OH EM GEE Chicken and Veg Bake

This is the most delicious Chicken and Veg combo EVER!

Very quick and easy, I’ve got a feeling this one’s going to be a winter favourite in my house this year.  People who aren’t used to high veg in their diets will look at this recipe and think.. urgh.. vegetables. If you think veggies are urgh, is more than likely because you don’t know how to cook them other than boiling, steamed, mushed, frozen or out of a can. This type of person is also prone to frying foods well and eating a lot of takeaways.  Sound familiar? Yup! Now have a look at this recipe, it’s sinfully good.

Servings:

6 Skinny Portions (420cals)

4 Piggy Portions   (624cals)

Ingredients:

900g Raw Fresh Mixed Veg
2 Large Chicken Breast Fillets
50grams Butter
1/2 Onion (Chopped)
Handful Mushrooms (optional)
1 Teaspoon Mustard Powder
1 Teaspoon Paprika
30g Chickpea Flour
1 Cup Milk
1 tin (400g) Cream of Tomato Soup
50g Hard Parmesan (Grated)
Salt/Pepper
150g Cheddar Cheese

Chicken Marinade:

2 tsp Soya Sauce

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

 

*Veg - good choices are (Broccoli, Butternut, Sweet Potato, Mixed Peppers, Onions, Green Beans, Carrots, Baby Marrow)

Method:

Cut the chicken breasts up into strips, mix the soy sauce and dijon mustard together, swoosh it around to coat the chicken and stick that in the fridge.

Get all you veggies prepared and chopped up into cubes. (no smaller than 3x3cm) If you've bought prepacked veg, you can do the microwave in the bag option, or lightly steam it on the stove. Do NOT boil the veg.. and do NOT cook it soft. This still needs to bake and you don't want to end up with mushy on your plate. If you're doing the in the microwave bag option, 4 minutes will do, if you're using baby marrows, don't cook those, they go soft too quickly.

Once the veg is pre cooked, gently put it in a caserole dish and leave it alone. 

In a pan, melt the butter over low heat and gently fry the chopped onions. If you're using mushrooms you can add them in after the onions have been going for about 5 minutes. You can also add some fresh chive at this point.

Once all that is looking good, add the paprika and mustard powder and mix it all up.

Now add the chickpea flour and mix it until it looks crumbly

Pour the milk in, and using a whisk, start whisking it until you have a nice smooth thick paste

Pour in the tin of tomato soup straight away and whisk the lumps away

Add you grated parmesan and seasoning and stir.

Pour this mixture over the veg in the caserole dish.

In the same pan.. or a clean one, whichever you prefer, lightly coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil.

Once the oil has heated, seal the chicken on both sides. It doesn't need to cook through as there's still some baking to be done, just as long as it's sealed.

Finally, toss the chicken with with the veg and sauce and GENTLY mix it all up careful not to mush your veg.

Top with the cheddar cheese and bake at 180degrees for about 30 minutes. Grill for a few minutes to crisp the cheese on top and voila! :)

Let it stand for about 20minutes to set before dishing up.

Lemon Basil Roast Chicken

Last weekend I decided to take a drive out to Spier wine farm to get some pasture reared chicken. I was a bit dissapointed to find out they don't sell frozen or fresh chicken in their deli (I could however order it online and have it delivered) but I did go away with a good supply of pasture reared chicken eggs and a whole cooked bird. Had my chicken supplies delivered earlier this week..

So this is my first ever home cooked pasture reared chicken... and damn was it good!

Ingredients:

1 whole bird
big handful of fresh basil
garlic cloves
olive oil
2 lemons
lemon pepper
salt

 Chop the basil and garlic up.. here's the fun part, gently seperate the breast skin from the meat and shove about 3/4 of the garlic and basil mixture under the skin spreading it out nice and evenly

chop the lemons up in quarters and place that in the cavity of the chicken

mix some olive oil with the remainding basil and garlic mixture and rub that all over the chicken

season the chicken the salt and lemon pepper

Line a racked oven dish with foil and place the chicken on the rack. This is so the chicken doesn't end up doing breast stroke through chicken fat/drippings.

Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the bird. Leave it in at 200degrees for an hour or so. To check if it's cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part til it reaches the bone, the juices must run clear, if it's bloody, your bird aint cooked.

If you're satisfied that it's cooked, take it out and give it a good baste with the juices from the bottom of the pan and put it under the grill for a few minutes, careful not to burn it.

When it's done, let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting it up.

Bon appetite!

Oven Baked Angelfish

So although Saturday nights are my red meat nights, I'm banned for a month while my body works out some nasty bacteria. What better than Angelfish!

You will need:

Angelfish Fillets
Apricot Jam
Sage Leaves (dill is the usual herb for this dish, but there's no dill in my kitchen windowsill at the moment)
Fresh Garlic
Butter
Salt/Pepper
Fresh lemons
Heavy Duty Foil

You don't need to make a lot of marinade else you'll destroy the flavour of the fish. This is just for a light brushing over the fillets, so make as much as you'll need for however many fillets you have.
A blob of butter, a blob of apricot jam, (put in in the microwave for a few seconds to soften up, it makes it easier to brush on the fish)
Chop a few cloves of garlic and your herb leaves and mix that all together with the jam and butter.

Take a moerse long piece of heavy duty foil and fold it double on a baking sheet.
Place your fillets on the foil in the centre (I rub the bottom with a bit of butter so the skin doesn't stick - not that it should but just in case)
Brush your basting on the fish, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
* If you haven't made enough basting, it's ok.. it's quick and easy enough to make a little more

Fold the foil in without the top of the foil touching the fish, so you're making a foil oven so to speak
If you haven't made the foil long enough, take extra foil for the middle and dome it out by pinching in the sides.

Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven. (180degrees)
Take the top of the foil off and grill for a few minutes to give it some colour
This fish cooks very fast so be careful, over cooked dried out Angelfish don't taste too good.

Once it's out the oven and on your plate - a good squeeze of a fresh lemon (it's a good counter flavour against the sweetness of the jam)
TIP: jab the segments with a sharp knife before squeezing - the juice releases easier

Calories based on a 150g fillet of fish - 300Cals

The Perfect Chocolate Mud Cake

This one I can't take any credit for so I'm reposting the recipe link...

http://www.insanitytheory.net/kitchenwench/perfect-chocolate-mud-cake/


You need to follow this recipe to the absolute T if you don't want to f *ck it up, as in dot the i's and cross the t's right down to lining the baking tin and leaving it there to cool. (I learn the hard way)
Here's a few tips and pointers:
Did I mention to follow the recipe to the T?
My experience is that is was easier to bake in one large round tin that in two. Two rounds for me, the mixture bubbled over, and besides that.. it doesn't really need any filling.
Use your experience with your own oven to gauge temperature and cooking times.
for example, recipe calls for 1h45min at 160degrees, I bake this cake on 150degrees 1h45-2h depending on how many times I've checked on it during the last bit of cooking time.
My first 3 attempts flopped, once by bubbling over 2 small round tins, and twice by not having the right temperature which ended up with a burnt cake on the outside and a raw inner.
It is quite a moist cake, so as long as the testing skewer comes out clean, you're good to go.
Wait until the cake is cold before turning out and then GENTLY peel off the lining, if you don't, it'll fall apart.
What works best I've found is a springform tin, it's so much easier to get the cake out without it breaking.

For the Chocolate Ganache:
For a stiff ganache: 350g chocolate (I mix milk and dark) and 250g fresh cream
Chop the chocolate into pieces and put it in a bowl
Put the cream in a pot and bring to the boil
Soon as it's boiling, pour it over the chocolate and start stirring
Stir until all the chocolate has melted and all little lumps are gone, once it's a good pouring consistency (it needs to cool down of course)
pour it over the cake
*If you want a thicker smearning chocolate, add a bit more chocolate and let it cool down almost completely before piping.
*add a tot of good qaulity rum to the mixture for a extra twang

Serving with ice-cream takes the edge off the intense richness of the cake

TO DIE FOR!!!!

