I have fallen in love with these they are just so tasty plus super easy to make which is always a bonus during the week.
Use any potatoes you like and if you cant get hold of the Garlic Butter Sachets just mix either butter or light margarine with garlic. You can use dry thyme if you wish but just add small amounts at a time until you get the taste you want, dry thyme is really powerful and can easily ruin a meal so be careful.
I always get asked for ways to use up leftover spag bol or chilli so i have create this recipe and when i say it was amazing it really was delish.
What is Gnocchi?? potato dumplings, you can buy gnocchi in most supermarkets and it comes like pasta fresh in the chilled isle or dry where all the pasta is. The only thing you need to be careful of when cooking gnocchi is do not overcook it, as soon as it floats to the top of the water remove it from the pan.
This recipe uses my slow cooker spag bol recipe which appears in my cookbook MY SLOW COOKER MEALS which is on Amazon in paperback & kindle https://amzn.eu/d/bxDzxmn
Tinned new potatoes are such an under rated food they are already cooked they just need reheating and you can add any flavour to them to take them to the next level.
In this version i have added Harissa paste which is a beautifully warming spice and it works really well in this recipe.
I have used an Air Fryer but you can use an oven if you wish whichever method you use they wont take long to cook remember they already cooked.
This recipe appears in my cookbook MY LIGHTER BITES and it has had amazing reviews from everyone that has made it. The creamy lemon sauce works so well with the chicken its just a dream of a recipe.
Following a diet plan? no problem this fits with Slimming World Calorie Counting and Weight Watchers and its low in fat too.
Lighter Bites is all about getting you in and out of the kitchen in the least amount of time especially during the hotter months.
This is basically a food waste recipe you know when you have packet chicken in the fridge ready to go out of date?? well thats how this started. You can use any flavour of chicken or even chicken leftover from Sunday lunch, add any sauce you like for me sweet chilli just works with so may flavours plus its favourite of mine.
I used mozzarella as i know Graeme will eat it but feel fee to use any cheese you like – if you are following Slimming World or Calorie Counting this recipe fits in with these diets.
You can have this as a lunch or a light evening meal idea i served mine with a huge salad.
A fantastic summer slow cooker recipe which you can make into many different meals which is what i did i used 2 portions then used the other 2 portions in a different recipe.
I appreciate you can make the base of this taco recipe in a pan on the hob in about 30 minutes but as you know that’s not my style and especially when the weather in the UK is playing ball and the sun is out. Spending time in the kitchen on warmer days just isn’t something i enjoy doing plus if like me you suffer from Chronic Pain or Fatigue getting dinner sorted at the beginning of the day is the way forward.
There isn’t anything complicated about this recipe other than deciding how much lime you want to add after the beef is cook and how you are going to serve them.
This recipe appears in my new Cookbook My Slow Cooker Meals which is available in paperback and kindle format press the link it will take you to my Amazon Shop then look under Cookbooks https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/julesthelazycook
Another fantastic lunch / packed lunch recipe or even a light evening meal this one ticks all the boxes. Remember orzo is just tiny pasta so you can swap it for any pasta you like.
You will see i didn’t use the original Nando’s sauce to marinate the chicken in the sauce i bought was from Home Bargins for a huge bottle and it was 89p (at the time of creating this recipe) and it tasted exactly the same as the original sauce. However use whichever sauce and your family like and enjoy it will still work the same.
For the dressing i used Nando’s Perinaise sauce now this stuff is expensive but i love it and and little goes a long way, but if you don’t want to buy it then use any dressing you like.
I cooked my chicken in the air fryer but if you don’t have an air fryer just cook it in the oven on 185 degrees for approx 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked this will depend on how big the chicken pieces are.
This will keep in the fridge in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Any type of kebab is my all time favourite food and Gyros i love. I fell in love with it in Greece about 5 years ago and that was it my obsession started. In Leeds we have some amazing Greek restaurants and Im happy to say they make a cracking Gyros.
This is a lighter version that will suit all diets Slimming World, Calorie Counting, Weight Watchers etc however don’t let the fact its diet food put you off its a fantastic recipe.
