Thai prawn, ginger and spring onion stir-fry

Stir-fry is a great dish when you are really hungry but want something really quick AND healthy.  This stir-fry takes a little bit more time to prepare than others because of preparing the sauce, but it's still ready in less time than it takes to have a takeaway delivered and its a lot tastier too.  I came across this recipe on BBC good food - my favourite foodie site.  I have slightly adapted the recipe/method from the original as my other half isn't keen on coriander so the whole bunch suggested would have ruined it for him.  As it is, the amount I put in complimented the other flavours rather than overpowering it.  Coriander is one of those ingredients you either love or hate..like marmite, but it goes so well in this dish that I would feel confident in saying that even those who don't like coriander would have to agree that its pretty darn tasty! And for those who do like their coriander..sprinkle a bit more over the top at the end like I did.


We tend to have our stir-fry's with loads of vegetables and no rice or noodles.  For those on Weight Watchers this is 5 pro points per serving and the recipe serves two.  Add extra points for rice or noodles.  To make the dish you'll need the following:

• 200g of raw tiger or king prawns
• 1 chilli, de-seeded and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• Fresh coriander - I used about a tablespoon once chopped, add more if you both like coriander
• Juice of half a lime
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce (don't smell it before hand!!)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• stir fry vegetables of your choice - e.g. beansprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo, sweetcorn etc

To make the sauce, put the chilli, garlic, coriander, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger into a mortar and crush/mix all the ingredients with a pestle.  Alternatively if you don't have a mortar and pestle you can use a food processor.  

Put the prawns in a bowl and add about 2 tablespoons of the sauce then leave it to marinade for a few minutes whilst you prepare your chosen vegetables.  

Add the prawns and the vegetables to a wok or a pan with the remaining sauce and fry until the prawns are cooked.  

In the words of Gordon...done!

Delicious Beef Stir fry

I've only just started to eat Chinese food recently, it's never been a cuisine that's appealed to me but I'm starting to be more adventurous and trying a few different dishes to ease me in.  Maybe it was all the greasy looking, really sweet smelling dishes that I've seen people eat from the takeaway and the number of people that have complained about getting ill after eating one! 


On Christmas Eve my mam rustled up a lovely beef stir fry in her new wok for us and it was so delicious that I had to get the recipe.  Thing is my mam just chucked some stuff in a bowl and made it up but there was a very similar recipe in the Ken Hom stir fry cookbook that Santa brought her the next day so she sent me the recipe, although I've changed it slightly.


The key here is marinating the beef before stir frying it.  The longer you can leave it to marinate the better but if you haven't got time to let the flavours soak in you can use it straight away.  Now if I had smelt the oyster sauce used in marinating the beef I don't think I would have touched it, but it does make it taste really nice.


For those of you on Weight Watchers the stir fry itself is 5 ProPoints but if you are having it with rice or noodles then it'll be extra.


The recipe below serves two but just add extra beef and veg if you are serving more.


To make the stir fry you will need:

• Steak cut into strips - I used rump steak but you could use sirloin or fillet.  I'm not sure how much steak was used as I just asked the butcher for enough for two people, but I'm guessing about 250g
• Vegetables - it's up to you what you use, this particular time I used peppers, pak choi, onion, peppers, spinach, peas, beansprouts, carrots and broccoli because that's what I had in the fridge.  Again there isn't a specific measurement for this I just cut up what I estimated to be a good amount for two people.
• 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce - alternatively you can use a fresh chilli and a pinch of sugar
• 1 and a half tablespoons of oyster sauce
• 1 tsp of light soy sauce
• 1 large clove of garlic, grated
• 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger
• 1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar (you could use dry sherry as an alternative)
• Black pepper

1) Marinade the beef in the garlic, ginger, sweet chilli sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce.  Add a bit of black pepper to season.  You could add salt if you wish but I found it was salty enough with the soy sauce.  I kept mine in the fridge for a couple of hours whilst it marinated, but be warned my fridge still stinks of chilli and garlic 24 hours later!