Calories (without the icecream) 791Cals

Carrot & Pineapple Salad

Super delicious for a afternoon snack..

Grate as much carrot as you'd like
chop as much FRESH (not canned) pineapple as you'd like
Juice of 1 orange (2 oranges if you've making a really big bowl full)

Toss it all together and put it in the fridge for a few hours
Resting in the fridge allows the carrots to soften a bit and the flavours and juices to mingle

Calories? Not enough to mention

Most delicious Gluten Free Cheese/Mushroom Sauce Imaginable

Yummiest Gluten Free Cheese/Mushroom Sauce in Town

Tops 4-6 beautifully grilled Rumps
(leftovers freeze well)

 Ingredients:
50g Butter
1/2 Onion
1/2 Punnet Mushrooms
1 Tbsp Freshly Chopped Chive
30g Chickpea Flour
250ml Reduced Fat (or regular) Cream
125-250ml Milk
1/2 tsp Mustard Powder
150g Mature Cheddar Cheese
Salt/Pepper

Melt the butter over a low temperature (high temps will burn the butter and you don't want that)
Lighty cook the diced onions, mushrooms (sliced or chunky doesn't matter) and chopped chives
When that's looking deliciously soft toss the flour in.
The idea is for the flour to be absorbed by the butter, it'll look crumbly, that's right
Pour the cream in and with a whisk start whisking all the lumps away
Gradually add milk (you're still whisking away) until the sauce is the thickness you want, keep in mind the flour thickens as it cooks so you'll eventually get to a point (only takes a few minutes) until the flour is cooked
Add mustard powder, salt/pepper and cheese
Once the cheese has melted, you're done :)

* What I like about chickpea flour.. firstly, it's gluten free. The bonus is that it adds a delicious flavour without having that regular flour taste that's usually left behind if the flour isn't cooked enough.

Bon Appetite!

Calories (without the steak and potatoes) 290Cals based on 6 servings - rather high so be careful with this one

Almost Gluten free Chicken Schnitzels

INGREDIENTS
How ever many schnitzels you want = breast fillets
Flour (for gluten free use Chickpea flour)
Breadcrumbs - A mix of regular and chunky toasted (you can get the chunky from woolies)
                        (I use oragon rice crumbs mixed with chunky crumbs)
2 Eggs (beaten)
Seasoning
Fresh tomato
Fresh basil
Parmesan
Olive oil

HOW TO
Who needs shop bought schnitzels when you can make it yourself knowing exactly what's in it and what you're really putting in your body.

In 3 seperate bowls..
  1) beaten eggs
  2) Flour mixed with seasoning
  3) Mixed breadcrumbs

To get breast fillets to resemble schnitzels, place one at a time on a wooden chopping board, cover with plastic (this is avoid bits of chicken getting stuck in the tenderizer because it's a pain in the ass to clean)
Take the tenderizer and bash the chicken fillets about until it's as thick as you like your schinitzel to be.

Firstly, coat both sides of the schnitzel well in the flour
Then give it a swish in the beaten eggs
and immediately thereafter coat with the breadcrumbs

You can fry it, but it's obviously a much better option to bake it. Give it a spray with olive oil so it can get nice and crispy. If you don't have olive oil in a spray bottle.. VERY sparingly drop some on the baking tray to coat the schnitzels by moving it around on the tray.

Bake for about 20min per side at 180 degrees.

Absolutely deeeevine topped with freshly chopped basil, tomato and freshly grated parmesan.

Serve with oven roasted veggies.