The recipe appears in my cookbook MY LIGHTER BITES which i created for the spring/summer months to get you in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible – lets face it no one wants to spend hours in the kitchen cooking when we have a lovely weather here in the UK.
This recipe makes a fantastic lunch, packed lunch or light evening meal it will last in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 4 days.
What is Orzo?? its a tiny pasta and can be found in most supermarkets in the pasta isle, however if you don’t want to buy another type of pasta you can just use whatever pasta you have and your family like.
You can add any vegetables to this recipe you have that are in the fridge and need using up making it a perfect food waste recipe, because this is how this recipe was born using up what i had before we left the farmhouse in France.
For the dressing i used Pizzeria House Light Dressing, Lighter Than Light Mayo and lemon if you have a favourite dressing then use that but please try the one i used its really tasty and works so well in this recipe.
I think this is one of my favourite slow cooker recipes why?? because it has very few ingredients, its so easy to make but it tastes amazing.
There is nothing over complicated about this recipe the only thing you will need to do is reduce the sauce especially if you are using chicken thighs. Chicken thighs allow more fat to be added to the sauce which can make it difficult to reduce it to a thick sticky consistency.
So how are you going to create a sticky sauce?? first method is have patience place the sauce in a large frying pan on a high heat and keep removing the pan from the heat this will allow the honey to solidify so you can judge how much the sauce has reduced.
Or you can reduce the sauce and add a corn flour slurry this is usually 1 teaspoon of corn flour mixed with cold water – if you decide to use this method do not take your eyes off the pan the corn flour will thicken really quickly. Do not reduce the sauce too far as you want it to coat all the chicken.
If you like these types of easy no faff recipes you can find this recipe and more in my new cookbook MY SLOW COOKER MEALS which is available on Amazon in paperback and kindle format press here for my Amazon Shop the look under cookbooks https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/julesthelazycook
This recipe has been created to reduced food waste especially cooked chicken either from Sunday Dinner or packet chicken you have bought and is left in the fridge after only using half of it.
I used chicken but you could easily use pork, ham, beef etc, these quesadilla make a fantastic quick lunch or evening meal. There is no recipe card for this one but you can see what i used in the video below.
This is a recipe i use lots mainly because its so easy and you can have it on the table in the time it takes the chips to cook.
We always have a portion of Chilli in our freezer (you could use spag bol for this also) which really speeds up the cooking process and works perfectly in this recipe.
When i make this recipe the key is to cook the chips / wedges approx 90% through because you need to put them back into the oven or under the grill for 5-10 mins for the cheese to melt and you don’t want burned chips, that little bit of time it takes the cheese to melt will finish off the cooking of the chips.
This a new take on an old recipe my mum used to make which my brother and I called “gruel” OK it wasn’t awful or anything like that but when you are little all you really want to eat is sausage egg and chips 🤣🤣
I remember my mum cooking this in our pressure cooker, that gadget used to put the fear of god into me wondering if the house was going to blowing up – that tiny little weight thing on top of the lid rattling for dear life.
Pressure cookers like everything else in life have come a long way thankfully and so has this recipe or my take on it.
Let’s talk broth mix, when you are using a slow cooker you really don’t need to presoak the broth mix if you leave it long enough it will cook perfectly. However that’s where the problem lies you could end up with crunchy lentils if it’s not cooked for the correct period of time, so I have suggested you presoaking them.
I used leftover Gammon / Ham in my recipe but you can really use anything leftover lamb, bacon chicken but if the meat is cooked add it the last hour of cooking.
If you are confident in using your slow cooker this is a perfect recipe for overnight cooking providing the smell of cooking wafting through the house doesn’t wake you up.
I have seen various recipes for this floating around social media but I wanted to try and tweak it slightly to make it more calorie friendly.
The recipe states 1 chicken breast or 2 if you like the reason for this is when you start to add vegetables into this recipe together with the pasta it really does make loads depending on your portion sizes this easily serves 3. I used 1 chicken breast and i felt it was enough when everything was added but as always do what suits you best.
This recipe isn’t cast in stone as it’s perfect for adding all those bits in the fridge that need using up and when you see the “how to video” you will see i added ingredients that are optional but definetly not necessary.
