Quorn Stroganoff

When I was in a supermarket I came across some frozen Quorn steak-style strips on offer. Perfect for making a veggie ‘beef’ stroganoff. This is an amalgamation of various recipes based on what I had available at the time. You could add green beans or anything else as well as the mushroom to bulk it out. We kept it simple but served with lots of extra veg as well as rice. 

What you need…
1 onion chopped finely
2 garlic cloves chopped or crushed
1 green pepper sliced
100g mushroom sliced
200g Quorn steak-style strips
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
150ml veg stock
150g fat free fromage frais
Splash or 2 of worcester sauce
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley
l tsp chives (1 tbsp if fresh)
1 tsp mustard (use your favourite type!) 1/2 tsp sage
Generous glug of brandy (optional)

SERVES 4

Timings? 
Approx 30 mins

What you do…
1. Fry off the onion in a large pan with frylight until softened, then add garlic & cook for further 2 minutes.
2. Add pepper & mushroom, cook for approx 5 minutes.
3. Add paprika & cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add vinegar & bring to the boil, allowing it to reduce.
5. Add stock, allow to boil for 2-3 minutes. Add mustard, worcester sauce, paprika, parsley, chives, sage & brandy. Stir well. 
6. Add beef strips & cook for 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile cook the rice (follow instructions on packet)
8. Remove from heat, stir in fromage frais. Serve over rice.

Syns – free except for the brandy if using.

Credits – basic recipe taken from Quorn website. 

Veggie Chilli

This is a good storecupboard/freezer staple as its only fresh peppers you need. You can mix it up changing the beans, peppers etc. For the meat eaters out there, you could substitute 5% lean minced beef instead.

When I first saw this recipe the first thing that jumped out was the lack of chillies, but actually I really like this, the other spices give it a real bite.

What you need…
1 onion chopped (preferably red onion but can use white)
4 garlic cloves chopped
500g Quorn/Soya mince
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 peppers cut into 2cm pieces (choose colour according to whatever you fancy or whats in the fridge but mix them up if poss)
400g tin of beans (choose red kidney, black eyed, canellini etc whatever takes your fancy or is in the cupboard)
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp sweetener (or sugar substitute such as agave syrup)
Salt & pepper

(optional)
Freshly chopped or torn coriander to garnish
Fat free fromage frais sprinkled with paprika to serve.

SERVES 4
Or you could serve 2 & freeze the other half (we use take away Chinese containers from our bad old days)

Timings? 
Prep 15 mins
Cook 40 mins

What you do…
1. Soften the onion in a pan with a few squirts of fry light for 4 minutes. Add the garlic & soften for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add all the dry spices (cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cumin) & mince & cook for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, pepper & sweetener. Season & cover. Turn down the heat & simmer on low for about 25 minutes.
4. Add the beans, stir & cook for a furter 10 minutes until heated thoroughly.
5. Serve with boiled rice, garnished with fresh coriander & fromage frais on the side.

Syns – free!

Credits – SW book 50 free green recipes p.115

Aubergine & Chick Pea Ragout

This is an old vegan favourite of mine. A simple but quick store cupboard recipe that tastes great. And it was easily adaptable to make it slimming world friendly. It can also be made in larger batches & frozen for a later date.

What you need…
1 large aubergine
1 onion
1 can chopped plum tomatoes
1 can chickpeas
1-2 tsp dried mint
Pinch of salt
Generous grinding of black pepper
Frylight

SERVES 3-4

Timings? 
10 mins prep
30 mins cooking

What you do…
1. Chop the aubergine into rough 2cm cubes & chop onion finely.
2. Frylight a pan or wok, & saute the aubergine until starting to brown, adding onion & cook until softened.
3. Add the canned chickpeas, tomatoes, mint & seasoning. Turn the pan to a low heat & simmer, uncovered, for approx 20-25 minutes.
4. Serve with pasta, or rice or a grain such as couscous or quinoa.

Alternatively…
Change the flavour & give it a morrocan twist by adding the following to stage 3 – 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp chilli flakes (or harissa), 1 tsp cinnamon, & 1 tsp ground cumin & 1 tsp coriander.

Syns – Free

NB. You could increase your speed food by adding other vegetables such as courgette & peppers.