Death by Chicken

There's a good reason for the title... it's calor-lethal. My mom used to make the less lethal version (but with chicken pieces) often when we were growing up, everyone remembers it, but often can't remember how to make it.

If you're watching calories, rather scroll down and use the calorie controlled recipe version.

Ingredients

125ml Cross 'n Blackwell Mayo
1 x 1/4 Tin Apricot Jam
1/2 x Pack Brown Onion Soup
1 x Cup water
1 x Whole Chicken, cut into pieces, extra skin/fat removed
Oil
Seasoning

*If you like to have some rice with your sauce.. double up on the mayo, jam, brown onion soup and water

Brown the chicken pieces with a little oil in a pan to seal
Place the chicken pieces in a big enough oven dish so the pieces aren't on top of each other
 (drain as much of the oil and fat off as you can - you can even pat the pieces with kitchen towel to absorb the fat/oil)
Mix together the mayo, jam, brown onion soup and water
Pour that over the chicken pieces and bake until the chicken in cooked through and the sauce has thickened
Half way through swoosh the sauce around to mix and recoat the chicken pieces

Calories -720 Cals per serving if served with rice.
Food for thought... every 100g of mayo contains 50g fat
Although it looks like 'only' 720 Cals, it's loaded with Fat

Less Lethal Version

Instead of chicken pieces, use chopped up chicken breast pieces
(still important to seal the chicken)
Mix 1 packet of brown onion soup with 250ml liqui fruit apricot juice (if the sauce gets too thick, add water)
 - Follow the rest of the instructions as is

Calories - a more modest 550Cals and a lot less fat

Capsicum Crazy - Beef and Pepper Wraps

Makes 4 fat wraps, or 6 skinny wraps

Ingredients

4-6 Wraps
300g Rib Eye Steak
2 peppers
1/2 punnet mushrooms
1-/2 onion
fresh cucumber/tomato
Oil
Butter
Beef Marinade

Be careful with this one, there's not much calorie control but it's bloody good
Thanks to a friend, I heard the weigh less wraps are quite low in calories, it's a better choice becuase wraps tend to be quite high in calorie content

Remove all the excess fat from the steak and slice it up into thin strips
Swoosh it around in your marinade and leave it one side
You can use whichever marinade you like, I like a mixture of honey and soy

Heat some oil in a large pan (I use coconut oil as usual)
Fry your sliced onion and sliced peppers
When the peppers start going soft, add your mushrooms (cut them nice and chunky)
season with salt and pepper and fry gently until the mushrooms are soft
Don't use too much oil, rather stay at the pan and keep stir frying so it doesn't stick and burn

The reason I do the peppers and mushrooms in sections, if you put the onions, peppers and mushrooms in at the same time you end up over filling the pan resulting in too much moisture from the peppers and mushrooms, you'll end up simmering them instead of frying them.

When that is done, remove from the pan and put it one side. (I use a warmed stainless steel bowl so the mixture doesn't lose too much heat)

At this point you should wash the pan for the beef - but I'm too lazy. The reason I do the beef seperately, same as above, you don't want to overfill your pan and also, keeping the flavours seperate makes a tastier wrap.

Melt a blob of butter in the pan and fry your steak in 2 batches. There has to be enough space between the strips (same reason - moisture released from the steak)

When one batch is done, dump it on top of the set aside peppers etc to do the next batch of strips.

When the last batch of strips is done, put everything back in the pan and give it a quick wirl to mix it up and reheat what went a little cold.

Put the wrap in the microwave for a few seconds to heat through, they do go cold rather quickly, but they shape better and don't crack when warm.

Stuff and wrap and voila!

I stuff mine quite a bit, I prefer to have more filling than wrap becuase of the wrap calories, and then secure with a toothpick. For thinner wraps, roll it up like a roti and cut it in half.

