat the butter in a pan, add onions and sweat for 5 mins. Stir in curry powder and rinsed rice and 225ml of the reserved cooking liquid
Bring to the boil and simmer very gently with the lid on for 15 mins
Fluff up the rice, add the fish, half the coriander, S&P
Spoon into bowls and add segments of egg, toppped with remaining coriander

Nutrition: serves 2, Per portion: 522 calories, 11g fat

As promised, a couple of low fat/low calorie soups (hope i don't get done for copyright )

Sweet Potato Soup

Serves 8, 78cals, 2gfat (trace saturates) 14g carbohydrates, 0.8g salt per serving

1tbsp olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
2tsp coriander seeds, crushed
2 fresh red chillis, seeded and chopped
1 butternut squash (about 750g) peeled and roughly chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, skinned and diced
1.7lires (3 pints) hot vegetable stock

1)heat the oil in a large pan over a gentle heat and fry onion for 10mins til soft. Add coriander seeds and chillies to pan and cook for 1-2mins

2)Add the squash, sweet potatoes and tomatoes, and cook for 5mins. Add the hot stock, cover, bring to the boil, then simmer until vegetables are soft. Leave to cool slightly, then blend (in batches) until smooth. Reheat and serve

Pepper and lentil soup (this one is more of a proper meal)

Serves 6, 165cals, 2.7g fat (0.5g saturates) 26.5g carbohydrates, 0.5g salt per serving

1 tbsp oil
1 med onion, finely chopped,
1 celery stick, chopped
1 leek, trimmed and chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 red peppers, seeded and diced
225g (8oz)red lentils
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 litre hot light veg stock
25g flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt and black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion, celery, leek and carrot, cook for 10-15mins until soft.

2)Add the peppers and cook for 5 mins. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes and stock and season with salt and pepper.

3. Cover the pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered for 25mins until the lentils are soft, and veg is tender.

4)Stir in the parsley, then serve

Thank you Good Housekeeping