Credits – Original recipe came from an old cookbook of mine by Leah Leneman called 365 plus one Vegan Recipes

Chana Saag Masala

Following on from our love of spinach & aubergine dhal, we were looking for something similar lines yet just a bit different for a change. This was what we decided to try instead, & it’s a close contender.

We have recently discovered Taj frozen crushed ginger cubes, I got a bag from a local store (Rajani in Bristol), but they are available widely from supermarkets too (priced between 75p – £1.00 per 400g bag). Saves all the peeling & grating, just pop a cube in. They also do crushed garlic cubes too – haven’t tried them yet but they might just save those smelly fingers!!

What you need…
Onion, chopped finely
Red pepper roughly chopped (3cm square)
Ginger grated (6cm fresh, or 2 x frozen lumps)
2 tbsp mild curry powder
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
2x 400g cans tomatoes
2x 400g chick peas
2 large bag spinach
Juice of 1 lime
Frylight or spray oil
Salt & pepper to season
Fresh coriander to garnish

SERVES 4
Timings?  15 mins prep & 30 mins cook. Total 45 mins.

What you do…
1. Gently cook the onions for 5 minutes in a pan with frylight/spray oil. Add the peppers, & cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic & ginger (if using the frozen cubed ginger add at step 3), cook for 1 minute, followed by the spices & cook for a further minute.
3. Add the tinned tomatoes & chickpeas, bring to the boil. Simmer for approx 15 minutes.
4. Add the spinach & cook for about 5 minutes until it is wilted.
5. Add the lime juice, seasoning. Serve & scatter over the coriander.

Syns – Free

Credits – SW book Veggie Deluxe p. 86

Cheats Pizza

Pizza is a massive no-no at a
whopping 45-60 syns for an average takeaway medium sized pizza. Its the dough (and cheese) that takes up the majority of syns, so there are lots of weird & wonderful SW cheats. We’ve tried the smash version but Ive also included some of the other alternatives further down the page. It worked pretty well & we enjoyed it, but I don’t think I’d serve this to my Italian friend who would probably be mortified at this assassination of her national dish!

What you need…
Base
1 pack Smash
Oregano/Garlic (optional)

Alternative bases
A. Mash potato (2-3 large potatoes)
B. Cauliflower (+ 2 beaten eggs, seasoning & oregano)

Toppings
Passata (or tomato puree mixed with a little water)

Plus any of the following;
Onion
Peppers
8 Black Olives (1 syn)
Mozzarella
Mushroom
Pineapple
Aubergine

Sweet potato chips
Sweet potato peeled & chipped
1 tsp cumin
Frylight/ spray oil

SERVES 2
Timings? Approx 3/4 hour

What you do…
1. Put the sweet potao chips in a tray, spray with frylight or oil & cover with cumin seeds & place in the oven 180C

2. Make up the smash according to instructions. Ideally it needs to be a doughy consistancy so don’t add all the water at once, just add a little at a time until it feels right. Add any herbs, garlic & seasoning.

Alternatively…
A Peel & boiled potaroes. When cooked, mash thoroughly . Season to taste.
B Chop the cauliflower in a food processor until fine, then cook covered in a microwave for 5 minutes. Add two beaten eggs, seasoning and oregano. Bake in the oven on a lined tray for 15 minutes on the middle shelf then move to the top shelf for another 10 minutes, or until golden.

3. Line a tin with grease proof paper. Flatten the smash into an oblong/rectangular shape approx 1 cm thick on the paper. Cook in the oven for 20 mins. Grill until golden brown. Turn over & grill the other side. Whilst the second side is grilling check the sweet potato & turn them. The paper comes in handy here as you can lift into a board. Place another sheet of paper & a board on top, flip them both over. Remove board & paper very carefully! Grill the other side until brown.

4. Lightly cover the base with passata & add a topping. Because I’m still eating fish occasionally, we also used tuna & anchovies, which worked well having a strong flavour. You could of course use pepperoni, ham, meat or whatever floats your boat.

5. Put the pizza back into the oven & cook for another 15 mins.

6. Serve, lifting the pizza gently off the 
paper. Fresh green salad goes well with pizza & chips for added healthiness.
Syns – Watch out for the topping if not using the cheese as a HEB as well as any olives or naughty meats.

Credits – Cauliflower base from Slimming World. Potato/smash base from word of mouth at group.

