Tag Archives: parmesan

Creamy & Light Chicken, Bacon & Pea Orzo

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If you follow me on Instagram you will know this was in fact last night’s dinner, we’re having steak tonight, but this turned out so utterly delicious I decided to pop the recipe up for you all. My full intention was to make one of the many healthy risotto recipes I already have up on my blog but alas when I opened the press I had very little Arborio rice left but I did have a full packet of Orzo pasta so I had to think quick on my feet and with a few google searches later, an amalgamation of and tweak of several previous recipes and I had formulated my very own recipe using the ingredients I had available to me in the fridge. I cannot recommend this one highly enough, regardless of the fact it was thrown together rather haphazardly, it actually turned out to be the tastiest and best thing I have made in quite a little while (as is often the case) and that’s saying a lot because in my humble opinion my recipes are pretty darn tasty to begin with if I do say so myself. It isn’t unlike a risotto in texture and consistency so if you’re a huge risotto fan like me you will just adore this little spin on it. Continue reading →

Creamy, Sausage, Sage & Onion Stuffed Mushrooms Topped with Parmesan

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A beautiful starter if you’re planning that special dinner or just a gorgeous low point tea with some salad. These tasty little numbers are low in Propoints & have a beautiful stuffing & cheese centre. This recipe makes 4 large stuffed mushrooms at 2pp a piece (1pp on F&H) or you can use the stuffing with a roast dinner without the cream cheese or parmesan & the whole thing is just 5pp easily serving 2/3 people. Here’s the recipe:   

4 Large Cap Mushrooms 

2 Slices Wholemeal Calorie Controlled Bread 

2 Low Fat Sausages 

3 Tbsps Lightest Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1 Medium Shallot 

2 or 3 Leaves of Fresh Sage 

Few Sprigs Fresh Thyme 

Handful of Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley 

20g Grated Parmesan Cheese 

Salt & Black Pepper   Preheat the oven to 180c. Finely chop the shallot & fry in a heated pan sprayed with oil for approximately 3 minutes until softened. Remove the skin from the sausages & add to the pan breaking them apart with a wooden spoon into small bits frying them for approximately 5 minutes stirring & breaking all the time until they are fully cooked. Blitz the bread, sage, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper in a food processor or hand blender to make breadcrumbs. Add these to the sausage & onion mix for about 5 minutes stirring until the breadcrumbs are well toasted. (At this stage you can use this loose stuffing for a roast dinner or cool the mix & add 1 or 2tbsps of cream cheese to make stuffing balls that you can bake in the oven & use for a roast dinner too or continue with the recipe for the stuffed mushrooms). Transfer the breadcrumb sausage mixture to a bowl & put aside for about 10 minutes to cool & then mash in the Philadelphia cream cheese evenly mixing it through. Peel & destalk your mushrooms or prepare them as you usually do (I normally peel them as I’m slightly OCD like that! but just brush them off with a pastry brush or similar if not peeling them to remove loose dirt, you’re not supposed to ever wash mushrooms it water logs them & makes them incredibly soggy). Lay them on a baking tray lined with foil. I gave the foil a quick spray of oil too. Fill each mushroom with equal amounts of stuffing & top each with 5g of grated parmesan. Carefully place in the preheated oven & bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked & the cheese has melted on top. Serve the Mushrooms with a fresh salad as a starter or serve with the accompaniments of your choice for a nice low propoint tea & Enjoy! 

Delicate Creamy Bacon & Mushroom Linguine with Rustic Garlic Bread

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Looking for a special weekend dinner? then look no further! This delicate creamy pasta dish flavoured with delicious bacon pieces & soft mushrooms feels like a naughty treat but it’s as healthy as can be thanks to the light cooking cream & lowfat parmesan that gives it a distinctly decadent feel without any damage to your waistline. I conjured up this recipe to serve 4 hungry people at just 11 propoints a serving & just 4 propoints per serving if you’re following the filling & healthy plan and use wholewheat pasta. The Garlic Bread comes on at an extra 3 propoints on plan but hey it’s the weekend, it’s worth a dip into your weeklies! The garlic bread won’t cost you a thing on the filling & healthy plan.  
220g dry/880g cooked linguine 

