Category: Fakeaway

Sticky Chicken

I think sticky chicken was the first Slimming World recipe i cooked and wowed Graeme with it is a fantastic recipe and really easy to cook. The only issue with this recipe and its not really a recipe issue its a person issue is you need to have patience to reduce the sauce. My top tip is get the chicken cook and they turn the heat up on the pan and bring the sauce to a rolling boil then keep taking the pan on and off the heat this will help the honey solidify and help you gauge how much further you need to reduce the sauce.

Its a great fakeaway recipe and will really help when you are fancying something tasty at the weekend.

by julessmithie

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders

Looking for something a little bit different??? this is it! is was so tasty and so easy to make always a winner in my book!

I made this up as part of a batch cooking session as the recipe will serve 4 but it will also freeze well saves a job for another day!

This would make a fab weekend family meal or #fakeaway it really was good we really enjoyed it Graeme even had seconds!

  If your sauce does end up slightly too watery take the lid off the slow cooker and let it cook for a little longer or take the sauce out and pop it in a pan to reduce it down that way. I have to say i didn’t need to do any of that.

Another top tip is taste i tasted my sauce at the beginning before cooking and decided to add a couple of more splashes of Worcestershire sauce, however after cooking it was still a little tart so i added a teaspoon of BBQ sauce to to take out the sharpness. All tomato based recipes vary so much and its down to the ripeness of the tomatoes used even in passata, its usually one of the reasons small children are not always keen of tomato based dishes, the easy way around this is always add sugars….hence the brown/BBQ sauce in this recipe – you can always add more sweetener but sometimes i feel sweetener can also leave a funny artificial taste to the sauce.

by julessmithie

Slow Cooker Lamb Rogan Josh

I love a good curry and this is a good curry plus its super simple and if your looking for something tasty through the week this is it! Its not too spicy but if you want to add more spice feel free!

You can use Lamb or Chicken the choice is yours (you don’t need to brown the chicken) Use Greek Yogurt or Natural Yogurt to stir in before serving – use as much or as little to get the desired taste, but before adding it let the curry cool slightly or you run the risk of it splitting.

As you will see i use my slow cooker inner pot to soften down the onions and brown the lamb this is because my slow cooker can go on the hob if you have the ceramic type pot then you will need to use a frying pan to do this. The slow cooker i use is on my Amazon shop press the link it will take you there then look under kitchen gadgets https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/julesthelazycook

This recipe appears in my cookbook MY SLOW COOKER MEALS which is available on Amazon in paperback & kindle press here  https://amzn.eu/d/bxDzxmn

by julessmithie

Beef & Ginger Stir Fry

Wow this was a fab change for a mid week meal and the thing i love about this one is you can spice it up or spice it down to suit your heat level.  I served mine on a bed of stir fry veg but you can serve with noodles this dish really would make a fab alternative to a weekend takeaway.

In this recipe you are going to need to understand how much heat you like in your food the things that create heat that people mistake for spice are Ginger and Lemongrass both really can pack a punch if you are not careful. My suggestion is if you are unsure start with the smallest amount and keep tasting and add more as you cook.

I cooked the beef in my air fryer but you can do it in a pan on the hob if you wish as you know i use my air fryer for everything now its just so much easier.

by julessmithie

Graemes’ Sticky Sweet Chilli Chicken

Well what a treat this was not only was someone else doing the cooking but it was divine! such fab flavours and so easy to make – just wish i had thought of it myself ha!!!

Im sure you will have guessed by now my long suffering OH is a much better cook than i will ever be and it was him who taught me to cook so i though it only fair to not claim this one as my own but to give him some credit for this new creation!

The key to this is getting the chicken cut thinly or the fillets sliced thinly depending on which you use as the idea is it should be a quick meal to get to the table! Its really easy to cook but tastes amazing you wont be disappointed making this one thats for sure!

by julessmithie

Beef Burgers

Let me tell you a little secret – i don’t like “shop bought” beef burgers and i have never had a McDonalds beef burger either. Not sure where this dislike of beef burgers has come from but all i know is i dont like them.

Fast forward to my love of cooking and now i will eat them but only if i or Graeme make them from scratch i love making them as you can add so many different flavours and seasonings to them – these have even passed the “kids test” so i know I’m on the right track.

You will see i don’t use an egg to bind the burgers together i use the juice from the blended onion which not only adds loads of flavour but is a great binding agent. As always bind the burgers whichever way you and your family like and enjoy.

I always make a huge batch of these as once BBQ season starts these bad boys don’t last long at all – they freeze well for batch cooking.

The spices i use are Spicentice Gourmet Burger Rub use Code JULES20 for 20% off any order press here https://bit.ly/2VYUZLG

The mini chopper and burger press i use is on my Amazon Shop press the link it will take you to Amazon then look under KITCHEN GADGETS https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/julesthelazycook

by julessmithie

Crispy Chilli Beef

Wowzers this was amazing and so simple to make and can be on the table in 15mins if that! This will definitely hit that weekend takeaway spot and you really wont feel like you are missing out. This is a fab recipe as everything is cooked in one pan so minimum clearing up.

The key to getting the sauce to how you want it to mix it in a bowl and “taste it” not everyone’s taste buds are the same so you may want to add a dash of lime juice or a dash more of sweet chilli or add sweetener.

