Lou's Recipes....

a few people have asked for recipes to meals i make so i thought i would put them down in one place with approx cals for people to use if they so wish.

here goes:

Chicken Biryani (Approx 550 Cals for a plateful

• 300g basmati rice
• 25g butter
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cardamom pods
• small cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 4 chicken breasts cut into large chunks
• 4 tbsp curry paste or 1 tbsp of curry powder
• 85g raisins
• 850ml chicken stock
• coriander
• i add frozen peas and sweetcorn too, to bulk it out even more.

1. Soak the rice in warm water, then wash in cold until the water runs clear. Heat butter in a saucepan and cook the onions with the bay leaf and other whole spices for 10 mins. Sprinkle in the turmeric, then add chicken and curry paste and cook until aromatic.
2. Stir the rice into the pan with the raisins, then pour over the stock. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pan and bring to a hard boil, then lower the heat to a minimum and cook the rice for another 5 mins. Turn off the heat and leave for 10 mins. Stir well, mixing through the coriander.

chorizo and bean stew (about 500 cals for a bowlful)

1 Chorizo Ring
1 tin of cannellini beans
1 tin of choped tomatoes
1 chicken stock cube
3 carrots chopped
3 sticks of celery chopped
1 onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
a pinch of chilli flakes
tbsp olive or vegetable oil, or fry light
salt and pepper
orange peel not grated

fry off the onion, garlic, carrot and celery for about 5 mins then add the chorizo for a further 5 mins. stir in the beans, the tomatoes, crumble in the stock cube and add some boiling water until it mostly covers the ingredients. throw in some orange peel, i use a peeler to get 1 inch pieces and use 3, and the chilli flakes and salt and pepper. leave to cook for at least and hour with the lid on.
OR shove it all in the slow cooker in the morning and leave to cook all day

its DELICIOUS! I PROMISE YOU

sausage cassoulet is the same as above with normal sausages but cook them first. leave out the orange peel and the beans you can add 2 diced chicken breasts.

beef casserole (550 cals for huge serving)

3 carrots chopped
3 sticks of celery chopped
1 large onion chopped
half a swede chopped
2 or 3 parsnips chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
some braising steak
1 tin of toms
1.5 pints of beef stock
1tbsp oil or fry light
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

cook off the onions, garlic, carrots and celery for 5 mins with lid on. add the rest of the veg, the tin toms, and the stock, add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. season with salt and pepper and leave to cook on low with the lid on for 2 hours.

OR shove it all in the slow cooker raw and leave it stew

i follow the hairy dieters recipe for lasagne, either using the leek or actual lasagne sheets:

[h=1]Skinny beef lasagne[/h]
Watch recipe2 mins

Who would have thought you could eat lasagne when on a diet? Well thanks to our amazingly clever recipe you can.
The pasta is replaced with sheets of blanched leeks so you can have all the deliciousness without the calorie count.
354 calories per portion.

[h=2]Ingredients[/h]

• 2 large leeks, each about 300g/10½oz
  
• 1 medium onion
  
• 2 celery sticks, trimmed
  
• 2 carrots, peeled
  
• 500g/1lb 2oz lean minced beef
  
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  
• 150g/5½oz chestnut mushrooms, wiped and chopped
  
• 2 tbsp plain flour
  
• 150ml/¼ pint red wine
  
• 200ml/7fl oz beef stock, made with 1 beef stock cube
  
• 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
  
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
  
• 1 heaped tsp dried oregano
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 500ml/18fl oz semi-skimmed milk
  
• 3 tbsp cornflour
  
• freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
  
• 50g/2oz extra-mature cheddar, grated
  
• 25g/1oz parmesan, finely grated
  
• 3 medium vine tomatoes, sliced
  
• freshly ground black pepper

[h=2]Preparation method[/h]

• Trim the leeks until they are about the same width as your lasagne dish. Cut the leeks lengthways through to the middle but no further.
  
• Open out the leeks and remove five or six of the narrow leaves from the centre of each leek. Thinly slice these inner leaves. Separate the larger leaves – these will become your ‘lasagne’.
  
• Finely chop half the onion and cut the other half into wedges. Thinly slice the celery and dice the carrots.
  
• Put the minced beef in a large non-stick frying pan with the sliced leeks, chopped onion, celery, carrots and garlic.
  
