This recipe makes four big portions of cottage pie so is perfect for Sunday lunch or, for tea for 2 with leftovers for 2 the next day.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 4 – per serving = 7 points or 520 cals, 18.7g fat, 46.6g carbs, 34.7g protein

Ingredients

For the filling

400g extra lean beef stewing steak, raw, cubed

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 beef stock cube (made up with 500ml boiling water)

300ml Brown Ale (I’ve used the good old Newcastle Brown Ale and Aldi’s own – both were good!)

Pinch of sugar

½ sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and roughly chopped (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)

Handful of fresh thyme, roughly chopped (or 1 tsp dried thyme)

For the mash top

600g potatoes (suitable for mashing, I used Maris Piper), peeled and roughly cubed

80g Blue Stilton cheese, crumbled

2 tbsp light crème fraiche

100ml skimmed milk, warmed

To serve

200g frozen peas

Method

1. Fill the kettle and pop on to boil. Preheat the oven to 150°C (fan).
2. Put the beef in a large bowl, add the flour and season well with salt and pepper. Coat the beef completely in the seasoned flour. Add the oil to a large saucepan, heat, and then add the beef. Fry for 4–5 minutes until the beef is sealed but not cooked through. Remove the beef from the pan and pop into a bowl to one side.
3. To the same pan add the onion, garlic, carrots and mushrooms. Fry for4–5 minutes until the onion starts to soften, adding a little water if the pan starts getting a bit dry. Add the tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce, fry for another minute, and then add the beef stock and brown ale with a pinch of sugar. Add the beef back to the pan with the rosemary and thyme, stir, and then bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer the pie mixture for 1 hour until the beef and carrots are soft and the sauce has reduced nicely. Remove from the heat and let the pie filling cool (for around half an hour if you have time) – this will stop the mash sinking into the beef.
5. While the filling is cooling, make the mash. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water for 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft, then mash (or preferably rice) in a large bowl until nice and smooth.
6. Add the Stilton and crème fraîche and mix, pouring in the warmed milk until the mash is nice and smooth. Don’t overmix as the mash will become gluey. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Take a large pie dish and pour the filling into the base, then spread (or pipe) the mash over the top. Pop in the oven for half an hour so the top of the mash goes nice and crispy.
8. After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and leave to rest while you make the peas. Pop the peas on to boil for 3–4 minutes and then drain and season.
9. To serve, add the pie to a nice deep bowl and eat with the peas.

The post Steak, Brown Ale and Blue Stilton Pie first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Remember to adjust the level of chilli to your taste here. We like things hot so we added fresh chilli at the end but without the fresh chilli it has a lovely underlying warm heat.

This curry is a real treat and for only 2 sp per portion, people will never believe this is a diet friendly meal. I served this with 60g basmati rice (6sp) and a large dollop of fat free yoghurt (0sp) so the meal was a grand total of 8sp. An absolute bargain points wise. Careful to add the points for your chosen amount of rice!

If you are in a rush you don’t necessarily need to remove the beef and then the veg from the pan as you go. If you have time though it really is worth it as the beef ends up melting in the mouth!

Fiery Beef Madras

Sauce Serves 4 = 2sp per portion (Flex)

Ingredients

For the curry paste 

½ tsp each cumin and coriander seeds

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tsp each garam masala and curry powder

1 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric

Juice of ¼ lemon

For the curry

400g Lean stewing beef, diced

1 large onion, finely sliced

2 peppers, deseeded and finely sliced

1 pack of mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 beef stock cube

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp garam masala

1 fresh red or green chilli, finely chopped (optional if you like it fiery hot!)

Handful of fresh coriander

4 x tablespoons of low fat Greek yoghurt (to serve)

Method

Heat a large saucepan to a medium heat and pop in the cumin and coriander for around 30 seconds until they start to toast and pop and you can smell the lovely aromas. Remove from the pan and pop in a pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder. Add the garlic and ginger and mash to a pulp and then add the rest of the paste ingredients with one tbsp. water and combine into a paste. Pop to one side.

