Beetroot & Potato Boulangere

Good evening

Tonight's recipe is one I came across when I was looking for ideas to use up some cooked beetroot I won in a Slimming World raffle prize.  I had intended making a soup of some kind but this caught my eye!  I decided to make it tonight to accompany our Sunday roast beef as a change from our usual roasties and it was delicious!  Original recipe from Poppy & The Bees via Pinterest and tweaked by me.  If you want to make it Syn free substitute the wine for more stock.

Beetroot & Potato Boulangere

Serves 4

1.5 Syns per Serving

Ingredients:
Low calorie olive oil spray oil
1 x pack of vacuum packed cooked beetroot, sliced finely
5-6 white potatoes, sliced finely (I used Maris Piper)
2 small onions, halved and finely sliced
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
125ml white wine
200ml vegetable stock
Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C.  Spray a shallow ovenproof dish with the spray oil then layer up the beetroot, potato and onion slices.  Doing this vertically looks pretty and also the veg cooks more evenly.  Sprinkle over the herbs.  Combine the wine and stock and pour over the vegetables.  Season well.  Cover the dish with foil to make a 'lid' and place in the pre heated oven for 40-45 mins until the vegetables are cooked through.  Remove the foil from the dish and return to the oven uncovered for another 15-20 mins until golden and the vegetables are beginning to crisp.  Remove from the oven and allow to stand for around 10 mins before serving.

That's all for now, enjoy the week ahead.

Shona xx

Mushy Pea Curry!

Good evening,

Another Slimming World inspired recipe tonight!  This one has a couple of 'hidden' ingredients lol.  The recipe was passed on by one of the lovely members at my SW group when we had a taster night earlier in the week, she made us taste it before she told us what was in it!  Sadly, I had a wee 1lb gain this week so 2st 13.5lb total weight loss to date but I'm back on track and having a good week so far!

Slimming World Inspired Chicken Curry with Mushy Peas

Serves 4 (with leftover sauce)

Free on Slimming World

Ingredients:

Cooking oil spray (I used sunflower)

4 chicken breasts, cubed

125g mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 tbsp frozen peas

2 x 300g can mushy peas

1 x 425g can baked beans in tomato sauce

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp mild curry powder (or to taste)

1/2 tsp chilli powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Fry the chicken in the spray oil until cooked all over and just starting to brown, add the mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes until beginning to soften.  Add the frozen peas to the chicken and mushrooms.  Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and puree with a stick blender until everything is blitzed and has a thick but quite smooth consistency.

Add about half the sauce mixture to the chicken, mushrooms and peas and cook until bubbling and cooked throughout.

Serve with plain boiled rice.

The leftover sauce would be fab heated up and served with Slimming World chips!

Have a great weekend folks!

Hugs,

Shona xx

I'm back - with Slimming World Friendly Lasagne!

Good evening,

I can't believe it's almost a year since I last blogged a recipe on here!  I have decided to resurrect Homecooked by Hamill although a lot of my recipes will now be tailored towards Slimming World as I am following their plan.  I have had a very successful journey with them so far losing 2 stone 13 lb since I started mid May!  I still have quite a way to go but I'm in it for the long haul! Don't worry there will still be some non Slimming World recipes along the way!

Ok on to my Lasagne!  This recipe came about as I didn't fancy making any of the lasagne recipes I'd seen online or in Slimming World magazines, recipe books, etc.  Most of them contain quark and/or fromage frais and I'm not keen on either.  In the past pre SW I'd often used packet white sauce mixes for a quick hack when making mac & cheese or lasagne so I calculated the syns in a packet to see if they would be a viable option and thankfully they are!

Lasagne

Serves 4

2.5 Syns & 1 x Healthy Extra A on Slimming World

Ingredients:

6-9 dried no pre cook lasagne sheets (depending on the size of your dish)

500g minced beef (5% or less fat)

2 smoked bacon medallions,  chopped 

1 large onion, chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 stick celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

250g chestnut mushrooms, chopped

1 tbsp tomato puree

500g carton passata

1 white wine stock pot

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground mace

pinch of sweetener

salt & freshly ground pepper

2 x 25g sachets Schwartz white sauce mix

600ml 1% fat milk

80g reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated

Method:

Place the minced beef, bacon, onions, carrot and celery in a shallow, lidded saucepan (without the lid at this stage) and cook until starting to brown all over, approx 15 mins, stirring frequently.

Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 mins, stirring frequently.  Add the tomato puree, passata, stock pot, herbs, mace, sweetener and seasoning and mix thoroughly.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook with the lid on for around 20 mins stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile combine the milk with the sachets of sauce mix in another pan and cook according to the packet instructions.  

Assemble the lasagne in a large square or rectangular oven proof dish starting with a small drizzle of the white sauce then a layer of lasagne sheets followed by a layer of the mince mixture and another drizzle of white sauce.  Repeat the layers then add a final layer of lasange sheets and top with the rest of the white sauce and the grated cheese.

Bake at 200C for approx 40 mins but this will depend on the dish you've used and your oven so check it frequently and cook it for longer if needed.  it should be nicely browned and a little bit crispy on the top.  