• Place the pan over a medium-high heat and fry without added fat for about 10 minutes until lightly coloured. You’ll need to break up the mince with a couple of wooden spatulas or spoons as it cooks.
  
• Stir in the chopped mushrooms and cook for 2–3 minutes more. The pan should look fairly dry at this point.
  
• Sprinkle over the plain flour and stir it thoroughly into the mince and vegetables. Slowly stir in the red wine and beef stock. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato purée and dried oregano, then drop a bay leaf into the pan and bring it to a simmer. Season with lots of freshly ground black pepper.
  
• Turn down the heat slightly and leave the mince to simmer for 20–30 minutes until rich and thick, stirring occasionally.
  
• While the mince is cooking, put the onion wedges in a saucepan with the remaining bay leaf. In a small bowl mix three tablespoons of the milk with the cornflour.
  
• Pour the rest of the milk into the pan with the onion wedges and set it over a low heat. Bring to a very gentle simmer and cook for 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave the milk to infuse for 10 minutes.
  
• Half fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add the leek ‘lasagne’ and bring the water back to the boil.
  
• Cook the leeks for five minutes or until very tender. It is important that the leeks are tender or the lasagne will be tricky to cut later.
  
• Drain in a colander under running water until cold. Drain on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.
  
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  
• Remove the onion wedges and bay leaf from the infused milk with a slotted spoon, then return the pan to the heat. Give the cornflour and milk mixture a good stir until it is smooth once more and pour it into the pan with the infused milk.
  
• Bring to a simmer and cook for five minutes, stirring regularly until the sauce is smooth and thick.
  
• Season the sauce with a good grating of nutmeg to taste and plenty of ground black pepper.
  
• If the sauce is a little too thick to pour easily, whisk in a couple more tablespoons of milk.
  
• Spoon a third of the mince mixture into a 2.5 litre lasagne dish. Top with a layer of blanched leeks. Repeat the layers twice more, finishing with leeks. Pour the white sauce over the leeks and top with the sliced tomatoes. Mix the cheddar and parmesan cheese and sprinkle all over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden-brown and bubbling.
  
• Divide into portions with your sharpest knife. Serve with a freshly dressed green salad.

sausage pasta

i use linda mcartney sausages @ 101 cals each but you can use normal ones.

2 sausages per person
1 onion
1 garlic clove
half a tin of toms or half a carton of passata per 2 people
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
100g pasta each
a teeny pinch of chilli flakes
salt and pepper

this is a simple one. get the pasta on the boil with some salted boiling water, cook the sausages (linda mcartney ones take about 10 mins in a fry pan with fry light or rolive oil,or 20 mins in the oven). in a seperate pan cook off the onion and garlic, add the toms/passata and herbs salt and pepper and chilli flakes. add the sausages to the sauce and serve over the pasta. if you use the linda mcartney sausages they absorb the sauce wonderfully and taste really really yummy.
in my opinion this is the best way to cook these sausages!

5 minute stir fry

1 pack of meat of your choice (beef strips, stiry fry pork pieces, chicken or turkey diced)
1/2 pack of baby corn
1/2 pack of sugar snap peas
1 finely chopped carrot (lengthways)
1 or 2 stir fry sauces (i get mine fom aldi)
1 pack of egg noodles
1 tbsp of oil

get the noodles on in some salted boiling water, they take about 5 mins. in a big pan or wok get the oil hot and add the meat and cook for 2 mins making sure its sliced thinnly, add the veg and cover and cook for further 3 mins. add sauce, make sure meat is cooked, stir and serve straight away over noodles.

not sure of exact cals, but from memory its about 400 per serving.

that'll do for now! i'll add recipes as i make them.

with a base of onions garlic celery and carrot and tin toms you can pretty much make anything with any meat. chicken stew, pork stew, sausage casserole etc, adding or taking away what you fancy. and using a slow cooker means you use no oil making it all the more healthy.

these recipes have helped me get my weight off. i dont feel like im dieting on this food at all, its all hearty warming family meals.

enjoy

They sound delish can't wait to try them they are all family friendly which is good for me! Thanks!

Excellent, your a fab cook I'm going to give some of these a go x

wow hun, these sound fantastic!! im going to make them all!! (at different times of course...i dont binge like i used to haha! x

I'm so hungry reading this!