2) When you want the stir fry, remove the beef from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.  Fry in a large pan or a wok if you have one for a few minutes on a high heat.  Once the beef is cooked you can either remove from the pan and set aside and then stir fry the vegetables in the juices left over from the beef or you can chuck it all in together, which is the method I went for! Add this stage you may also want to add more oyster, chilli or soy sauce - it's dependent on your tastes.  Again stir fry for a couple of minutes on a high heat so the veg is still crunchy.

3) Serve on its own or with some rice or noodles.  All ready in a flash!

My boyfriend calls it a Triumph!! I say its absolutely delicious..but my mam's still had the edge! :-)

Stuffed Peppers

I have made these stuffed peppers since I was about 15.  Even back then I would see somebody make something or come across a recipe and adapt it to my own tastes.  This particular dish was from Delia Smith but she added anchovies to hers which, at the time I thought was pretty disgusting.  Now I wouldn't mind giving that a go! You can have this as a vegetarian main dish (both peppers) with some lovely salad or you can have it as a starter or as a healthy side to your main meal.  If you are following Weight Watchers this only has 4 points per pepper. 

To make 2 stuffed peppers you will need:

• 1 sweet pointed pepper (make sure you choose nice big ones rather than skinny flat ones so you can get more tomatoes in them) 
• An assortment of cherry or plum tomatoes (I used red, orange and yellow)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons olive oil (you could substitute this for fry light and save yourself a point)
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 pack of half fat mozzarella, torn into pieces
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

And here's what you do:

Cut the peppers in half length ways and de-seed them. Put the peppers in a baking tray - you might need to use a deep baking tray or dish to give some support to the peppers if they were a bit curvy like mine.   Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 6 or 200 degrees

Cut your cherry or plum tomatoes in half and put them inside the pepper, creating a layer of tomatoes.  Divide the garlic between the two peppers, spreading it across the tomatoes and in the gaps in between.  Then add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to each pepper so that the vinegar is in all the gaps between the tomatoes (my mouth is watering as I am writing this!). Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil on each pepper, season, sprinkle a little dried parsley over each and pop in the oven for around 15-20 minutes until the pepper and tomatoes have softened.

Remove the peppers from the oven and top with the torn mozerella.  Put back in the oven to cook for around 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble. 

A delicious yet healthy dish which tastes great and is really versatile...what more can you want?

Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup

A week on from my last post and the scrummy leek and potato soup, it's still cold, wet and miserable in Manchester, so its time for another soup recipe.  This one is roasted pepper and tomato soup.  Its a great way to use up your left over tomatoes that you bought with all the good intentions of making a salad (who wants salad in January/February anyway!).  The recipe below makes enough soup for two and is 3 propoints per serving.  Use calorie controlled spray instead of olive oil if you want a soup with less points

You'll need the following:

• 1 sweet red pointed pepper
• 1 pack of cherry or plum tomatoes
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Tomato Ketchup
• 1 beef oxo cube
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Salt and Pepper

Firstly cut the sweet pointed pepper in half and deseed.  Then cut each half into half again and put on baking tray.  Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees or gas mark 6.  Sprinkle some of the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and seasoning on top of the peppers and put in the oven to roast for around 15-20 minutes.  Set to one side to cool and then chop into little pieces

To the pan add the rest of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce, the crushed garlic, parsley, basil and some salt and pepper.  Chop your tomatoes into chunks and add to the pan along with the roasted peppers.  Add a dash of tomato ketchup and stir everything together so its coated in the olive oil and vinegar.

Simmer the tomatoes/peppers on a low heat for around 10-15 minutes until they are soft and the sauce has thickened.  A lot of people would take the skins off the tomatoes and peppers but I leave them on as I think it adds to the flavour...that and I just cant be bothered peeling the skins off them!