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Shona x

Pumpkin Pie

And hello again,

Happy Halloween!  The pumpkin season is well and truly upon us so what better way to celebrate with a slice of pumpkin pie.  I've been wanting to make this for ages and with the help of a can of Libby's Pumkin Puree it was really simple to make.  This recipe is from their website.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

Method

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.POUR into pie shell.
BAKE in preheated 425°F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.
Cooks Note: 1-3/4 teaspoons pumpkin spice may be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger and cloves; however, the taste will be slightly different. Do not freeze, as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.
FOR 2 SHALLOW PIES: substitute two 9-inch (2-cup volume) pie shells. Bake in preheated 425°F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F.; bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until pies test done.
FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (3,500 to 6,000 ft.): Deep-dish pie - extend second bake time to 55 to 60 minutes. Shallow pies - no change.
Estimated Times: Preparation - 15 minutes; Cooking - 55 minutes; Cooling Time - 2 hours cooling.
© 2009 and ®/™ Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland, used with permission.
Submitted by: LIBBY'S® Pumpkin
Nutrient data provided by COOKS.com.

Servings: 8 (136.68g per serving)Nutrition (per serving): 253 calories, 12.35g total fat, 4.3g saturated fat, 152.3mg potassium, 32.82g carbohydrates, 19.6g sugar, 2.7g fiber, 5.9g protein, 58.5mg cholesterol, 318.8mg sodium, 1.2mg iron, 24.7mcg folate, 118mg phosphorus, 6696.84IU Vitamin A, 0.15mcg Vitamin B12, 1.33mg Vitamin C, 42.86IU Vitamin D.

Eton Mess Cake

Good morning,

Just sharing a cake I made a few months back.  It was absolutely delicious one of the best cakes I've ever made and best of all it wasn't too tricky.  I made it to serve at the Strawberry Tea held at a nearby sheltered housing complex and I'm happy to say everyone really enjoyed it.  The recipe is another winner from BBC Good Food!

Eton Mess Cake 

Ingredients

• 175g unsalted butter
• 5 tbsp double cream, from a 300ml pot
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 225g plain flour
• 100g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 400g strawberries,½ roughly chopped, ½ finely sliced
• 4 meringues nests (50g/2oz), very roughly broken up
• a little icing sugar, to serve

Method

1. Grease a deep, 20 x 30cm traybake or roasting tin, then line with parchment. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Melt the butter, take off the heat and stir in the cream and thevanilla. Mix the flour, almonds, baking powderand ¼ tsp fine salt and set aside for later.
2. Put the caster sugar and eggs into a large bowl, and whisk with electric beaters until very thick and foamy, about 5 mins. Pour in the butter mix, whisk briefly, then add the flour mix and whisk briefly again until even. Stir in the chopped strawberries, then pour the batter into the tin and level the top.
3. Scatter the sliced strawberries and meringue over the cake, then bake for 40-45 mins until risen, golden and a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 20 mins in the tin, then transfer the cake to a rack. Just before serving, dust with a little icing sugar. Enjoy with the rest of the double cream, whipped if you like.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2011

Blueberry & Pretzel Cookies

Hello again,

Here's another bluberry recipe I road tested to use up some of our crop.  This time it's a cookie recipe and I have to say they were delicious, especailly when still warm!  The recipe is from BBC Good Food.

Blueberry & Pretzel Cookies

Ingredients

• 175g butter, softened
• 200g light soft brown sugar
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 250g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200g blueberries
• 50g small salted pretzels, broken into chunky pieces
• 100g white chocolate chunks

Method

1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Tip the butter, sugars and vanilla into a bowl. Beat with a hand-held electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again. Tip the flour, bicarb and a pinch of salt into the bowl, and use a spatula to mix together. Add the blueberries, pretzel pieces and chocolate chunks, and mix again until everything is combined.
2. Scoop golf-ball-sized mounds of cookie dough onto the baking trays, making sure you leave plenty of space between each one. (You should fit 4-6 cookies on each tray, so you’ll have to bake in batches to make the total 20 cookies.) Can be frozen at this point – simply defrost in the fridge before baking. Bake for 18 mins, swapping the trays around halfway through.
3. Remove the trays from the oven and leave to cool for 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack, then bake the second batch. Continue until all the cookies are baked. Will keep in a cookie jar for up to 1 week.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, July 2013

Blueberry Clafoutis

Hello,

Been ages since I've been on here but I wanted to record a recipe I made recently before I lose the clipping!  We got a fantastic crop of blueberries this year, even better than last year so I've been trying out different recipes with them!

This recipe is one I took from my Aunt's Chat magazine

Blueberry Clafoutis

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp sugar to line dish
200g blueberries
100g plain flour
pinch salt
75g caster sugar
1 lemon, grated rind only
3 medium eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
150ml milk
150ml double cream
Sifted icing sugar to decorate

Method
Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4 and butter a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish.  Sprinkle with sugar to line then add blueberries.

Mix flour, salt, sugar and lemon rind together in a bowl.  Whisk in the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, then gradually whisk in the milk and cream to make a smooth batter.

Pour over the blueberries and bake for 30-40 mins until golden, risen and puffed up around the edges and set in the middle.

Dust generously with icing sugar and serve immediately.