Cous cous stuffed butternut squash

Sorry no pic at the moment, I haven't taken one yet!  Will put one up soon.

Ingredients 

1 butternut squash

1 packets Asda giant Mediterranean cous cous

1/2 packet feta cheese 

1 onion

6 small mushrooms

1 pepper 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Cut butternut squash in half, put one half aside (see other squash recipe!).  Scoop out the seeds to leave a clean hollow.  Gently with a sharp knife, cut lines lengthways in the squash flesh without piercing the skin, do the same across the squash to make cubes in the flesh again without piercing the skin.

Rub the flesh with olive oil.

Put squash into a roasting tin flesh side up and roast in oven for an hour or until flesh is squishy.

Whilst the squash is roasting, make up the cous cous as the packet describes and leave to cook.  Chop the onion into small pieces and saute in a pan, once soft add the chopped pepper and mushrooms and stir until cooked.  Add the couscous and a little stock or wine to make it not so dry.  Chop up the feta and add and scoop a little of the squash out of the flesh to make a boat shape and add the squash to the couscous mix.

Divide the couscous mix up between the two pieces of squash and then put back in the oven for 10 mins just to toast the cheese slightly.

Serve with a green salad.

Butternut Squash, lentil and goats cheese salad

Serves 4

Ingredients 

1 bag baby leaf salad

1 butternut squash

1 tin green put lentils

1 log soft goats cheese

Balsamic glaze (Asda do a good one)

Cracked black pepper

Chilli salt

Put oven on at 180 degrees.

Cut butternut squash in half, put one half aside (see other squash recipe!).  Scoop out the seeds to leave a clean hollow.  Gently with a sharp knife, cut lines lengthways in the squash flesh without piercing the skin, do the same across the squash to make cubes in the flesh again without piercing the skin.

Rub the flesh with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper and salt, I use chilli salt for a little spice.

Put squash into a roasting tin flesh side up and roast in oven for an hour or until flesh is squishy.

Take out of oven once done and allow to cool.

Once cooled, put bag of lettuce leaves in a bowl, add about 2/3 of tin of lentils over the top.  Scoop the flesh out of the butternut squash skin, it should come out in more manageable pieces, and lay on top of the lentils.  Use about half of the goats cheese log, either chop into cubes, or I just break into pieces with my fingers, spread around the salad.

Drizzle with balsamic glaze and serve.

Vegi lentil pie

This is a new one I invented for healthy eating this January, works out less than 400 calories per portion and they are good sized helpings!  Serves 4 and I served it with a mound of green vegetables :)

• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or grated
• 4 large mushrooms, chopped fine
• 100g aubergine, chopped fine
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
• 175g green lentils (soaked overnight)
• 100g buckwheat (soaked overnight)
• Smoked paprika
• Dried chilli, couple of pinches
• 1 x 400g chopped tomatoes
• 125ml red wine (can be removed)
• 500ml boiling water
• 1 chicken or veg stock cube
• 1 large sweet potato slice in 2mm slices
• A few slices of goats cheese (if wanted)

I used a shallow round casserole with a lid, started with the oven at 150 degrees.

Sauted the onion and garlic in the casserole on the hob until soft, add the mushroom and aubergine and cook for 5 mins.

Add the chickpeas, lentils and buckwheat and mix well, keep the heat low so they don't stick to the pan.

Add the smoked paprika and chilli and mix well.

Add in the tomatoes, wine, water and stock.  Bring to the boil on the hob and simmer gently whilst you slice the sweet potato.

Carefully lay the potato on the top starting at the outside edge, overlapping the slices in concentric circles towards the middle.

Once the top covered in potatoes, put lid on and place in oven.

Cook for 45 minutes but keep checking the water, add more if it looks like it will boil dry.  After 45 minutes turn oven up to 200 degrees and remove lid, add goats cheese if required and cook for a further 20 minutes to crisp up top.

Serve with green veg.

Lemon pepper crusted chicken breasts

• 4 chicken breasts with fillets removed
• 1 tub light philadelphia any flavour you like
• 1 tub natural breadcrumbs (ASDA do a really nice own brand one, or panko crumbs are good)
• 3 lemons (just the zest needed)
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Preheat oven at 200 degrees.

Put chicken breasts between 2 pieces of clingfilm and bash them with a rolling pin to flatten them a little (don't beat them to a pulp, but bash until the thickest part is no more than 1.5cm)

Using a piece of kitchen towel pat dry the top of each breast.  Spread Philadelphia across the top of each chicken breast so as much of the breast is coated as can be (you don't need this to be too thick, split the tub in 4).

In a bowl pour half the tub of breadcrumbs,  add the lemon zest and the pepper and mix well.

Take a chicken breast and gently place it Philadelphia side down into the breadcrumbs and push down to cost the whole top.  Place on a baking tray.

Do the same with the other 3 breasts.