1 tub (250ml) avonmore cooking cream

8 bacon medallions diced into small pieces 

250g mushrooms peeled & sliced

2 shallots finely diced

1 clove garlic crushed 

40g parmesan grated finely

 A handful of fresh basil

Salt & black pepper 

4 weightwatchers petit pain rolls

Sprayoil 

Dried parsley

2 garlic cloves halved  

Prepare the linguine according to packet instructions in a large pot of boiling salted water. Lightly fry the shallots in a saucepan over a medium heat for a few minutes until slightly softened. Add the bacon pieces & continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms & cook until the bacon & mushrooms are browning. Add in the garlic clove for a further minute (I don’t add garlic sooner because it will burn if cooked too long & become bitter) Add the cream to the pot & simmer gently over a low heat until the cream thickens into a sauce. Season well with salt & black pepper & add a few tablespoons of the cooking water from the pasta intp the cream to loosen it, the starch from the pasta water makes the sauce silky. Bake the Weightwatchers roll according to packet instructions & allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Split it in half lengthwise & spray the roll with sprayoil & rub the bread side with the centre part of 2 garlic cloves you have halved the garlic will impart it’s flavour into the bread (you could put crushed garlic directly on the bread but I find that too garlicky for me) sprinkle with dried parsley & place cut sides down on a hot griddle pan for 4 or 5 minutes until charred. Just before serving the pasta add in about half the grated parmesan to the cream sauce reserving some for the top. Finely slice your basil leaves & add the pasta & basil into the sauce stirring very well to coat all the pasta. Serve the pasta topped with the remaining parmesan and garlic bread & Enjoy! 

   
 

Fabulously Chunky Pesto Meatballs in a Homemade Tomato & Basil Sauce with Spaghetti

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Spaghetti & Meatballs the food of Champions! What’s better than leisurely twirling your fork round and round in mounds of golden spaghetti that is glossy with tomato sauce & a big chunky meatball to go alongside, Bliss! These Meatballs have real Italian flavour with the Sundried Tomato Pesto & Basil giving fabulous flavour & the Milk Soaked Bread keeps the Meatballs lovely and Juicy & Moist all accompanied by Succulent Juicy Plum Tomato Sauce & you could add a lovely helping of Parmesan to top it all off for an extra Smartpoints, Yummy. This serves 4 people at 10 Smartpoints (1 Smartpoint on No Count or 11 propoints or 1 if you’re following the Filling & Healthy plan if you use Whole wheat spaghetti & bread from the filling & healthy list).  

For the Meatballs:

454g Lean 5% Fat Steak Mince

1 Slice of Calorie Controlled Wholemeal Bread

A Small splash of Skimmed Milk

½ an Onion Finely Diced

1 Level Tbsp of Sundried Tomato Pesto

¼ Tsp Dijon Mustard

Salt & Black Pepper

1 Tsp Dried Oregano 

For the Tomato & Basil Sauce:

½ an Onion Finely Diced

1 Clove of Garlic

2 Tins of Plum Tomatoes

1 Tbsp Tomato Puree

Salt & Pepper

1 Tsp Sweetener

A Handful of Fresh Basil Leaves

To Serve:

240g Dried Weight Wholewheat spaghetti (60g dried per person)


Break the Slice of bread up into small pieces & soak in a mug with the milk for 5 minutes, this will ensure the meatballs stay moist & juicy while cooking. Squeeze the milk gently out of the bread and add the breadcrumbs to a bowl with the rest of the Meatball ingredients. Mix well but lightly, try to keep the meatball mix as light as you can, if you squash it about too much your meatballs will turn out dense & heavy. Gently shape into 16 evenly sized Meatball shapes & place into an ovenproof dish or baking tray that you have sprayed with spray oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 200c for approximately 25 minutes or until fully cooked through (different ovens vary, mine takes 25 minutes it’s a fan assisted electric oven but check to see & give them a bit longer if needs be). Meanwhile cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions in boiling salted water (always salt your pasta cooking water & it helps to add the salt after the water has already boiled or it will slow the boiling process down, also make sure your water is boiling well before you add the pasta) To make the sauce, lightly fry the diced onion in a pot sprayed with spray oil for approximately 5 minutes until the onion is softening. Add the crushed garlic & cook for a further 30 seconds or so. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients except for the fresh basil & simmer for 15 to 25 minutes over a low heat. When the Meatballs are ready to serve pop them into the tomato sauce & tear the fresh basil leaves into the sauce & gently stir through. Drain your pasta & Serve topped with the Meatballs & Sauce (and parmesan if using) and Enjoy!  

