Sue’s Cook Book

These are so delicious, taste really authentic and are low in fat!  They do take a while a while to prepare (about an hour) but they are so worth it!  Thanks Claire for another wonderful recipe.

 Should make between 40 and 60 dumplings - depending on size

 Case:

Approx 5 cups plain flour

Water to mix

Place flour in a bowl and gradually add water until a dough is formed. Knead until smooth.

Roll into a long sausage about 2 cm thick.

Cut into rounds about 1 cm thick.  Roll each into a circle about the size of a mug rim.  Place in a single layer on a piece of non-stick baking paper and repeat until all dough is used. Now make the filling.

 Filling:

500g minced pork

4 to 5 finely chopped spring onions

2 to 4 very finely chopped celery (almost minced)

1 clove crushed garlic

1 teaspoon minced/finely grated fresh ginger

1 beaten egg

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon plain flour

Mix all ingredients together.  Place one rounded teaspoon in each case and seal well - pinching the edges on both sides.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and place dumplings in the boiling water - cook for 10 minutes. When cooked, remove with a slotted spoon onto warmed plates.

Serve with soy sauce and chilli sauce for dipping.

Fantastic!

This is so yummy, easy and versatile!  Great eaten hot with a salad/vegetables and jacket potato or cold with a salad for lunch.  Try varying the ingredients - tinned salmon or tuna and sweetcorn work really well too.

 Serves 6

 Pre-heat the oven to 180 and grease a ceramic dish.

4 rashers bacon trimmed of fat and cut into strips

100g /4 oz mushrooms sliced

2 cups cooked rice

2 eggs beaten

1 tin of 97% fat free evaporated milk

2 teaspoons mixed herbs

salt and freshly ground pepper

A good handful of grated cheese (low fat if being healthy!)

Heat up a frying pan and add the bacon and mushrooms - cook for a few minutes until bacon is cooked and mushrooms softened.

Place all ingredients except cheese into a bowl and mix until combined.

Pour into the greased dish and sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake for 40 mins and then slice into 6 portions.  Delicious!

This is a great meal as it is quick, filling, low fat, uses only one pan and uses up leftover meat from a roast - perfect for a Monday night when making dinner is such an effort (or is it only me?!).  You’ll need a large pan or stock pot.

 Serves 2-4 depending on appetite

Meat choices - leftover chicken/beef/lamb or half pack of chicken mince shaped into small balls OR tofu can be used if vegetarian

1.5 litres of veg stock  

dash of fish sauce

dash of soy sauce

2 tablepoons sweet chilli sauce

2 garlic cloves crushed

2 cm ginger finely grated

whatever veggies you like - I normally use:

finely sliced red and green pepper (julienne) handful of each

finely sliced carrot (julienne) handful of each

1 finely sliced courgette (julienne)

good handful of mushrooms finely sliced

rice noodles - allow 50g (2oz) per person

1 tablespoon cornflour mixed with a little water

Make veg stock with boiling water and pour into pan and bring to the boil.  Add the fish, soy and sweet chilli sauce and then add the veggies and stir.  Then add your chosen meat and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.  The snap the noodles in half and add to the pan.  Give it a good stir and let it simmer for 5 mins.  Have a taste - season and add more fish/soy/chilli sauce if desired. Try a bit of noodle - if cooked add the cornflour mixture and stir until soup thickens.

Serve in large bowls and enjoy!

This a a great way to make salmon more interesting and to make a little salmon go further (it’s very expensive here in Australia!) It’s also quick and easy and full of flavour. Ideally you will need a large saute pan with a lid, but a wok will do.

Serves 4

2 salmon steaks sliced in half lengthways

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 red chilli finely sliced

2 cm piece of ginger finely grated 

 a good handful of finely sliced carrot (julienne)

1/2 red pepper finely sliced (julienne)

1/2 yellow pepper finely sliced (julienne)

a good handful of mange tout (snow peas) trimmed and sliced in half diagonally

1 tablespoon curry paste 

1 can reduced fat coconut milk

1 handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped

Lightly spray pan with oil and then add all vegetables and stir.  Let the vegetables cook for a few minutes and then add the curry paste and the coconut milk.  Give it a good stir and add salt and pepper to taste.  Allow the sauce to bubble and then place the salmon steaks on top of the sauce and put lid on.  The salmon will only take about 5 minutes to cook. When the salmon has turned pale add the coriander and stir.  Taste again and add more curry paste/salt and pepper if needed.

Serve on a bed of basmati rice with a wedge of lime - heavenly!

This is a great meal with only one pan to wash up, it looks very colourful and has so much flavour - fab for entertaining as it just takes care of itself in the oven.  It is also very easy to adapt to more than 4 people.

Serves 4

2 large orange sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow pepper cut into chunks

2 courgettes, sliced 1cm thick

1 large red onion, cut into chunks

4 skinless chicken breasts

4 teaspoons red pesto

4 slices parma ham

Pre-heat oven to 200/180 fan forced. 

Pour a little olive oil or spray a little olive oil spray into a large oven tray and place in the oven.  Prepare all vegetables as above. 

Place the sweet potato into the tray and cook alone for 15 mins.  Take out of the oven and give it a shake - then add the other vegetables and shake in the pan.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In the meantime, spread each chicken breast with pesto and then wrap a slice of parma ham around each breast.

Place the chicken breasts on top of the vegetables and bake for a further 30 mins or until juices run clear in the chicken and the vegetables are cooked.

To serve, remove chicken and place to one side.  Divide the vegetables evenly onto 4 plates, place chicken on top and serve with sauce on the side if desired (see below).

Easy Tomato Sauce:

1/2 pint passata

1 oxo vegetable stock cube

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place passata in a small pan and crumble in oxo cube and add salt and pepper.  Heat up gently and have a taste - add a little sugar if needed (makes a real difference!) Serve in a sauce boat.

This is a fantastic budget meal that can last for days!  I normally make this and have it as a meal with rice or couscous on the night and then eat the rest as soup for lunches for the next couple of days - pretty good for one chicken I think and it’s low in fat and high in taste - what more could you ask for?

 1 whole chicken - you choose how big

1 tin chickpeas

1 onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed

1/2 red pepper diced

1/2 green pepper diced

1 or 2 fresh or dried chilli sliced - to taste

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1/2 bottle of passata (700g bottle)

1.5 litres veg stock

1 heaped tablespoon curry paste - I use Patak’s lemon and coriander masala paste

1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon cornflour mixed with a little water

You will need a large stock pot for this.  Spray a little oil on in the pot and turn on the heat.  Add the onion, garlic peppers and sweet potato, put the lid on and let them sweat for 5 mins or so. 

In the meantime, get your chicken and peel off all the skin - the only bits that will be tricky is the wings - I normally just leave the skin on those. 

When the onion, garlic, sweet potato and peppers has softened a little, add the tomatoes, passata, curry paste, chilli, tomato puree and stock and give it a good stir.  Then add the whole chicken to the pan, turn up the heat and let it come to the boil and then simmer for 1.5 hours.

After 1.5 hours have a taste and then add salt and pepper.  It may need a little more curry paste or chilli - depending on your taste.

Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate.  Take all the meat off the bones and cut up into bite-size pieces. Put all meat back into the pot and stir.

 Add the cornflour mix into the pot and stir until it thickens.

Serve in bowls with rice or couscous as a warming winter meal or serve as a soup with crusty bread.  This dish will serve many people or if there’s only two of you will last a few days if stored in the fridge and will also freeze well.

 Variation:

Lentils work well instead of chickpeas - just add 6oz red lentils to the stock.