Cook in oven for 30 minutes and serve with a salad or wedges and veg as above :)

Healthy Lasagne

In this lasagne, I used brown pasta sheets, and then layers of spinach and cheese and meat to make a lighter and healthier style dish.

1kg mince (or mince your own from steak)

3 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic

olive oil

4 sticks celery, chopped

3 peppers (red and green), chopped

200g mushrooms, chopped

1 Knorr beef stock gel packet (or 3 oxo cubes)

3 jars tomato sauce (I like Dress Italian slow cooked)

250ml red wine

Salt and pepper

2 tubs Quark non-fat soft cheese

400g natural low-fat cottage cheese

1 bag (200g) baby spinach

1/2 whole nutmeg grated

Brown lasagne sheets

2 fresh mozzarella balls

Preheat oven at 180 degrees.


Grease a lasagne dish, mine is pottery and 12 inches by 24 inches and 3 inches deep so fairly big, if you have a smaller one make 2 lasagnes or half the recipe.


Fry the onions and garlic in a deep frying pan until soft, add the mince and cook until brown.


Add the peppers, celery and mushrooms and cook off.


Melt down the beef stock and then add the tomato sauces and wine and simmer for 20 minutes, finishing off with salt and pepper.


Whilst the meat is simmering, put the Quark, cottage cheese and spinach into a large bowl or electric mixer and mix together until combined.  Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.


Take the lasagne dish, put a layer of brown pasta along the bottom and cover with a thick layer of meat (about 1/2), then cover with lasagne sheets.  Next put a layer of spinach and cheese (again about 1/2), then cover with lasagne sheets again.  Another layer of meat is next, then sheets, then finally the rest of the spinach and cheese mix.  Then tear down to mozzarella into thin pieces and lay across the top of the lasagne.


Cook for 30-40 mins until bubbling and golden brown on top,

Fish Pie

• 325g mixed fish (I used salmon, haddock and smoked haddock
• 75g raw king prawns
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 pint milk
• 25g butter
• 25g flour
• 1 tub light cream cheese with onion and chives
• Chopped fresh parsley
• 4 baking potatoes
• 4 sweet potatoes
• Cheese for topping

Put the 4 baking potatoes in a hot oven to bake for 60 mins.

Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and put on to boil.

Put the fish in a pan with the prawns, the bay leaves and cover with the milk, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins.

Strain the fish into a sieve keeping the milk you used to poach it in.

Once the sweet potato is cooked, mash and add a tablespoon of the milk used for the fish. Put to one side.

Melt 25g butter in pan and stir in 25g flour, keep on low heat until combined and cook for 1 minute whilst stirring. Then slowly add the poaching milk, stirring constantly until combined and thickened. Add the tub of cream cheese and stir in. Once all combined flake up the cooked fish and add to the pan with the parsley combining the fish and sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste at this point.

Take the baking potatoes out of the oven and slice in half lengthways. Gently scoop the potato out of the middle of the skins leaving the skins in tact as shells. Put the potato in with the sweet potato and combine.

Take each potato shell and fill with the fish and sauce mixture. Then either spoon or pipe the potato mix over the top of each potato skin. Sprinkle the tops with grated cheese and put the potatoes on a baking tray. Cook for 20-25mins and then serve.

Use any leftover fish and mash to make a traditional fish pie in a dish.

Fish in Breadcrumbs

• Pieces of fish loin without skin, either cod or haddock
• 1 egg
• 6 tablespoons plain flour
• tub of breadcrumbs (ASDA do really nice ones on the shelves with the gravy granules)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Put the egg in a bowl, the flour on a plate and the breadcrumbs in a shallow roasting dish (lots of space)

Take each piece of fish and dip it in the egg. Then put it on the flour plate and coat both sides in flour. Then place in the breadcrumbs dish and press each side of the fish into the breadcrumbs so it has a good coating. Shake the fish gently to remove excess and lay on a greased baking tray.

Once all pieces are coated with breadcrumbs, cook in oven for 20mins, until starting to brown.

Sparkling Bellini Jellies

Makes 6-8 glasses

• 750ml peach juice (I used dilute peach and white grape cordial from ASDA)
• 750ml champagne
• 14 sheets of gelatine leaves (2 sheets or 1tsp powder per 200ml liquid)
• Raspberries
• Peaches/Nectarines
• Grapes

Leave the gelatine leaves to soak in a bowl of cold water until soft.

Make up the peach juice, and then warm in a pan until just before boiling.

Squeeze out the gelatine leaves and add to pan and stir until dissolved.

Pour peach juice into a bowl and add champagne and then leave in a fridge to chill until it is just starting to set. (Takes 2-4hrs)

Chop the fruit up into managable pieces

Get some large wine glasses (thick glass one are better as less likely to smash with a spoon!), pour in the jelly and then add the fruit, place back into fridge to set.

When eating, leave the jelly on your tongue for a second and it will gently fizz :)