Once your tummy is satisfied, eat that chocolate cupcake that's been waiting to be devoured all day

Variations

(if  you're not worried about calories)
smear a mixture of mayo and chutney over the wrap before filling it and top with cheese

I like to add sliced cucumbers and tomatoes before wrapping up

A winter variation I call Samchillada's

Add chillies when frying your peppers etc for a bit of heat
Add julienne carrots when doing your peppers, if you don't want crunchy carrots, steam them a bit seperately
Roti roll your filling in the wraps
place in a square or rectangle baking dish
top with a bottle or two of ina paarman's chunky veg pasta sauce
grate cheese over that and bake until the cheese has melted and browned

Capsicum Crazy -Bolognaise stuffed Red Peppers

 

This is one for that left over bolognaise sauce that's in the freezer...

Cut the tops off the red peppers, remove seeds and boil for about 5 minutes, drain and set aside

Defrost the bolognaise and mix with 1 cup of under-cooked rice

stir in a lightly beaten egg 

stuff the peppers with the mixture and bake uncovered for about 45 minutes until all the juice has been absorbed by the rice and it's set nicely.  If it still looks runny, bake some more

Top with parmesan or grated mature chedder and let it brown under the grill for a few minutes.

Calories.. about 600-700 depending on the size of the peppers and how much stuffing goes into it.

Capsicum Crazy - Chicken Stuffed Green Peppers

Ingredients

4 large green peppers 
1\2 chopped onion 
1 garlic clove
Blob of butter
2 cooked, schredded chicken breasts (keep broth aside)
2 cups chicken broth (if you cook breast fillets and end up with no stock, ina paarmans chicken stock with water will also work)
1 cup uncooked rice
Sliced celery 
Grated carrots 
Fresh basil and thyme
1 can italian tomatoes
1 /2 punnet mushrooms
Fresh parmesan
Salt/pepper

Directions

Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds.
In a large pot, boil the peppers for about 5 minutes, drain and set aside
Saute the onion, chopped garlic and mushrooms in butter until it's soft
Add the rice with your chopped veggies(except the tomatoes), herbs and seasoning
let it fry a bit, add more butter if need be. (yes, we're frying uncooked rice - we're sealing it)
When the colour looks good, add the chicken and broth
Soon as that's boiling, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer slowly, this is important so that the rice doesn't burn on the bottom of the pot. It's also important to not stir the mixture.
Keep an eye on it, if you see the rice isn't cooked enough yet and you need to add a bit more water, by all means. To check the water level, put a spoon down the side of the pot and gently 'part the red sea' to see what's happening at the bottom. DO NOT stir it.
When the rice looks almost done and all the water/broth has been absorbed, chuck in the chicken and chopped tomatoes and give it a stir. (the juice of the tomatoes will absorb into the almost chooked rice when baking)
Bake at 180degrees for about 30-40 minutes, the mixture needs to set nicely
grate some fresh parmesan over the top and voila

Calories - +-500

Bolognaise

Serves 4-6 depending on appetite (leftover bolognaise minus the pasta freezes well)

Ingredients:

500g Mince
1 Onion
A few Garlic Cloves
3-4 Medium Sized Carrots
1 Beef Stock Cube
1 Tin Plum Tomatoes
2 Tin Tomato Puree (or 700-800grams)
1 Tin Tomato Paste
Oil (I use Coconut) or Olive
Handfuls of Fresh Basil, Flat leaf Parsley and Oreganum
Salt/Pepper
1 Bottle good quality Merlot