Luciously Creamy Chicken, Spinach & Sundried Tomato Tagliatelle

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  Creamy, tasty & full of gorgeous flavour this is pasta heaven! I absolutely love pasta, it’s so filling & comforting & there’s just something special about tagliatelle that makes it my favourite type of pasta. This would be equally fabulous with linguine either though. Perfect for entertaining friends or a special occasion dinner, this serves 4 hungry people at 12pp or 4pp on the filling & healthy plan if you use wholewheat pasta instead.   2 Medium Chicken Fillets 

240g Dried Tagliatelle 

2 Shallots or 1 white onion finely diced

1 Clove of Garlic 

150g Fresh Spinach Leaves 

250ml Avonmore Cooking Cream

40g Grated Parmesan 

80g Sundried Tomatoes (not in oil halved again lengthwise)

1/4 Whole Nutmeg Grated 

Large Handful of Fresh Basil

Salt & Black Pepper    Cook the Pasta according to packet instructions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Meanwhile dice the chicken into small chunks & add to a hot pan sprayed with sprayoil & add the diced onion. Cook for approximately 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through & the onion is soft. Add the spinach & sundried tomatoes & continue to cook until the spinach has wilted. Add the crushed garlic & cook for 30 seconds. Pour in the cream & season well with the salt & pepper & add the grated nutmeg. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. When the pasta is cooked drain it well & add the Parmesan (reserving a bit for the top) and basil & stir gently through the sauce. Add the pasta to the pan & gently fold the sauce through. Serve immediately garnished with the remaining Parmesan & some fresh basil leaves & enjoy! 

  

Velvety Sausage Ragu with Penne & Parmigiano Reggiano

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(Pregnant Jool’s Pasta recipe by Jamie Oliver)

Beautifully Silky Smooth Sausage Ragu with Wonderfully Filling Wholewheat Penne & Creamy Grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Only 4pps on F&H or 10 Propoints if pointing. This is a fabulous Jamie Oliver recipe from 30 minute meals that has become a staple in my dinner repertoire over the last few years. This is amazingly tasty & easy too. Don’t be tempted to use low fat sausages get the good meaty butcher ones that are about 3pps each, the tastiness of this dish is all about the good quality of the sausages used, low fat ones just won’t give the same result & it’s a very low point dish even with the good sausages so it’s worth it! Serves 6. Hope you Enjoy!  Ingredients:

4 Spring Onions

1 Carrot

1 Stick of Celery

1-2 Fresh Chillies

1 x 6 pack of good quality Sausages (400g)

1 Heaped Tsp Fennel Seeds

1 Tsp Dried Oregano

360g Dried Wholewheat Penne

1 Clove of Garlic

4 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 400g Tin of Plum Tomatoes

A Few Sprigs of Fresh Basil

60g Grated Parmigiano Reggiano  

Method:

Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Fill and boil the kettle. Put a large frying pan on a high heat. Put the standard blade attachment into the food processor. Trim the spring onions, carrot and celery. Roughly chop all the vegetables, then blitz in the food processor with the chillies (stalks removed). Add the sausages, a heaped teaspoon of fennel seeds and one teaspoon of oregano. Keep pulsing until well mixed, then spoon this mixture into the hot frying pan with spray oil, breaking it up and stirring as you go. Keep checking on it and stirring while you get on with other jobs. Put a large deep saucepan on a low heat and fill with boiled water. Fill and re-boil the kettle. Top up the saucepan with more boiled water if needed. Season well with Salt, then add the penne and cook according to packet instructions, with the lid askew. Drain the pasta, reserving about a wine glass worth of the cooking water, Crush the cloves of garlic into the sausage mixture and stir in the balsamic vinegar and tinned tomatoes. Add a little of the starchy cooking water from the pasta to loosen if needed. Tip the pasta into the pan of sauce and give it a gentle stir, adding enough of the cooking water to bring it to a silky consistency. taste, correct the seasoning. then tip into a large serving bowl and take straight to the table with the rest of the Parmesan for grating Over. Scatter over the basil leaves. Enjoy!