Spray the same large saucepan with 1kal and then add the beef, seasoning to taste, and fry for a few minutes until the outside is sealed. Remove the beef from the pan and pop into a bowl to one side. Add the onions and fry for a few minutes and then add the peppers and mushrooms. Fry for a few minutes until the pepper starts to soften. Remove the veg from the pan into another bowl.

Spray the pan with 1kal again and add the curry paste to the pan with enough water to loosen it a little. Fry for a minute or two and then add the beef back to the pan, coating well in the paste. Add the veg back to the pan with the tomato puree and fry for another minutes and then add the stock cube and tin of tomatoes. Fill the empty tin with boiling water and add to the pan and stir to combine everything.

Turn the heat down to low and then cover and simmer for 1 hour (if you would like to cook the curry for less time, turn the heat up a little).  Take the cover off for the last 15 minutes to thicken the sauce. If the sauce won’t thicken, mix 1 tsp corn flour into a little cold water making a paste and pop into the curry. This will thicken it nicely.

Finish by stirring through a further tsp of garam masala, fresh chilli and fresh coriander. Season to taste. Remove from the heat and serve with some fluffy white rice and a dollop of fat free natural yoghurt, topped with a little fresh coriander.

Enjoy!

The post Fiery Beef Madras – 2sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 12sp each (or serves 4 = 6sp each)

400g Beef, diced (I used stewing steak)

1 large onion, finely chopped

Pack of button mushrooms, halved

1 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tsp french mustard

1 tbsp paprika

Salt and pepper

125ml red wine

125ml beef stock (made with 1/2 beef stock cube)

50ml water

1 tbsp half fat sour cream

400g new potatoes, halved

Pack of Green Beans, trimmed

Method

Pre heat the oven to 150c. Season your beef, spray a frying pan with one kal and add beef. Cook until just browned on both sides. Remove beef from pan and pop in casserole dish.

In frying pan add onion and mushrooms and sautee in one kal until lightly browned. Stir flour into onion mixture and once combined add tomato puree, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper, wine, stock and boiling water and bring to boil. Pour over meat in casserole dish and give a good stir.

Cover and pop in the over for between and hour and a half and an hour and forty five minutes. Stir half way through to make sure nothing sticks.

While your casserole is cooking, par boil your unpeeled new potatoes for around 8 minutes then pop in a roasting tray, spray with one kal and season with salt and pepper. Throw in a few unpeeled, crushed garlic cloves and pop in the oven with your casserole for 1 hour.

Ten minutes before everything is cooked, pop your trimmed green beans on to boil.

Once casserole is cooked, stir through your sour cream and serve all together on a nice big plate!

Enjoy!

The post Paprika Beef Casserole – 12sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Ingredients

Makes 9 = One muffin is just 2sp and 3 muffins is 5sp – (previously 2pp and 5pp respectively) 

4 x Eggs

2 x Egg whites

Half a bag of Fresh Spinach

40g half fat mature cheddar

75g half fat Feta Cheese (I used Aldi’s greek style salad cheese)

Handful of mushrooms finely chopped

¼ of a nutmeg, grated

Salt and Pepper

Method

Pre heat your oven to 180c. Take your spinach and either wilt it in a pan of boiling water or steam (I just used a metal colander over a pan of boiling water and steamed for around 7 minutes). Fry off your mushrooms in 1kal for a minute or two. Meanwhile beat your eggs and egg whites together, then add the feta, mushrooms, nutmeg and salt and pepper and beat well together. Take a muffin tin, spray with 1kal and share your spinach between 9 of the muffin rounds. Next pour the egg mixture over the spinach until the muffin tins are around ¾ of the way full. Top each with grated cheddar and pop in the oven for around 20 minutes!

Eat warm from the oven or store in an air tight container in the fridge. Pop in the microwave for a minute before you eat if you fancy it warm.

Serve on a bed of salad leaves, chop up a few cherry tomatoes and drizzle over a little balsamic vinegar!

Enjoy!

The post Mini Spinach, Feta and Mushroom Muffins – 2sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.