Add 1 beef oxo cube to 350ml of boiling water and stir until dissolved.  Add the stock to the pan and simmer for another 10 minutes. 

Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.  Then return to the pan to warm through again.  Check for seasoning then serve with some nice crusty bread.

Scrummy Leek and Potato Soup

Sometimes on a cold winter day I like to take the dog out for a walk and then come back and eat a nice bowl of warming soup.  Its the ultimate comfort food! This one has to be one of my favourites and its so easy to make! If you ask me its the chicken stock that makes all the difference but if you want it to be suitable for vegetarians just swap the chicken stock cube for a veggie one instead.  For those following Weight Watchers each serving is 4 points.

To make this soup to feed two people you'll need:

• 1 large leek, diced
• 1 medium sized potato, cut into small pieces
• 1 Chicken stock cube
• 1tsp dried parsley
• Salt and Pepper to season

1) Cut the leek and potato into small chunks.  There's no need to peel the skins of the potato they add to the flavour and thicken the soup.  I use any type of potato that i have in the fridge at the time although I've found the best ones seem to be the ones used for mashing like Maris piper.

2) Add the leek to the pan with a little olive oil and fry over a low heat until it softens.  Once softened add in the potatoes and cook for a couple of minutes to release some of the starch.

3) Dissolve the stock cube in 700ml of boiling water.  Add the stock to the pan and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. 

4) Once cooked, leave it to cool for ten minutes, then add to a blender and blend until smooth.

5) Empty the contents of the blender back into the pan, warm it through and season to taste.

Serve with some crusty bread and some proper butter.  Then treat yourself to a cheeky little slice of raspberry cheesecake for desert!! :-)

Thai Salmon Kebabs

This is another tasty recipe I originally came across on BBC Good Food but then changed slightly to suit my own tastes.  It's low in fat, really easy to make and the sweet chilli marinade goes perfectly with the salmon.  To make the dish you will need

• Salmon fillets, skinless and boneless (1 per person)
• Half bottle of Sweet Chilli Sauce (I used original but you could also use hot)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 Teaspoons dried ginger
• Kebab skewers

And here's what you do:

1) Combine the sweet chilli sauce, lime and ginger in a bowl.  Cut the salmon into strips big enough to fit on kebab skewers.  Add the salmon strips to the marinade and leave for 5 to 10 minutes to absorb some of the flavours.

2) Thread the salmon onto the kebab skewers and grill under a medium grill for 8 to 10 minutes, turning half way through.  The salmon is done when it turns opaque.

3) Serve the kebabs with whatever you feel, I have mine with a nice salad and some new potatoes.  I tend to take the salmon off the skewers once its cooked to make it easier to serve - although it disappears a lot faster that way :-)

Low-fat mushrooms on toast

I first saw this recipe last summer when I was on a diet for my holidays and when the guy cooking this on the telly said it was a low fat breakfast alternative my ears pricked up...I was getting a bit sick of special k! I only tend to make this on a weekend for brunch as I am far to sleepy during the week to make anything other than a bowl of cereal.  It also makes a tasty vegetarian dish.  The recipe below serves one and for those following weight watchers it is only 4 points!

To make the mushrooms on toast you will need the following:

• 1/2 pack of sliced mushrooms or 7 largish mushrooms
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1tsp parsley
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp half fat creme fraiche
• bread of your choice

Firstly add a little olive oil to your pan and add the mushrooms and garlic to it.  Cook for a couple of minutes over a medium heat until the mushrooms start to go brown. While the mushrooms are cooking, toast or grill your bread.  Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper and some parsley.

Add in the creme fraiche and leave to cook for a couple of minutes to warm it through.  Serve immediately on top of your toast.  

A tasty alternative to that bacon sarnie (oh who am I kidding a bacon sarnie would win every time, but still if you are on a diet its nice to know that something is low fat AND tastes nice!)