Mini Mince Pies

I think I have resigned myself to the fact I will only be putting weight on between now and January. If I am very lucky, I may maintain my weight, but let's face it, it's Christmas and that ain't gonna happen. It's times like this in the year along with our summer holiday, that I will indulge, guilt free.  But that's ok, because following a plan like WeightWatchers or Slimming World means you can get back on track when the time is right. These sort of plans are a way of living and I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

I personally I am not a fan of all these quick fix diets. Yes of course you can drop a stone in a month, but who wants to live off microwave pouches 3 times a day. I've seen them. A cat gets fed more than that! And don't get me started on the fact that alcohol is completely banned. I understand these diets have their place but for me losing and maintaining weight has to be a way of life. It's the reason why I started food blogging in the first place. If you can Eat Healthy But Tasty most of the year, you are perfectly entitled to complete over-indulgence at certain times, and most especially, at Christmas...

I've been dabbling with homemade mince pies for the last couple of years trying out different recipes, including Nigella's ones from her Christmas book (which is one of my favourite books by the way). They were nice, however I never really 'got' what was so special about mince pies. But, my goodness, I never, ever thought I could love this Christmas speciality so much! I am absolutely delighted I have found a combination of winning recipes, that for me have produced the perfect mini mince pie. 

If you want to stick to your WeightWatchers plan during this period, these mere morsels are just 3 ProPoints, so one is definitely not out of the question. The 4 that I have eaten today though should not be recommended if you want to lose weight!

For the pastry, I used a recipe from BBC Good Food. If you read the reviews on this 'Unbelievably Easy Mince Pie', (and I always do, which is why I rave about this website so much) people have said it's amazing, but: it's too dry, they needed to add egg or found the pastry sticks to the tin. I followed the recipe to the T and it worked perfectly!. To make mini ones use a tart tin and not a muffin tin. I dug out my Pampered Chef mini muffin tin & tart shaper and took great joy in using this fabulous piece of kitchen kit.

The pastry works well rolled out too. Just choose an appropriate size cutter that will roughly make 30-36 mince pies. I made 34 from the pastry batch recipe.  I weighed out each ball of pastry to 18g each and used the tart shaper to produce a perfect shape tart. I then rolled out the remaining pastry and cut stars to go on top.

You can use any shop bought mincemeat of your choice, but I followed a recipe from the wonderful Kate at Turquoise Lemons. I particularly like this Mincemeat recipe as it is 'fat free' (no suet) and packed full of flavour. You just need to drop a teaspoon into the case and top with the star. I did do as the recipe said which was to lightly brushed with a beaten egg.

Into the oven they went (160c fan) for about 10 minutes. They were just starting to brown so I guessed they were probably ready. I let them cool in the tin for 5 minutes and the removed them using a teaspoon onto a wire rack.

They are seriously good. Especially with a dollop of thick brandy cream. Nom nom...

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Mince Pie: 3

Fennel & Paprika Chicken with Roast Veg

There is a whole lotta love for chicken in our household at the moment.  It's filling, healthy, a good source of protein and relatively low in ProPoints. I only buy free range chicken and I often buy corn fed free range chicken with its yellowy tinged skin.  I get very excited (saddo) to spot a pack of organic or free range chicken in the reduced aisle in the supermarket and I snap it up pronto. When I get it home I carefully portion out the chicken breasts into varying weights to cater for all manner of dishes some of which will include kids dinners.  We are also fond of chicken thighs and drumsticks and in every case I remove the skin before cooking.

Having talked about my love affair for chicken, having it 5 days out of 7 can get pretty tedious!  Therefore I am always interested in finding new ways and new flavours to pair up with our everyday bird.  This concoction is my own mix which has been perfected over the last couple of years.  It's really tasty and the flavours penetrate the chicken really well.

You'll need for 2:

• 450g chicken thighs & drumsticks, skin removed, flesh slashed
• 2 tsp runny honey
• 4g fennel seeds, crushed (bizarrely there is 1 PP to 5g tsp of fennel seeds, so use just under a tsp!)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 heaped tsp paprika
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• seasoning
• 1 tsp white wine or cider vinegar

For the Roasted Vegetables:

• 1 potato 200g once peeled
• 2 small - medium courgettes, roughly chopped
• half a butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• Approx 10 cherry tomatoes
• Half a punnet of chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 medium aubergine, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Dried thyme and rosemary

Prepare the chicken by mixing the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish.  Add a tiny amount of water if you need to thin it out a little.  Toss the chicken ensuring it's fully coated.  Cover and marinade for a good few hours

Prepare all the vegetables and throw into the biggest roasting dish you have.  Season well and scatter over 1 tsp each of the herbs.  Finally add the olive oil and tpss well with your hands to coat all the vegetables.

The vegetables need approx 45-50 minutes in a hot oven (200 fan) and the chicken needs 30 - 40 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.  Ensure the chicken is cooked all the way through.

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 12

Harissa chicken with Giant Couscous & Roasted Veg

I have a new love in my life.  No not a new pair of killer hills (yeah right!) or a designer handbag (not that out of the question), but my BBQ!  I have realised how quick, easy, healthy and tasty it is to BBQ food. You may have noticed that I have gone a little skewer crazy this week, but I am truly loving the way you can add so much flavour to meat and it cooks so fast.  Admittedly I have a gas BBQ and that works great for me as you can simply light and go…

If you have never had giant couscous, you are missing out.  It's a treat in the mouth and is a very versatile, filling grain. Merchant Gourmet make a regular and wholewheat version and you can find it in Waitrose or Sainsburys.  You only need 50g per serving once paired with a decent amount of meat and vegetables which made tonight’s supper very WeightWatcher and Simming World friendly indeed.