Cook the beef to 80% on a low/medium heat this will stop it having that “rubbery” texture, then once you add it back to the sauce finish the cooking have the pan on a high heat to get those crispy edges. My other top tip is, if you can pay a little bit more for the beef you use it will make a difference to the end result.

The pans i use are on my Amazon Shop press the link it will take you there then look under KITCHEN GADGETS https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/julesthelazycook

by julessmithie

Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken

This has got to be the easiest slow cooker recipe ever it really is just mix the sauce and add it to the slow cooker with the chicken, you can use chicken breast but leave it whole during the cooking or it will dry out.

A brilliant fakeaway for those following Slimming World or those Calorie Counting as its meals like this that keep us on plan.

Once you have mixed the sauce you will see there isn’t lot of sauce to this recipe which means it will cook quickly in the slow cooker as the slow cooker isn’t filled with liquid, i would suggest if this is the first time you are cooking this recipe you are in the house. All slow cookers work slightly differently so its easy for the sauce to cook off or reduce too far.

If you need to thicken the sauce you can either turn the slow cooker up to high and remove the lid and leave it to thicken probably last hour of cooking or use corn flour mixed with cold water to create a slurry.

by julessmithie

Diet Fanta Chicken

Sounds weird but it actually works well it actually works really well i made this recipe many years ago and decided today (16th June 2021) to give it a bit of TLC and update it.

When i originally cooked this recipe i added the vegetables, chicken and sauce to the frying pan and started reducing the sauce what a carry on! it took forever as we all know all vegetables are water so all you are doing is boiling the vegetables and adding more water to the sauce.

In this version i have cooked the chicken in the sauce and cooked the vegetables separately much better and certainly a whole lot easier, but as always you do whatever suits you and your family.

This recipe is claimed to taste like ” sweet and sour” hmmmm ok it kind of does but I’m going to be really honest there are two versions of sweet and sour on my website that knock the socks of this. However as a quick throw it in pan meal it works well and uses very little ingredients and for me those meals are always a winner.

If the sauce gets too thick add a splash of Fanta and Passata.

by julessmithie

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Yep another curry from me as you can guess i do love a good curry and this was a good curry and so simple to do which makes it even more appealing for me! If you dont want to soften down the onions the choice is yours this literally then becomes a chop and chuck it in and walk away and let the slow cooker do its job.

My slow cooker can go on the hob and in the oven it has an aluminium non stick inner pot and they are the best slow cookers ever and so easy to clean so no need for plastic slow cooker bags. You can find the slow cooker i use on my Amazon Shop press the link it will take you there then look under kitchen gadgets https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/julesthelazycook

As you will see in more recent video’s and recipe cards i have switched over to using passata instead of tinned tomatoes i find passata does not give you a watery sauce, a tin of cheap tomatoes is more liquid than pulp so this will always give you more liquid than you need.

This recipe appears in my Cookbook MY SLOW COOKER MEALS which is available on Amazon in paperback and kindle press here  https://amzn.eu/d/bxDzxmn

by julessmithie

Mayflower curry in the slow cooker

This was perfect really worked well and personally i think it tasted better out of the slow cooker than when done in the pan! I use chicken thigh but you can use breast just leave it whole until the meal is cooked then you can dice it or shred it.

The Key is to mix the powder with boiling hot water to a dripping consistency not too watery but not too thick it needs to drip off the spoon – you can always add more water if needed.

I would also suggest you cook your first one when your around the house if possible because all slow cookers work differently and its hard for me to give you exact times measurements etc but if you follow the video you can always “tweak” it to suit your slow cooker

In the recipe i have said use 200ml of hot water but lately i have noticed buying new boxes sometimes i need to add more hot water, so start with 200ml then if you need more add small amounts slowly.

The slow cooker i use is on my Amazon Shop which if you look under the video section you can now watch a short video reviewing the slow cooker. Press the link it will take you there then look under KITCHEN GADGETS https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/julesthelazycook

This recipe appears in my cookbook MY SLOW COOKER MEALS which is available on Amazon in Paperback and kindle. Press here
https://amzn.eu/d/bxDzxmn

by julessmithie

Lamb Curry (Pataks)

This makes a fab very easy weekend curry i have also made it using beef and it is equally as good this curry is very similar to a rogan josh in taste.

A very easy simple curry but dont let that fool you its packed with flavour it also batch cooks and freezes well i have made this many times now and it turns out perfect every time.

You will see i use frozen spinach purely because during the winter months spinach tends to not get used in our house so buying frozen stops any food waste. Both fresh and frozen work well in this recipe and both are added towards the end of cooking.

by julessmithie

Fish Goujons

This is such a lovely way of eating fish (if like me your a bit fish averse) but i do try 🤣🤣🙈.

In this version I added Spicentice Herby Fish Rub which is one of my favourites it has a unique taste which works really well especially in this dish. You can get these rubs from http://www.spicentice.com use discount code JULES20 for 20% off any order AFFILIATE

You will see i have said flour for dusting is optional at the moment it can be difficult to get hold of flour so it’s not a deal breaker if you can’t get it, however if you have it I would use it as personally I think it really helps the cornflakes or breadcrumbs stick better.

For tartar sauce recipe press here https://julesthelazycook.co.uk/2020/05/20/tartar-sauce/
by julessmithie