Tag Archives: orange

Festive Fruity Zesty Home-made Cranberry Sauce

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Cranberry sauce is literally the easiest thing in the world to make, there is hardly any effort involved at all & it is so Gorgeous & Fresh it will impress any guest at your Festive Feast. There is also a certain satisfaction that comes with making your own & you can tart it up numerous ways to suit your taste with a huge variety of flavours: Lemon, Orange, Cloves, Allspice, Cinnamon, Pecans, Raisins any of the main Christmas Flavour Notes really. This will be pride of place in the centre of your table. Once you try making your own it will be a festive staple year after year. I like to make mine on Christmas Eve but this keeps very well for up to a week covered in the fridge. I hope you enjoy! Wishing you a very Happy Christmas!

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Delectable Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Bacon & Cream Cheese accompanied by Sweet Pepper & Rocket Side Salad with Tangy Orange & Mustard Dressing

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A light tea tonight! Delectable Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Bacon & Cream Cheese accompanied by Sweet Pepper & Rocket Side Salad with Tangy Orange & Mustard Dressing. If you’re a fan of Sweet Potatoes you will love this! You can of course substitute ordinary potato either it will work just as well. I love twice baked potatoes & have featured them several times on the blog. They are just so moreish! 8 propoints or 1pp on F&H I made this for myself so it serves 1 but you can easily multiply the recipe if serving more than 1 person. I Hope your Monday evening is great.   
For the Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Bacon & Cheese:

225g Sweet Potato (you can have a slightly larger normal potato if using for the same points 300g)

2 Bacon Medallions Diced Finely

2 Spring Onions Sliced Finely

20g Philadelphia Lightest Cream Cheese

18g Reduced Fat Grated Cheddar

Salt & Black Pepper

Fresh Chives to Garnish

  For the Side Salad:

A Mixture of Rocket Leaves & any other Salad Leaves you want

A Small amount Red Pepper Finely Diced

A Small amount Yellow Pepper Finely Diced

A Small amount Red Onion Finely Diced
For the Orange & Mustard Dressing:

Approximately 1 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar

½ a small Orange (such as a Clementine)

A Tiny Tip of a Tsp of Dijon Mustard

Black Pepper  Preheat your oven to 200c and wash the sweet potato well. Place in the hot oven for an hour until soft. Set aside for about 10 minutes to cool while you prepare the filling. Fry the bacon pieces in a medium hot pan sprayed with oil for 3 to 5 minutes until fully cooked through & browning. Add the sliced spring onions to the pan stirring for about 30 seconds to a minute until just starting to soften. Carefully slice the sweet potato lengthwise in half with a sharp knife. Carefully scoop out the flesh from the sweet potato into a bowl leaving a small edge of sweet potato in the skin if possible to make it sturdier (don’t worry if it all comes away it will just be a bit extra delicate when lifting. Place the cream cheese into the bowl with the sweet potato & season with salt & black pepper. Mash well with a fork making sure the cream cheese is well combined with the sweet potato flesh. Add the bacon & spring onion mix (I like to reserve a few pieces for the tops of the finished potatoes to garnish) Mix this through gently with a spoon. Place the empty potato shells in an ovenproof dish or on a baking tray that you have sprayed with oil & spoon the sweet potato mix evenly & lightly back into each potato skin. Top with half the grated cheese per potato (add the reserved bacon & spring onion topping at this stage if you are following that step). Return the potatoes to the oven for about another 20 minutes until the cheddar has melted & is bubbling. Meanwhile prepare the dressing for the salad by mixing all the ingredients together very well in a small bowl or glass. Prepare the salad ingredients & lightly drizzle with the dressing. Very carefully lift the potatoes onto your plate with a spatula, top with chopped chives & enjoy!