Leek & pea pasta

This is one of our standby recipes, the only fresh ingredient is the Leek & the soft cheese (we usually use Aldi Garlic & Herb light soft cheese but you could also use fromage frais which was in the original recipe). It also has the added bonus of being really quick, about 15-20 mins to cook & 10 mins prep. In fact this week we prepped it before going to SW as it was a quick meal for us after group. The original recipe has ham in it but we omit that & either add quorn pieces or eat it on it’s own.

What you need…

70g dry wholemeal pasta
1 vegetable stock cube
Frozen peas approx 40g or 2 servings
1 leek, finely chopped
2 garlic clove, crushed
50g soft cheese or fromage frais
Parmesan shavings to serve
Seasoning

SERVES 2

Timings
10mins to prep 15-20 mins to cook

What you do…

1. If using quorn, the first thing you need to do is get it on the go. If not using, omit this step, but if using ham, add to vegetables for last 2 minutes of cooking. Brown off the quorn in a pan then add a small amount of stock to cover & allow to simmer for about 15 mins.
2. Meanwhile, make up the stock & put in a pan. Add the pasta & bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, adding the frozen peas for the last 3 minutes of cooking.
3. Whilst the pasta & quorn is cooking, saute the leek & garlic in a wok or deep pan until softened. Add soft cheese to pan. Add a couple of spoonfuls of stock that the pasta is cooking in, to lighten the sauce.
4. Drain and pour boiling water from the kettle over the pasta to rinse away the starch & keep it warm. Drain the quorn.
5. Add the cooked pasta & quorn to the vegetables and toss all the ingredients together.
6. Season & serve with Parmesan scattered on top.

Syns – 3 syns each unless using fat free fromage frais when it will be apprx 1 syn for the parmesan.

Credits – Recipe adapted from SW Family Feasts on a Budget book

Sweet Potato Curry

This dish is one of SW’s frozen ready meals range, which is a great emergency stand by but we reckon you can probably make four portions at home for a few pennies more than the ready meal for one from Iceland.

The original list of ingredients was so long it looked really scary, so I’ve broken it down into more manageable sections. This curry also uses roasted sweet potato which again makes the instructions look complicated, but its not really. You could of course roast them ahead of making the sauce, just don’t overheat them as they might go too mushy.

What you need…
Veg for roasting…
1kg sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into inch square chunks
2 large red peppers – cut into chunks, but save about 1/3 pepper to dice finely for sauce (we use the tops/bottoms etc to get as much as possible out of each pepper – don’t waste any!)
Cooking/oil spray
Seasoning

Basic sauce…
1 large onion
6 garlic cloves
25g root ginger finely chopped/grated
Spices
• ½ tsp chilli powder or 1 small fresh chilli
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp tandoori spice mix
• 1 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp tomato puree

Additional ingredients to add to sauce towards end…
160g fresh spinach
100g natural fat free yogurt
Handful of fresh coriander
1 tsp sweetener/sugar/agave syrup

SERVES 4
Timing? About 60mins including prep

What you do…
1. Preheat oven to 220c/GM7
2. Put the sweet potatoes & peppers into a hot tray, spray with oil/cooking spray & seasoning & shake well to cover. The original recipe  said to roast for 20 minutes, but we found this wasn’t enough, so roasted them for about 35-40 minutes until they were tender, but still holding their shape.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the spices by measuring them out into a small bowl if you haven’t already. Then lightly fry the onion & chopped pepper until softened, whilst you are doing this, boil a kettle ready to add the water. Stir in the garlic, ginger & chilli if using fresh chilli, & stir for 1 minute. Add the prepared spices & cook for 1 further minute.
4. Add the water & tomato puree, bring to the boil then simmer gently for 15 minutes,
5. Add the spinach & cook gently for 2 minutes, stirring to allow it to wilt slightly into the sauce.
6. Remove the pan from the heat (important or it will curdle!!). Stir in the yogurt, coriander & sweetener/sugar. Add the roasted vegetables & stir gently so as not to break them up.
Eat & enjoy!

Syns – Free unless using oil or sugar/agave syrup 

Credits – Taken from Slimming World online

Aubergine & Spinach Dhal

This dhal is Paula’s signature dish, she has been making it for years now, & there is ALWAYS some in the freezer. We never get bored of it!

