these are simple but yum! cut the no syn sausages in half and wrap fat free bacon round them. pop in oven for about 20 mins and bang pigs in blankets 0 syns on a red or EE day!
Here is the link to Christmas Day SW Menu Challenge and if you have any ideas you can add them to this thread so that they will be easy for everyone to find as it is on a sticky.
Serves 8
Syns per serving: free on red days, 9 syns on green (deduct 6 syns if using salmon as a healthy extra on a green day)
Ingredients
2 x 418g cans of red salmon, drained
250g pot quark skimmed milk soft cheese
rind and juice of one lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
20g pack fresh parsley
a few redcurrants to decorate
Method
Flake the salmon and remove any bones and skin. Place in a bowl with the quark, lemon rind, 3 tbsp lemon juice and seasoning to taste
Finely chop the parsley, reserve a little for the garnish and add the rest to the bowl. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
To serve, decorate with the remaining parsley, black pepper and a few redcurrants. Serve with vegetable sticks or Melba toast (1/2 syn each).
Spiced Roast Gammon with Redcurrant Sauce
Serves 8
Syns per serving: Red Day 2, Green 18 (deduct 6 syns if using gammon as a healthy extra on a green day.)
Ingredients
5lb/2.27kg boneless unsmoked gammon joint
1 celery stick
1 medium onion
2 bay leaves
1 stick of cinnamon, broken
2 tbsp whole cloves
4 level tbsp reduced sugar marmalade
6 level tbsp redcurrant jelly
juice of one large lemon
8oz/227g prepared redcurrants, thawed if frozen
2 tbsp granulated artificial sweetener
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsely
Method
Wash the gammon joint, pat dry with kitchen paper and place in a large pan. Trim and halve the celery, peel and halve the onion and add to the pan along with the bay leaves, cinammon and 1 tbsp cloves. Pour in sufficient cold water to cover the joint completely.
Bring to the boil - this will take about 15 minutes - then cover the pan and simmer for 1.5 hours topping up with boiling water as necessary. Drain the gammon and set aside for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Slice off the rind from the gammon, leaving a thin layer of fat, and place the joint in a roasting tin. Score the fat in a criss-crossed pattern, and push a clove into each of the diamonds of fat.
Soften the marmalade and then brush all over the fat. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until tender and hot. Drain well, transfer to a serving plate, cover with foil and allow to stand for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile make the redcurrant sauce. Place the redcurrant jelly in a pan with the lemon juice and heat gently until melted. Add the redcurrants, bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes until tender. Add sufficient sweetener to taste.
Slive the gammon, remove all visible fat, place on serving plates and serve accompanied with the redcurrant sauce and sprinkled with parsley.
Baby Roast Potatoes with Cumin and Rosemary
Serves 8
Syns per serving: syn free on green days, 6 on original days
Ingredients
3lbs/1.3kg baby new potatoes, scrubbed
4 cloves of garlic
Frylight
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh rosemary
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Line a large shallow dish with baking parchment and arrange the potatoes on top, evenly spaced out.
Peel the garlic, thinly slice, scatter over the potatoes and spray lightly with Frylight. Crush the seeds together in a bowl, sprinkle over the potatoes along with plenty of seasoning and a few sprigs of rosemary, reserving a few for garnish.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and tender. Serve garnished with fresh rosemary.
Christmas Cake
Serves 18
Syns per slice: 8.5 syns undecorated; 10.5 syns when decorated (optional)
Ingredients
1 tsp vegetable oil for greasing (2 syns)
40z/113g molasses sugar or dark muscavado sugar (22 syns)
4oz/113g margarine (42 syns)
3 eggs beaten
4oz/113g plain flour (20 syns)
a pinch of salt
1 tsp ground mixed spice
12oz/340g mixed dried fruit (48 syns)
2oz/57g glace cherries, halved and rinsed (7 syns)
1oz/28g chopped walnuts (10 syns)
finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 medium sized orange (1 syn)
50ml dry/medium sherry (3 syns)
Method
Use the oil to grease a 7 inch (18cm) round cake tin and line it with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2/150C/300F
Put the sugar into a large bowl and break down any lumps. Add the margarine and beat well with a wooden spoon until the mixture is light in texture and paler in colour. Gradually beat in the eggs.
In another bowl sift the flour, salt and mixed spice together. Fold into the creamed mixture with the dried fruit, cherries and nuts. Stir in the orange zest, juice and sherry.
Spoon into the prepared tine and level the surface. Bake in the oven for 2.5 - 3 hours, covering the top with greaseproof paper if it starts to look too brown.
Test the cake with a skewer: if it comes out clean the cake is done. If not return to the over for a few minutes longer. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin.
When completely cool, remove from tin, wrap in several layers of greaseproof paper and store n an airtight tin.
Optional
Decorate with a glazed fruit and nut topping which adds 2 syns per slice as follows:
Ingredients
1 level tbsp low sugar apricot jam (1.5 syns)
2 tbsp brandy (6 syns)
28 glace cherries (14 syns)
8 shelled pecan nuts (6 syns)
12 shelled almonds ( 6 syns)
Method
Put jam and brandy in a small saucepan and heat gently stirring with a wooden spoon until well blended
Brush glaze lightly over top of cake. Arrange cherries and nuts on top and brush with remaining glaze.
When topping is cold tie a festive ribbon round sides and store in an airtight tin. Will stay fresh for several weeks.
Put the dried fruit in a bowl with the brandy. Turn the fruit over in the liquid. Leave to soak for several hours or overnight.
The following day, mix together all the ingredients, except the eggs and Guinness, in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs and Guinness, remembering to make a wish and add a farthing!
When the mixture is thoroughly mixed, pour it into a 1.2litre/2 pint pudding basin. Cover with double thickness of greaseproof paper and then a piece of foil and tie securely with string.
Place the pudding in the top of a steamer above gently simmering water. Cover with a lid and steam gently for 7-8 hours, topping up with water in the steamer base as necessary.
When pudding is cold, replace the covers with clean ones and store in a cool, dry place until Christmas Day.
Reheat by steaming gently for 3 hours before turning out onto a serving dish. Decorate with holly. Pour over a measure of brandy, set it alight and serve it flaming.
Mince Pies
Makes 12
Syns per serving: 3 on original and green
Ingredients
2 x 1oz/28g sheets filo pastry
1 medium egg, beaten
1 small cooking apple
1 small orange
6 level tbsp mincemeat
2oz/57g icing sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Lay the filo pastry sheets on top of each other and cut in half. Place the halved sheets on top of each other again, so you have 4 layers of pastry, and cut into 6 equal portions. You should now have 24 pieces of filo.
Brush 12 of the filo pieces with egg and lay in the base of each of 12 non stick patty tins, egg side up.
Brush the remaining sheets and lie on top at a slightly different angle. Scrunch up the sides to form each into a case. Set aside.
Peel, core and finely chop or coarsely grate the cooking apple and place in a bowl. Grate the orange rind and mix half of it into the apple along with the mincemeat. Pile a spoonful into each case and bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp and golden. Carefully transfer to a wire rack.
Meanwhile, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Squeeze the juice from the orange, add 1-2 tsp to the icing sugar and mix into a soft consistency. Drizzle over each mince pie while still warm, sprinkle with the remaining orange zest and serve.
Note: although you can't make these pies in advance, you can prepare them up to 24 hours before serving. Simply make the pastry cases and the filling, adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to the mixture to prevent the apple from browning, cover and chill separately in the fridge until you're ready to cook them.