[stef]

Well! I haven't been here for a while - new job, long hours!

It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO nice to see recipes that are not sweet! I am heartily sickof finding a new site/resource and finding out that it is crammed full of foods I have NEVER eaten and have no intention of starting! Who cares is a packet of marshmallows is low fat, only 52 kcals (or whatever) per mallow - I WON'T EAT 'EM!

I rush off now and dig out my faves!

[veggie]

Mmm marshmallows

[Sarah Ann]

I had a nice dinner the other day. It takes an hour cooking time and the prep is easy.

Scrub 500g of new potatoes, turn them over in half a tablespoon of olive oil and put on a large baking tray, sprinkle lightly with salt - then start to roast them in a medium/hot oven.

In the meantime cut three large red/yellow/orange peppers in half downwards take out the seeds then cut them in to half again (so now they are in quarters) and put them on another baking tray cut side down.

Peel two red onions and cut in to segments - about 6 segments per onion and place on the baking sheet with the peppers.

Drizzle peppers and onions with half a tablespoon of olive oil.

15 minutes after you have put the potatoes in the oven you should then put the peppers in as well.

Next, dice up some low fat feta cheese in to half inch cubes, roughly chop some herbs - oregano, basil, thyme - any combination will do. Drain off and dry some black olives.

Half an hour after the peppers went in the oven get them out, turn each one so its cut side up now (and turn the onions) - then scatter with the feta, the olives and the herbs and a tablespoon of basalmic vinegar if you have it - sprinkle with some fresh ground black pepper then return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Its nice on its own but goes very well with roasted haddock and would go well with roasted chicken pieces. Serve with some plain salad leaves.

[Sarah Ann]

Just for Frus... Chilled Sweet Lemon Omlette

Whip up 3 egg whites.

Then, in a separate bowl, whiz together one whole egg, the grated rind and juice of half a lemon and 50g of cottage cheese - whiz until smooth.

Carefully (using a metal spoon) stir in one heaped spoon of the whipped egg whites and then fold in the rest.

Pour the mixture in to a non stick omlette pan sprayed with Fry Light. Cook over a medium heat until brown on the underside.

Slide on to a plate and dust with splenda or other granualar sweetener and then fold in three. Allow to cool, wrap plate in cling film and put in fridge until needed. (Keeps overnight fine).

Then, when you want to eat it, sprinkle again with sweetner and drizzle with a little more lemon juice.

Nice eaten with berries.

I would think you could also make it with limes.

[Sarah Ann]

Tea Smoked Chicken is a very nice and different way of cooking plain skinned chicken breasts - don't be put off by the tea, sugar or rice - you don't get to eat them.

You can eat this hot or cold but I prefer it cold.

2 x 200g skinned chicken breasts (or more, depending on your pan size)
2 tsp olive oil
50g soft brown sugar
50g long grain rice
10 tea bags, take out the tea and chuck away the bags (you can use posh teas like lapsang souchong if you want but just ordinary tea gives a delicious flavour)

Mix together the sugar, rice and tea leaves.

Line the base and sides of a wok or other large pan with foil.

Sprinkle the tea mixture over the foil and cover with another layer of foil.

Put lid on pan and then put the pan over a medium to high heat.

When the tea mixture starts to smoke you then remove the lid and put the chicken on top of the foil (so there is a layer of foil between the chicken and the tea mixture).

Put lid back on pan and leave to smoke for 12 to 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Things you can add to vary the flavour a bit:
a few lavender sprigs (you need to experiment with lavender to find out how much you like - start with just 3 or 4 sprigs)
rosemary or thyme sprigs,
ginger (both dried or fresh),
peppercorns,
chinese 5 spice,
about 2 inches x 1 inch of orange zest, lime zest or lemon zest,
chili powder

- don't try adding ALL of them at the same time (like my sister did) it will taste horrible.

[Sarah Ann]

Mid-week 'Pie'

You can make this 'as is' or you can put top and bottom it with filo pastry - either way it is very good.

1 bag of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and as much water pressed out as possible
1 250g tub of l/f cottage cheese
1 pack of l/f feta or Danish blue cheese cheese, crumbled
1 onion, finely chopped
2 (or more) cloves of garlic
Finely grated rind of half a lemon
One teaspoon of dried oregano
One eighth teaspoon of nutmeg
Black pepper and salt
one teaspoon of olive oil
2 large eggs
(Optional - but nice: A few pine nuts or crushed almonds)


Fry the onion in the olive oil.

Beat together the cottage cheese, the eggs, the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Mix egg mixture together with remaining ingredients. Pour in to a lightly greased baking dish, scatter the nuts on the top (if using) and bake until set - about 30-40 mins. Allow to cool slightly for 20 mins before eating.

[peacock 2]

OOH! Sounds nice! A sneaky way of 'hiding' cottage cheese from me!

[Sarah Ann]

Its delish! (And very easy) You can't taste the cottage cheese but if you want you can sub it with something like l/f cream cheese or fromage frais.

[Sarah Ann]

1 tin chick-peas, drained
Half red pepper, cut into two pieces
Half onion, chopped
2 tbs olive oil
3 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs tahini
1-2 cloves of garlic
I also added some cumin seeds, but you don't have to!

Put the red pepper, skin side up, under the grill and cook until the skin chars and goes black. Transfer the pieces into a plastic bag for ten minutes. Meanwhile, put the chopped onion, garlic and oil into a saucepan and allow to cook gently, also for 10-15 minutes, until the onion starts to colour.

When you take the pepper out of the plastic bag, the skin should peel off easily. Discard this, and put the flesh of the pepper into a food processor with the onion, the tahini, the lemon juice, the cumin and chick peas. Process until fairly smooth (but a little bit of texture is nice).

[Serena A]

Chinese Chicken and sweetcorn soup - this is really filling and low fat/low calorie. Sometimes I leave out the chicken if I want a super-low cal meal!

1 small can sweetcorn
1 chicken stock cube
1 egg white
2-3 tsp cornflour mixed with a little cold water to make a paste
dash soy sauce
cooked leftover chicken
around 1/2 pint water to taste

Bring water to the boil and crumble in stock cube. Add sweetcorn, soy sauce and as much chicken as you want. Simmer around 5 mins. Add more water/stock cube as desired depending on how strong/weak you like your food to taste. Stir in as much of the cornflour paste until you have the desired thickness. Finally stir in egg white and swish about a bit with a fork so that you get strands of egg. Serve.

[Sarah Ann]

Sounds yummy! I've got a can of corn so I'll give it a try tomorrow.

I'm glad I looked here - I lost the recipe for the roasted red pepper houmous and forgot I put it here.

[Serena A]

These "gummy worms" are not chewy like I expected, however at around 60 calories and negligible carbs for the whole lot it can come in handy for a snacking emergency!

Have converted this from American measurements...

Gummi Worms

Ingredients
115ml boiling water
1 sachet gelatine
1 sachet sugar-free jelly

Method
Dissolve the gelatine and jelly in the boiling water (blitz in the microwave for 30-40 seconds if necessary to help it dissolve).
Pour onto a dinner plate then refrigerate for around 20mins until firm.
Slice into thin strips (this is really easy using kitchen scissors).

[peacock 2]

I am intrigued that you need BOTH gelatine and a jelly- so I will not be making these as I am veggie.

[Serena A]

Sugarfree jelly is just flavoured gelatine anyway - the extra gelatine is to get the gummi consistency otherwise the flavour would be too strong if you used 2 packs of jelly...

[peacock 2]

Ah all is clear.