Heat oil
Gently fry onion/garlic (if you want a stronger garlic flavour add some more closer to the end of the cooking time)
Toss the mince in and brown that nicely - if you're using lean mince (90%beef/10%fat) you shouldn't need to drain any fat off, if your mince is swimming in oil/fat, drain it off and chuck it out - your thighs don't need it.
Use a big spoon/wooden spoon/egg lifter to bash the mince up so that it doesn't cook in big clumps
Once the mince has a nice brown colour, add your tomatoes and puree and paste. (you might need to add some water) and 1/2 - full glass of wine.
Drink a glass of wine
While this is on the go chop all your fresh herbs and toss that in along with the stock cube and season with salt and pepper.
Lastly, peel and grate the carrots, chuck that in the pot and give it a good stir.
Let it simmer on a low temperature for about 1-1.5 hrs, keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn, you'll need to add water as you go along.
Have the rest of the wine
The carrots will mostly cook away leaving you with a nice thick sauce.
If you want chunkier carrots, cut them Julienne
*you don't need to add sugar, the carrots have enough sugar in them
* If you don't want to drink the rest of the wine, put it in a ice tray to make wine ice cubes for when you cook with wine again

Calories
(per serving based on 5 serving recipe)
 +-330Cals
Pasta is about 200Cals per 50g uncooked.
If you're a small eater and watching your calorie intake 50g is enough, if like me you have a big appetite and have enough over of your daily calorie intake, 100g will do. :)

Notes:

The secret to a good bolognaise is letting it cook slowly at a low temperature. Reason being, you need the flavours to mix nicely. Taste a bit as it starts cooking and taste again when it's done, you'll clearly notice the difference. Especially for the fresh herbs, all that nice flavour needs to extract and mix with the other ingredients, it simply won't taste the same with dried herbs.

Wine - It must be a good quality wine, if the wine is shit, your bolognaise will taste just as bad

For the Italian Plum Tomatoes (I use the LaBelinda brand from fruit and veg)  The reason for plum tomatoes is that they're naturally sweeter and not as acidic as regular tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes is of course a better choice as it doesn't have the BPA that comes along with canned foods, but the plum variety is not always available and also takes longer to cook. If using fresh plum tomatoes, you may also need to add some extra tomato puree for extra flavour and colour. The type of tomato you use can either make or break your sauce. I've been through most of the brands, for colour, flavour and texture, LaBelinda does it for me. (I also use LaBelinda or other Italian import Puree)

Flat leaf parsley has a more desireable texture and has a stronger flavour than curly leaf parsley. For this reason, I only use curly leaf parsley for garnish

Choice of pasta brand - Thanks to an italian friend educating me about this a few years ago, I only use imported italian pasta. Why? You can simply cook and drain, then swish around a little olive so it doesn't stick together after cooking. Locally made pasta is left with way too much starch that you must rinse off - and then still reheat. This is my experience anyway, it just tastes nicer. I use Barilla, it's most commonly available. Fruit and Veg imported stock is also good.  For a gluten free variety, Glutagon rice based pasta is the way to go.


Don't forget to cook the pasta :)
 Here's a good link about how to cook pasta properly.
http://www.cookingindex.com/info/18/features/how-to-cook-pasta-properly.htm 

Easy Peazy Tomato Pasta Sauce

This is super easy and deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelish!

Serves 4-6  (If you're not 4, it's ok, leftovers freeze well)

2 x Tins Italian plum tomatoes
1 xMed/Lrg Onion
1 x Green pepper
As much garlic as you like
Salt (preferably not regular table salt)
ground pepper
3-4 teaspoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you want it) - you can substitute with agave nectar but with this dish it doesn't have the same effect as sugar)
Big handful fresh flat leaf pasley
Big handful fresh basil
Oil (I use coconut) - or Olive

Method:
Chop onion and green pepper
Heat oil and fry the chopped onion and pepper until it has a nice colour (this adds to flavour)
You can add the garlic at this point, if you want a stronger garlic taste, add it closer to the end of your cooking time
While the above is getting nice and brown, chop your fresh herbs
Chuck the canned tomatoes and fresh herbs in
use a big spoon/wooden spoon/egg lifter to bash the tomatoes up
and let it cook til the cows come home (approximately 2 hours)
If it tastes a little bland, you need to add more salt

Calories? A whopping 80cals per humungous serving.
Pasta is about 200Cals per 50g uncooked.
If you're a small eater and watching your calorie intake 50g is enough, if like me you have a big appetite and have enough over of your daily calorie intake, 100g will do. :)


