Loyd Grossman 'Pour over' sauces

I spotted these and thought for those who hate cooking or are just in a hurry might be worth checking out! I've got the Peppercorn version to try out will keep you posted what it's like... they're 170g sachets... I've ProPointed for both a 1/2 and full pack... Anyone tried them? Please post below! 

Loyd Grossman Pour Over Creamy Peppercorn & Brandy Sauce - 

Half pack (85g) - 2PP

Full pack (170g) - 5PP

Loyd Grossman Pour Over Wholegrain Mustard & Tarragon Sauce - 

Half pack (85g) - 3PP

Full pack (170g) - 6PP

Loyd Grossman Pour Over Creamy Parmesan & Cheddar Sauce - 

Half pack (85g) - 3PP

Full pack (170g) - 6PP

Loyd Grossman Pour Over Wholegrain Mustard & Tarragon Sauce - 

Half pack (85g) - 3PP

Full pack (170g) - 6PP

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Feel Good Soup...

I'm bored of making soup... no I am... I had this very conversation with my weigh-in buddy Mary in class last week... who would have thought we'd be craving salads in March!?!? 

You just get a bit fed up of the same thing over and over... so no more butternut squash for me till autumn! Sadly the weather isn't exactly on our side at the moment and soup is SO filling... I've raved about the Fusion & Street Soups before... All the points and flavours are >>> HERE<<< and ready made soup can be a life saver when you're just in the door and starving! Great for heating up in work too! So check out Avonmores' Feel good range... VERY low points for really filling flavoursome soups! Available in Dunnes, Tesco and some Supervalu stores... 

Avonmore Feel Good Mediterranean Vegetable - 

100g - 1PP 

200g Serving - 1PP

400g carton - 3PP

Avonmore Feel Good Tomato and Basil, my favourite! 

100g - 1PP 

200g Serving - 1PP

400g carton - 2PP (for the lot!!!)

Avonmore Feel Good Garden Vegetable! 

100g - 1PP 

200g Serving - 2PP

400g carton - 4PP

Fusion and Street 'A taste of Mexico' 

Tomato soup with Coriander, red beans and corn 

100g - 1PP 

400g carton - 3PP

Fusion and Street 'A taste of Marrakech' 

Vegetable soup with put lentils, cumin and ginger

100g - 2PP 

400g carton - 7PP

Check out the other Fusion and Street flavours >>>

http://theskinnydollsjourney.blogspot.ie/2013/04/not-all-soups-are-created-equally.html

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This one time, in Weight watchers...

First up... my leader is awesome... I truly believe she has no idea how much she motivates our class every week! If she heard the chats at the gate every Thursday, when we're leaving... we're all motivated... we're all 'right.. be good this week!' ... She is absolutely brilliant!  

I have often moaned about my inability to poach an egg... I have been given gifts at Christmas... I've had fancy gadgets and scoop ladle things and every time I've drowned my toast, burnt myself and sworn a lot! honestly the only reason I have eggs benedict at brunch is because I love poached eggs and I'm rap at them... Make a pavlova, sure! Beef wellington.. no problem... in fact most recipes don't defeat me but add a poached egg and I'm out! My leader know this... and last week at the scales gave me these! 

Stick with it... I've tried something similar before, making up my own rules I might add and it's been a disaster... but she imparted the following knowledge and I've now crossed '... can poach an egg...' off my bucket list! who knew!!! 

So.. spray them lightly with your spray oil... 

Set a pan of COLD water on the hob.. COLD!!! 

This is where I've been going wrong! This and 'swirling'!

Pop the eggs in the water ...

THEN light your hob... in the next 5 minutes... the following will happen...

 Pop the lid on for the last minute to cook (steam) the top ... Et VOILA! 

Simples as the meerkats say!

Slimbo for 3PP

1 x Mallon sausage - 1PP

1 bacon rasher - 2 

Egg  - 2PP

Season and some roasted tomatoes! 

Breakfast bap for 8PP with a perfectly poached egg! TA DA!

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Pasta Bake Pronto!

This weeks recipe... Pasta bake... this is adapted from the October issue of Weight Watchers Magazine, which uses tuna but I've used turkey mince.. I'm spring cleaning the freezer! The recipe is 14pp in total, so you'll get two 7PP dinners out of this recipe... If you've saved any ProPoints, you can add garlic bread for the full Italian feast! 

Whats in it?

60g Pasta spirals - 6PP 
Turkey Mince 140g - 5PP
3 Laughing Cow Extra Light triangles - 1PP
Crust of bread - 2PP
for some reason the crust works better for this...

ZERO HEROS
Spray Oil
Onion
Garlic
Half a red pepper
Tin of Tomatoes
Herbs


How?

Warm up the oven to gas mark 6/200C/180c Fan and put your pasta on as per the instructions on the packet... 

Dunnes were doing the ROMA range on special a couple of weeks ago, but whatever your fav pasta is just don't forget to weigh it out! 1PP per 10g! 

Spray your pan with oil and add your onions and garlic after a few minutes add your mince and season... I had half a pepper in the fridge and added it... mushrooms would work well too... if you have the time or the inclination you can roll the mince with a little egg white and seasoning to make 'meatballs'...

