Recipe post - BBQ pulled pork

Halloween is the epitome of autumn. It's often chilly, dark and there's a magic electricity in the air. Ghosts and ghouls lie around every corner waiting to pounce. So.. don't go out. Stay inside, by a cosy fire, put Strictly on and enjoy this absolute treat of a meal - which isn't too sore on the purse either. This recipe is free on the Extra Easy Slimming World plan, and the wholemeal roll to serve is HEB.

Ingredients:

Sauce doing its thang

• 1.5-2kg pork shoulder, all fat removed
• 5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 500g passata
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 tbsp sweetener
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2  In a small bowl, mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Fat removed, waiting for sauce

3. Once ready, pour over pork joined in a deep baking dish, well lined with tin foil. Make sure all of the meat is covered.

4. Cover the entire tray with tin foil, leaving space between the foil and the top of the joint. Slow roast for approximately 3 hours (check packaging for exact cooking time required).

5. Once out of the oven, shred with forks, the meat should come apart quite easily. Stir in among the sauce on the tray. Serve with wholemeal rolls (HEXB) and a crisp spinach salad, seasoned and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

This recipe was originally for a slow cooker from the Slimming World website, however I have adapted it for a shorter cooking time in the oven. I am SO ANNOYED with myself that I forgot to take a picture of the shredding and the finished product. It really looks (and tastes) great. 

Pork steaks with mustard sauce

Autumn means several things in our house. The curtains start to get drawn around 7pm, when I get home from work and when it is dark. I love nothing more than locking the doors and closing the curtains, cosy in our own little nest. Autumn means cosy lighting and usually, at some point in the month, these pork steaks will be bubbling away on the stove waiting to make our bellies very happy.

Ingredients:

4 pork steaks

Fry light

2 tsp mustard powder

400ml chicken stock

Ground black pepper

Mustard powder

Stock ready to go in pan

Method:

Turn occasionally

1. Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Spray the pork with fry light and fry for 4-5 minutes, turning occasionally until golden. 

2. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp of mustard powder over the pork, add the stock and season with black pepper. 

3. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the pork is cooked. 

4. Serve with mash and green beans. 

   

This recipe was from Slimming World magazine in the March/April 2012 edition. I put some Flora light in the mash, so the only syns for this dish is any you add in mash to accompany it. It's a really uncomplicated and quick dish for a chilly autumn night. Light some candles, put on some music and dinner will not disappoint. Follow with a steamy cup of tea, a wee biscuit and some Netflix for added amazing. 

Bon Appetit!

Pesto chicken bake

Hey everyone,

So I figured a good place to begin blogging would be to cover one of my favourite pass-times, cooking. I love nothing more than trying a new recipe, and there's nothing I won't give a good go. At the minute, I am following the Slimming World plan in an effort to shed some extra pounds. I want to lose about 40lbs, or roughly 3 stone. I am like the vast majority of those who embark on such missions - facing an uphill struggle. But I've had a really good week and I am really determined - even attending a party at the weekend I managed to stay on plan. *Pat on back.* So this recipe is sourced from Slimming World, in case anyone thought I was genius enough to make it up.

Ingredients:
4 x 115g skinless chicken breasts
Low calorie cooking spray

For the marinade:
3 garlic cloves
6 tbsp freshly chopped basil, plus a few leaves to garnish
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp chicken stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blending the marinade

Method:

1. Make the marinade: peel and grate the garlic, place in a food processor along with the basil, parsley, vinegar and stock and blend until the mixture is fairly smooth. Season to taste.

2. Make 3 slashes on each chicken breast, place in a bowl and pour the marinade over, rubbing into the slashes. Cover, place in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours.

3. Place the chicken breasts in a roasting tin sprayed with low calorie cooking spray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes at 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 5, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

4. Serve the chicken pesto roast sliced and garnished with a few basil leaves.

Marinading

Now, that's the official recipe. But I decided to put a little twist on it, of the cheesy variety. I am using my healthy extra A (see Slimming World for details on the plan) as Parmesan, which I will sprinkle over the chicken for the final 5/6 minutes of step 3. I would use approximately 30g per chicken breast for really good coverage, 30g being a Healthy Extra A portion. A portion (one breast) is free on Slimming World (or 6 syns if you are not using your cheese for HEA). Alternatively, you could leave off the cheese and the whole thing would be free.

Finished meal

Alongside this, I served roasted new potatoes tossed in crushed garlic and rosemary, and spinach salad with balsamic vinegar dressing.

End of a long day - Bake Off :)

All in all this was a really simple recipe, especially for a week night. It would be great to rustle up the night before and have in the fridge just waiting to pop into the oven for 20 mins when you walk through the door. Just enough time to pop in the shower, wash the day away and get into some comfy fresh PJs. Which is definitely how I played it.

And for dessert... 11 syns of French Fancies and the Great British Bake Off with lovely sofa cuddles from my man. A glorious end to any day.      


Take care

C