Notes:

The secret to a good pasta sauce is letting it cook slowly at a low temperature. Reason being, you need the flavours to mix nicely. Taste a bit as it starts cooking and taste again when it's done, you'll clearly notice the difference. Especially for the fresh herbs, all that nice flavour needs to extract and mix with the other ingredients, it simply won't taste the same with dried herbs. If the mixture starts getting too thick and you're concerned about it burning, just add a little water. Give it a stir every 20min or so. If you want a smoother/finer sauce, chuck the lot in a blender.

For the Italian Plum Tomatoes (I use the LaBelinda brand from fruit and veg)  The reason for plum tomatoes is that they're naturally sweeter and not as acidic as regular tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes is of course a better choice as it doesn't have the BPA that comes along with canned foods, but the plum variety is not always available and also takes longer to cook. If using fresh plum tomatoes, you may also need to add some tomato puree for extra flavour and colour. The type of tomato you use can either make or break your sauce. I've been through most of the brands, for colour, flavour and texture, LaBelinda does it for me.

Flat leaf parsley has a more desireable texture and has a stronger flavour than curly leaf parsley. For this reason, I only use curly leaf parsley for garnish

Choice of pasta brand - Thanks to an italian friend educating me about this a few years ago, I only use imported italian pasta. Why? You can simply cook and drain, then swish around a little olive so it doesn't stick together after cooking. Locally made pasta is left with way too much starch that you must rinse off - and then still reheat. This is my experience anyway, it just tastes nicer. I use Barilla, it's most commonly available. Fruit and Veg imported stock is also good.

This sauce doesn't need meat, it's busting with enough flavour. If you must have your meat fix, add mince meat while browning the onion etc. If you add around 500grams, you'll be able to feed a lot more than 4 people.

If there's a vegetarian at the table and the rest of the party want meat.. a good alternative is to coat chicken strips with thick soy sauce. Let that fry nicely until the soy sauce is close to burning - if that makes sense? Only turn it once, when you see the strips are more white than pink, flip them over. If you turn them too soon you might have bits of chicken sticking to the bottom of the pan. (spray and cook helps) Scoop some of the tomato sauce into the pan, mix it all up and voila.

Don't forget to cook the pasta :)
 Here's a good link about how to cook pasta properly.
http://www.cookingindex.com/info/18/features/how-to-cook-pasta-properly.htm

Baked Stuffed Butternet

This is adapted from a Knorr recipe

2 Servings

1 Medium Butternut (400g once flesh is removed) 160cals
1 pack lean bacon cubes (250g) 370cals
1 Onion 44Cals
1 Red Pepper 37cals
1/2  Punnet Mushrooms 54cals
30ml Coconut Oil 108cals (or use olive oil)
Chives 1cal
1Pk Knorr Veggie Bake 148cals
350ml Milk 220cals
50g Cheese grated for topping 200Cals
Feta Topping (1/2 Arista) 190Cals


Method:
Parboil whole butternut
Once cooled cut out cubes of butternut and put in a bowl
Heat coconut oil
Fry onion, peppers, mushrooms, bacon
then add cubed butternut and chives
add pepper (enough salt in veggie bake mix)
Make veggie bake mixture according to the packet and add to the mixture

Stuff the butternut halves and pack 3rd portion away
 (2 Servings are to stuff Butternut Shells, 3rd serving is to pack in porcelain bowl in the freezer for baking another day when you need a meal filler)

Add your cheese toppings

Bake until the butternut is soft and VOILA!

Each serving once stuffed is 380Cals EXCLUDING the cheese's.
Adding the cheeses as toppings increases the serving amount to 575 Cals.

Why coconut oil you ask? Simply put, it's a healthy fat even when heated. Just remember that it's not calorie free.