TIP: Be careful cooking turkey mince... it cooks much quicker that beef or lamb and with less fat it'll burn or go all 'rubbery' and not taste nice! eek!

If you don't have fresh garlic or don't want the mess there's ready made stuff available that will keep in the fridge, the work is already done for you... You can always just give a hint of garlic with the flavoured spray oils out there... 

Once your mince is cooked through... add your tin of tomatoes and simmer through for about 5 minutes...

You can add tinned... Lidl do chopped tomatoes in herbs and it's delicious! 

or you can add passata, again these are 0PP but will add great flavour... 

both cheap in LIDL and ALDI... 

or even tomato puree will add enough punch to it... 

For seasoning, where to start... there's SO many options there to make things delicious without all the added calories! Make yourself a deal that at least once a month you'll pick up a new herb or spice when you're shopping and try them! It'll make ALL the difference... Use your chocolate allowance! ;)

Whilst that's simmering... spray your crust of bread lightly with oil and dice... chop up your cheese... 

Once your pasta is cooked... drain it... and stir it into the mince and stir well... 

Tip it into a baking dish and sprinkle the top with your cubes of bread and cheese and pop into the oven to bake for 10 mins, or until the bread starts to crisp up and the cheese is all melty... slippers on... and hoover! Comfort food in 20 mins! 

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Curry in a hurry!

A quick recipe as requested by some of my instagram followers after last nights 'curry in a hurry' pic ... 

I came home quite late and was STARVING... I mean 'call Bob Geldof..' kinda hungry... My bread was in the freezer because I can't be trusted with the toaster whilst I loiter in the kitchen... so after a large glass of water... I stood at the fridge and thought right... curry! 

I had plenty in the fridge to make enough for two nights, so the total Propoints of the recipe is 14PP, which I just ate without carbs on the first night cause it was too late... but you'd have to ProPoint your rice or nan breads... which is 1PP per 30g ... weigh it out! 

What in it?!

2 Chicken breasts - 8PP

2 Knorr Curry Flavour pots - 1PP

100g of Half fat Creme Fraiche - 5PP

You could also use natural yoghurt but you'll need to ProPoint individual brands... 

and the ZERO HEROS

Red Peppers

Onion

Mushrooms

Sweet Peppers

Chilli Salt

Curry Powder

Left over cherry tomatoes...


How? 

Chop the chicken, smaller the better it will cook faster, spray your pan and cook it through... do this first whilst you're chopping the veggies... 

Throw the onions in first... they take a few mins longer to soften, then add the rest... feel free to use any veggies you like... I had a few baby tomatoes left over, it bulks up it up... Now to season, I add these all pretty much one after the other and mix it all well...  first up, Simplee Chilli Sea Salt for a bit of heat... 

A tablespoon of curry powder... this is all down to personal preference... I don't like my curries too hot, so the 'Medium' version from Sharwoods is perfick for me! 

then I add a Knorr Flavour pot... these add LOADS of flavour without all the points! 

They look like this... 

To that I add 100g of Half Fat Creme Fraiche from Tesco... for the PP of other brands check  >>> HERE <<< but this one is really nice and just adds that creaminess that you want from a curry... and leave it simmer for a few minutes so all the favours infuse...

Get your bowl ready... grab a fork... divide it in two and inhale... it's all very quick once you've got your chicken cooked through...

Anyone got any twists they add? 

Enjoy x

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Six West - Brunch club

Round the corner from where I get my Christmas tree... where I had my 'knicker' incident last week! EEK! There's a smashing little cafe called Six West, in Terenure Village.... being that it's in Dublin 6 west... you get the idea... 

This place is fab... it's a perfect little cafe... in the sense of this is a cafffff... like on eastenders... there's nothing pretentious about it... when you walk in, its bright, breezy and the place smells delicious... The seats are comfy and the staff are so friendly and helpful... even with the hungover types!

Their breakfast menu is served all say so no matter WHAT time you roll out with your hangover you'll get a rasher... heaven! 

The menu has all the usual suspects on it... 

and just take a moment to check out the rainbow in the garden... 

seriously on a sunny day how much would this rock!  

The orange juice is freshly squeezed and icy cold... perfect if you're a bit 'delicate' 

and the coffee - delicious!

The 'full Irish' was, and I quote, 'only massive' ... 

and the eggs benedict were perfick... 

passing the 'Skinny-Dolls-Melty-Egg' test with flying colours!

Specials board for lunch ... 

I spotted the toffee cheesecake and I might have to make an 'emergency' visit 

to Terenure over Christmas! 

Something I love, is being able to see the chefs in the kitchen, 

and it's all open plan so you can spot when your brekkie is on its way... 

and also spot other peoples meals.. 

I'm a bit of a rubbernecker when it comes to plates passing me in a restaurant! 

We were there quite early on a Sunday and it was buzzing!

For takeaways... 

It's a lovely little spot if you're in Dublin 6W, passing through 

or heading to the Sunday Market in Terenure!

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