In short it’s a fab base recipe for you to add whatever you like to it.
I have been trying to make this recipe since the beginning of January 🙈 as its a perfect vegetarian recipe for Meat Free Monday but as with all things in my life it takes time to get these things done.
However, here we are and I can definitely say this one was worth the wait it was amazing really hit the spot and if you’re craving a takeaway then maybe give this a try.
Use any chicken nuggets you like i used Quorn to keep the recipe vegetarian but any will work. In the recipe you will see i have said either add the nuggets to the pan after they are cooked and coat them in the sauce or pour the sauce over them.
The reason for this is that to coating on the nuggets can go soft and a little “soggy” if you leave them sitting in the sauce too long – but to be honest I really enjoyed them that way, this is one of those personal preference things.
OK let’s get to the million dollar question regarding SYNS or calories unfortunately I can’t give you that information because it depends on the ingredients used.
Tomato Sauce – depends on the brand you use at the minute I’m using Tesco own brand low salt low sugar which is 7 Cals per tablespoon such a fantastic find – but yours maybe different and much higher or lower in calories.
Sugar – If you are following Slimming World Sweetener is now synned but if you are a rebel like me then I don’t and won’t syn its because I don’t use it anywhere else in my diet. Remember to do whatever is best for you and the diet plan you are following.
During the Winter months I think there are only so many times you can eat roast potatoes before you start looking for an alternative or a different flavour and here we are.
These were gorgeous they really took on the garlic and rosemary flavour but without it being overpowering . Plus they made a fantastic change to normal roasties.
My top tip is once you have cut your potatoes stand them in a bowl of cold water for as long as possible I usually Chop mine first thing on a morning and leave them until dinner time. This removes some of the starch from the potatoes making them easier to cook and they also seem to need less oil.
I also par boiled my potatoes in the microwave, it’s just so much easier this way plus your potatoes don’t absorb loads of water making them “mushy”. It is definetly easier to cook them once par boiled plus it reduces the cooking time.
I wanted to create a budget family friendly meal especially for Sunday Dinner and I can say with full confidence I definitely nailed it.
The gammon was perfect I used 1kg unsmoked Gammon which we got from the Co-op costing £3.50 this joint will feed a family of four or more depending on what you served with it.
One recurring comment with Gammon is “mine falls apart and does not slice” this is because the gammon is overcook, there is nothing wrong with that shredded Gammon is gorgeous.
If you want your Gammon to slice you need a digital meat thermometer and once the internal cooked temperature is reached remove it from the slow cooker.
This is the first time I have cooked a Turkey, I’m not overly keen on it and Graeme doesn’t like it either.
However every year my inbox is flooded with questions of how to do it so this year I decided as part of my Christmas Cooking sessions to bite the bullet and cook one.
For me turkey can be tasteless and dry and most recipes will start with laying bacon on the breast or pushing butter and herbs under the breast skin. I decided to ignore all of these a tried and tested methods and pop my turkey into the slow cooker.
Using a slow cooker to cook lean meats is a fantastic way to lock in moisture and stop the meat drying out so for me the ideal way to cook turkey.
Then there is the tasteless part I decided to add sweetness in the form of orange and marmalade these flavours worked really well and also helped the gravy taste amazing.
The below method can be used for any turkey joint whole, crown etc.
As you will have guessed by now I’m a huge fan of cheating when it comes to cooking and i make no apologies for doing so.
When the weekend comes there are times i have just had enough of cooking and the thought of cooking a full Sunday Dinner can fill me with dread, so adding a few ingredients that just need microwaving really helps.
In this video i have used Asda beef in gravy which was lovely i have also used the Tesco beef in Gravy and its equally as good.
There is no written recipe for this as its more of an idea than a hard and fast recipe.
When you run out of time and energy to cook the real things here is a fantastic hack.
Remember tinned potatoes are already cooked they just need reheating and in this case browning.
You can add any flavourings you like salt & pepper works well as a basic flavour. What you get it a crispy outer with a soft inner potato now these aren’t ever going to replace the real thing but they are a brilliant midweek alternative
Jules The Lazy Cook 