Fresh Meaty Garden Salad for Picky Saladers

Ingredients (4 Servings)
1 Bag Lettuce of choice
Punnet baby plum tomatoes (nice and sweet)
1 Cucumber
400g Fat trimmed meaty bits
1 tub Feta Cheese (I use Arista Danish Style Feta, VERY creamy, 180g drained per tub)
Grated Parmesan
Ina Paarman's dressing
Balsamic Vinegar

 A 'hard to believe' under 400 Calorie Meal

Now this just seems WAY too good to be true doesn't it? The trick is PORTION CONTROL! This is a big salad and will definately fill the tummy.  You don't need mountains of cheese and oceans of dressing. You DON'T NEED MAYO! Why? There is 100 Calories in 15grams of Mayo. I'll say that again, 100 Calories in 3 teensy (not heaped) teaspoon of mayo.

The Calorie breakdown:
Mixed lettuce, tomato and cucumber (80cals)
50g Danish Feta (95cals) Much nicer than 3 measly teaspoons of mayo
Fat trimmed Meaty bits 100g (120cals) I used left over gammon that I had frozen
30ml Ina Paarman Salad Dressing (30cals) I use honey/mustard
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar (5Cals)
Grated Parmesan 10g (40Cals)

And there you have it! 370Cals of delisciousness.

Add a few more cals for safe measure depending on how you decide to flavour those meaty bits ;)

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts

Couldn't get any simpler than this!
This meal can easily feed 2 when including side veg/salad (I only realized this once I dished up)

Including a garden salad, each serving is approximately 500 Calories.

Ingredients (4 servings)
Pack of chicken breasts fillets (4)
250ml Cream (Reduced calorie alternative is Milk)
1 Tablespoon Flour (DELICIOUS Gluten free alternative is Chickpea Flour)
1/2 Onion
1 Green Pepper (I chose green for the colour)
1/2 Punnet Mushrooms
Chunky Breadcrumbs (Woolies has a nice chiabatta variety)
Fresh grated Parmesan (powdery one won't do)
Fresh Chives (if you don't have them growing in your windowsill, it's a good idea)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Ingredients (2 servings)
1/2 Pack of chicken breasts fillets (Put the rest in the freezer for later use)
125ml Cream (Reduced calorie alternative is Milk) If you can't find a small container in the shop, you can    freeze the balance to use in a sauce later)
1/2 Tablespoon Flour (DELICIOUS Gluten free alternative is Chickpea Flour)
1/4 Onion
1/2 Green Pepper (save the rest for a fresh salad)
1/2 Punnet Mushrooms (nothing wrong with a lot of mushrooms)
Chunky Breadcrumbs (Woolies has a nice chiabatta variety)
Fresh grated Parmesan (powdery one won't do)
Fresh Chives (if you don't have them growing in your windowsill, it's a good idea)
Salt and pepper to taste

Now for the super easy fun part, putting it all together!
 Spray and cook an oven dish (It's a good idea to use a size that the chicken won't swim in)
lay the chicken breasts down (in the oven dish of course)
top with chopped peppers, onion, chives and mushrooms (keep some chive aside for garnish)
Whisk the flour and cream together, just so that there are no lumps (I usually add the seasoning to this mixture.)
Pour this mixture over the packed yumness, save about a 1/4 of it until after the next step
Chuck chunky breadcrumbs over this concoction, then finally the grated parmesan
With the remainder of the flour/cream mixture, gently spoon over the crumbs/cheese to coat it. We don't want it to run off the other ingredients but don't want it to dry out either.

Pop it in the oven for about 30min.

Every ten minutes take the dish out, slant it a bit to scoop out saucy mixture with a spoon and recoat the top. This will ensure you have a heavenly crusted topping and that the sauce is well distributed through the dish.

If it hasn't crusted enough you can always put the grill on for a few minutes.

Once it's done, garnish with left over chives and VOILA! This is quite rich so serve with either a garden salad or steamed veg.