What you need…
Basic Dhal
300g red lentils
1 large aubergine chopped into chunks (or 2 courgettes for a change)
800ml vegetable stock
1 tsp each – cumin, coriander turmeric & ginger
300g spinach (rinsed)
1/2 tin plum tomatoes (drained & roughly chopped)
Frylight

Garnish
1 small red onion, 1 small white onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely sliced
1 cm fresh root ginger grated
1/2 tsp chilli powder (or 1 small fresh chilli)
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1tsp garam masala
Fresh coriander chopped
Seasoning

SERVES 4 (4 main or 8 sides)

Timings? 45 minutes – can be frozen (use discarded takeaway containers from when you were naughty), just defrost & reheat.

What to do…
1. Rinse lentils thoroughly e.g. 6-8 times or until water runs clear (if you don’t do this, the lentils will look disturbingly frothy).
2. Put lentils in a pan, along with aubergine (courgettes), stock & ground spices. Bring to the boil, reduce heat & simmer for 15-20 minutes
3. Stir in spinach & tomatoes, cook for 5-10 minutes until lentils soft. Add more water if too thick.
4. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, sprayed with frylight & add onions, fresh ginger & garlic, seeds & chilli, cook for 3-5 minutes.
5. If freezing, removing from heat & allow to cool.
6. Add garam masala, seasoning & fresh coriander before serving (after defrosting if frozen).

Syns – free

Credits – taken from SW magazine circa 2013

Butternut Squash & Coconut Curry

Simple curry using butternut squash which is cheap, easily available & never seems to go off. It is freezable, so you can freeze half or double it up & freeze a batch.

What you need…
1 butternut squash peeled, de-seeded & cut into rough 2cm chunks
1 onion
2 peppers (preferably red, but whatever is available)
2tbsp curry powder (use mild/medium according to own tastes)
200ml light coconut milk
400ml vegetable stock
Seasoning
Fresh coriander roughly chopped to garnish

SERVES 4

Timings? Approx 15 mins prep & 30 mins cooking

What to do…
1. Heat a pan sprayed with frylight
2. Add the squash, onion, peppers, & curry powder.
3. Pour in the coconut milk & stock, & bring to the boil. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the squash is tender.
4. If serving with rice, remember to put rice on 10 minutes or so after bringing the curry to the boil.
5. Stir through the coriander before serving.

Syns – approx 2 syns per serving (for coconut milk)

Credits – taken from SW magazine, MayJune 2016 p. 65

Red Lentil Loaf

One of the things I struggled with first, was what to have with my Sunday Roast. Years ago, I would make a nut roast, or lazily, use a Granose nut roast mix. Nuts are a bit of a no no on SW, so I had to find something else. Quorn roasts are a good freezer stand by, but sometimes you need something more flavoursome. It’s also adaptable, so you can just add whatever veg you have, or whatever you like. This free recipe hits the spot.

What you need…
Onion chopped
2-3 Garlic cloves chopped (or to taste!)
Mixed vegetables – chopped finely or grated
(e.g. 100g chopped mushrooms, & 1 carrot & courgette, grated)
200g lentils
400ml veg stock
1 egg (beaten)
Frylight or spray oil
Herbs (oregano & thyme)
Seasoning

SERVES 4
Timings? 30 mins prep, 45 cooking. You could prep it earlier, even the day before, & just bung it in the oven whilst the spuds are roasting

What you do…
1 Rinse the lentils in cold water several times until water runs clear. If you don’t do this, then you will get some nasty looking froth whilst they’re boiling. Place the lentils and stock in a saucepan and gently simmer until the liquid has more or less been absorbed and the lentils are soft. Strain the lentils well.

2 Meanwhile, whilst the lentils are cooking fry the onion & any chopped vegetables until they are just starting to brown, using the Frylight or spray oil.

3 Place the lentils, cooked vegetables, any grated vegetables, and egg into a bowl and mix. Season well with some herbs, spices and salt and pepper.

4 Spoon the mixture into a lined and greased loaf tin and bake at 190C for about 45 minutes until risen, golden brown and firm to the touch. Use a knife to check if cooked in the middle like you would a cake.

5 Allow to stand for 5 minutes & serve sliced. If you have leftovers, they are great fried off in slices for tomorrows dinner with some bubble & squeak or salad.

Syns
Syn free for the loaf.
Roast dinners extras have the following approximate syns; stuffing 1.5, yorkie 1.5, Bisto Cauliflower cheese 1 for half portion, & gravy (using Knorr Gravy pots) 1.5.

Recipe originally taken & adapted from Great British Chefs