  

Orange & Cumin Spiced Israeli Couscous with Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables, Feta & Lemon & Herb Chicken 

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It’s the Weekend Wahey! I fancied something a wee bit lighter tonight & thought Chicken would be a perfect accompaniment to this Fabulous Roast Vegetable Salad so here’s tonight’s offering.  Israeli Couscous also known as Pearl Couscous isn’t actually Couscous at all, it is in fact a small Israeli toasted pasta, it’s not even referred to as Israeli Couscous in Israel it is actually called Ptitim. Anyway this wonderful grain, whatever it is and whatever it’s called, is a fabulous base that absorbs flavours beautifully when cooked & can be eaten hot or cold. It reheats well without clumping & is very versatile & can be used in a variety of dishes including soups, casseroles, salads or served alone. I wanted something light for dinner. I only wanted half a Chicken Fillet & kept the other half for lunch so this cost me 8pp in total. If you serve it with a whole Chicken Fillet per person it would make it 10pp each. On Filling & Healthy it’s only 6pp no matter how much Chicken you have. I hope you have a fabulous Friday Night! Here’s the Skinny:

For the Mediterranean Vegetables:

1 Large Carrot 

3 Peppers Red, Orange & Yellow

¼ of an Aubergine

1 Small Red Onion

1 Tsp Dried Parsley

1 Tsp Dried Thyme

Salt & Pepper

Sprayoil  For The Orange & Cumin Spiced Israeli Couscous

100g Dried Israeli Couscous

800ml Chicken Stock

1 to 2 Oranges

½ Tsp Dried Cumin

Salt & Pepper

For the Chicken:

1 or 2 Medium Chicken Fillets

1 to 2 Tbsps of Lemon & Herb Seasoning Mix  To Serve:

40g Feta Cheese

Fresh Coriander Leaves

Orange quarters for squeezing over  Place the Chicken Fillet in an ovenproof dish & sprinkle with the Lemon & Herb Seasoning. Place in a preheated oven at 200c for approximately 25 minutes or until Chicken is fully cooked through. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes & slice. Meanwhile Peel the Carrot & Chop all the Vegetables into small bitesize pieces. Place in a baking tray sprayed with sprayoil. Sprinkle with the Parsley & Thyme & season with Salt & Pepper. Toss well & place in a preheated oven at 200c for approximately 20 minutes until nicely cooked through. Remove and set aside. To prepare the Israeli Couscous bring the Chicken Stock to the boil & add the Israeli Couscous, Juice of the Orange, Cumin & Season well with Salt & Pepper. Reduce to a simmer & cook for approximately 12 minutes or the time specified on the packet instructions. Remove & Drain the Couscous. Mix the Vegetables & Israeli Couscous together well & crumble in the Feta, tear in the fresh Coriander & adjust the seasoning if required. Squeeze over some more Orange Juice if required & serve with the Sliced Chicken Fillet & Enjoy!

 

The Oooiest Gooiest Richest Chocolate Orange Brownies in the Whole Wide World!

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Time to celebrate the weight loss without ruining the efforts, you will be amazed that these Brownies are practically virtuous! They taste out of this world! So rich & decadent, Chocolate Heaven Made with Choc Shot Orange Spice Liquid Chocolate by Sweet Freedom, these will blow you away…

  

  • 100g Choc Shot Orange Spice,
  • 2 Eggs,
  • 75g Light Muscovado Sugar,
  • 75g Demerara Sugar,
  • 90g Plain Flour,
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract,
  • 1/2 tsp Coffee,
  • 1/4 tsp Baking Powder,
  • 90g 0% Greek Yogurt,
  • 1 tbsp Bournville Cocoa Powder,
  • Pinch of Salt,
  • Fresh Raspberries.

Whisk the Sugar & Eggs until light & fluffy, Add the Choc Shot, The Coffee dissolved in 1tbsp Hot water, Yogurt & Vanilla Extract. Mix gently. Sift the Flour, Cocoa Powder, Baking powder & Salt & gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into a 8×8 or 9×9 tin that you sprayed with oil. Smooth the mix over. Bake at 180c for approx 25 mins or until cooked (test with a skewer or cocktail stick, it should come out clean if cooked) Allow to cool in the tin on a wire rack until cold & slice into 12 pieces. These gorgeous pieces of heaven come in at just 3 to 4pps a Brownie Enjoy!