You’ll need for 2:

For the chicken:

• 2 x 165g chicken breasts whole or cut into chunks
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp white wine or cider vinegar
• 1 tsp harissa paste
• Seasoning

For the Couscous

• 100g giant couscous (or 120g regular couscous)
• Half a butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 small aubergine, chopped
• Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 tbsp tinned chick peas
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Seasoning

What to do:

Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the chicken.  Leave to marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours. 

Toast the fennel and cumin seeds in a dry, hot frying pan and then pound using a mortar and pestle.

Place the vegetables in a roasting tray and coat in 1 tsp olive oil and seasoning and the ground spices.  Roast in a hot oven (200 fan) for around 30 minutes turning occasionally.  If the tray looks a little dry spoon over a couple of tablespoons of veg stock to moisten.  The tomatoes will also help to add moisture.

Place the couscous in a sauce pan and cover with vegetable stock.  Add the bay leaf and boil for 8 minutes (or follow the packet instructions) then drain in a sieve.  Add the chick peas for the last 2 -3 minutes of cooking to heat through.  Toss the drained couscous and chickpeas into the roasted vegetables and stir thoroughly.

At the same time as cooking the couscous, skewer the chicken and place on the BBQ, turning once.  If you are cooking the breast whole it may need longer and always make sure the chicken is cooked through with no pink showing.  Enjoy!

WeightWatchers Points Per Serving: 12

Salmon Teriyaki

I really do love Asian food.  Especially Chinese and Thai.  I have longed to perfect a handful of Asian dishes and think I’ve got this one pretty much down.  I’m a big fan of Ching He-Haung as I think she cooks wonderful Chinese food in a naturally healthy manner.  My recipes are very often based on hers, but of course I look to cut down on oil wherever possible to save valuable WeightWatchers ProPoints and up the veg content making it Slimming World friendly.

This teriyaki marinade works well not just with salmon but also with chicken, beef or prawns.  Marinade for a couple of hours if you can.  Tonight I had, er all of 5 minutes but the dish was still tasty. 

You’ll need for 2:

• 2 salmon fillets, each 110g
• 1 teaspoon Sesame or Groundnut oil
• 1 pack of baby corn and mangetout, sliced
• 1 pak Choi, sliced
• Handful of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp dark soy
• 1 tbsp light soy
• Squeeze of lemon or few drops of concentrated lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Mirin (or you could use honey)
• 1 tsp lazy chopped garlic
• 1 tsp lazy chopped ginger
• Pinch chilli flakes (optional)
• 2 portions dried egg noodles, medium (60g each)

What to do:

Make up the marinade by combining the dark soy, mirin, garlic, lemon, ginger, chilli flakes.  Marinade the salmon for an hour or so if you can

The next few steps all happen simultaneously so get all your pans ready!

Simmer the egg noodles according to the packet instructions, drain and rinse in cold water until required.

Heat the sesame oil in a wok or large frying pan and fry the veggies on a high heat.

Heat a griddle pan and shake off any excess marinade and griddle for 3-4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the salmon.  You can also bake the salmon on a foil lined tray or grill.

Add any excess marinade to the veggies along with 1 tbsp light soy sauce.

Add the noodles to the veggies and toss to coat evenly.

Plate up with the noodles / veggies first, then top with the cooked salmon.

WeightWatchers Propoints Per Seving: 13

Cottage Pie

What another miserably wet evening.  It's June!!  What's going on!??  The afternoon looked promising but with more rain as the day wore on I was rather in the mood for a comfort dish for dinner.  You can’t get more comfort than Cottage Pie. It's actually really easy to make this true classic dish healthy without compromising on the taste or comfort! 

My version has (surprise, surprise) lots of vegetables making it very Slimming World friendly.  I also substitute over half of the mashed potato topping for Swede, which is has 0 ProPoints on the WeightWatchers plan, or if you are not following any set diet you can be glad of the fact you are packing 2-3 portions of your 5-a day in this meal alone.  So it’s gotta be good for you!

I always make a 4 portion serving of this which tastes great the next day for leftovers or it freezes really well too.

You’ll need for 4:

• 1 medium onion
• 3-4 medium sized carrots, peeled and diced
• Half a punnet chestnut mushrooms
• 500g lean minced beef 12% fat
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 beef stock cube or 1 stock pot
• Few glugs of Worcester sauce
• 400g potatoes, peeled and diced
• 600g swede, peeled diced smaller than the potato
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 leek, washed and diced
• 2 tbsp skimmed milk

What to do:

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and sauté until soft on a medium heat.  Add the carrots and mushrooms and continue to sauté for another few minutes. 

Turn the heat up and add the minced beef and stir until browned.  Add the stock and a cup of water until mince and veg is just covered.  Add the tomato puree, Worcester sauce, herbs and black pepper.  I find shop bought stock quite salty therefore I don’t feel the need to add any more, but season to your liking.  Continue to cook for 15 minutes until reduced slightly and the carrots cooked through.

Meanwhile place the potatoes and swede in a large saucepan and cover with cold salted water.  Bring to the boil and continue to simmer until both the potato and swede are soft and suitable for mashing.  The swede takes a little longer so when you are peeling and chopping prepare the swede first and get that in the pan and it helps to have it cut into smaller chunks than the potato.  Once cooked through, drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for a few minutes.

While the potatoes and swede are draining, heat the butter in the same pan and sauté the leek until soft.  Add a little water if it is too dry.  Add the milk and allow to heat slightly.  Remove from the heat and tip in the drained potatoes and swede.  Mash with a masher until smooth and season.

Allow the meat mixture and mash to cool before layering in a dish.  The meat mixture on the bottom and then the mash on top.  Bake in a hot oven (200 -210) for 20 – 25 minutes until bubbling.

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 10