Pumpkin Muffins

Still hot & fresh out of the oven

I got this recipe off the Diabetic Living website although I adapted it a little because I didn't have all of the ingredients.

2 cups wholemeal plain flour
1/4 cup low GI sugar (or an equivalent sugar substitute)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons cooking oil

Spray a 12 cup muffin tray with cooking spray & set aside.

Place all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and make a well in the middle.

In another bowl mix the eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, orange juice and cooking oil.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. It should appear moist but lumpy.

Divide the batter evenly into the muffin pan.

Bake in a 200C (400F) oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden & cooked through.

Fishcakes

Adapted from a recipe in a Diabetic Living magazine

3-4 medium potatoes (or sweet potato if you have it) peeled and diced
1 large tin of tuna (or salmon if preferred)
1 medium onion, diced finely
1 garlic clove, peeled & crushed
tobasco sauce (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup fresh basil (or dill)
breadcrumbs (enough to coat the fishcakes)

Place the (sweet) potato into a steamer and cook covered for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat & mash. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

Drain the fish and add to the potatoes along with the onion, tobasco, basil and egg. Mix until well combined.

Divide the mixture in to 12 portions and shape into patties. Coat lightly with breadcrumbs.

Spray a non-stick pan with cooking oil and cook the patties for around 3 minutes each side or until golden brown.

Serve with a salad.

Slow Cooker Chicken & Veg Parcels

I wanted to try something a little different for tea. Something simple and no-fuss. What's better than throwing everything together and placing it in the slow cooker?

1 large onion, diced, divide into 4 portions
2-3 medium potatoes, diced (about 1/2 a cup per person)
2 medium carrots, sliced, divide into 4 portions
4 teaspoons crushed garlic (we like a lot of this smelly stuff)
2 chicken breast fillets, divide evenly into 4 portions
parsley
paprika
salt & pepper
butter or margarine


Foil to wrap each portion in. Make sure that it is large enough to enclose all of the ingredients.

Place the potatoes (I used carisma potatoes they are low GI), onion and carrot on a piece of foil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and parsley. Add a dab of butter/margarine (we use a cholesterol lowering margarine so use a teeny bit of that if you have it).

Place the chicken on top of the vegetables. Spread the garlic on the chicken & sprinkle a pinch or two of paprika over the whole lot.

Fold the foil over the chicken & vegetables. Make sure that each parcel is completely sealed.

Place it in a slow cooker on low. Cook for about 6 - 8 hours.

I added frozen peas & beans, which I cooked in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes and added to the chicken & veg parcel just before serving. I thought that it might need a little colour. It looks much better with some greenery :D

The chicken was a little on the dry side so I will probably halve the cooking time if I made this again. I also think a sauce of some kind would go really well with this or perhaps a dollop of low fat sour cream or cream for cooking added just before serving might have made it even better.

Mexican Stew

This is one of the recipes from a new recipe book called 200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes by Dana Carpender. I didn't use quite as much meat as the recipe required.

500g beef stew meat, cut into 1" cubes
1 x 400g can of diced tomatoes
1 medium brown onion, diced
1 tablespoon chilli paste
1 tablespoon garlic, crushed
1/4 cup sliced jalepenos
1 packet of taco seasoning mix
1 x 400g can 4 bean mix

Brown the beef, garlic, chilli paste and onions in a saucepan. Once brown place in the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes. Set the slow cooker on low for 6 to 7 hours.

Stir in the taco seasoning and the bean mix. Re-cover the slow cooker and turn it onto high and let it cook for a further 20 minutes.

Serve with rice and a dollop of low fat sour cream.

-------------------------------

The original recipe used 1 kilo (2lbs) of meat. 1 teaspoon of chilli powder and the tinned tomatoes had green chillis in them. Since we don't get that type of tin here I just added jalepenos. The garlic wasn't in the original recipe but I like garlic with my chilli :)
Once everything was cooked it was pretty spicy so perhaps next time I wont add as much chilli paste.

You may want to check it around the 5 hour mark. I think it was pretty much ready by then so I turned to slow cooker to heat to keep it warm until I was ready to serve. 

Baked bean & Corn Salad

I got this recipe from the Diabetic Living magazines July/August 2011 issue

Serves 1 person

1 small can salt-reduced baked beans (about 130-220g)

1/2 small red capsicum 

1/3 cup (80g) fresh or frozen corn kernels

1 iceberg lettuce leaves, shredded

1 tablespoon extra-light sour cream

1 tablespoon reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated

1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves

Put the beans, capsicum & corn in a small microwave safe bowl & heat on high for 1 minute or until heated through.

Put the bean mix into a medium sized bowl (or just use the one you heated the beans in) and top with lettuce, sour cream, cheese & coriander.

I have no idea why the magazine called it a salad as it doesn't look very salad like. I forgot the cheese and didn't have the capsicum or coriander.but it was absolutely delicious. Something I will definitely eat again.

Chicken & Corn Soup (Slow Cooker)

I tested out my new slow cooker with this one 

1 - 2 chicken breast fillets, skin off, cut into 2cm cubes
1 brown onion, diced
1 - 2 cloves of garlic
2 x 440g tins of creamed corn
2 chicken stock cubes (salt reduced if you have them but regular is okay)
5 - 6 cups of water
1 cup angel hair pasta, break into small pieces

In a saucepan brown the onions, garlic and chicken. This will only take a few minutes.

Place the contents of the saucepan into the slow cooker along with the water, creamed corn & the water.

Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for around 4 hours (or less it depends on how hungry you are).

About half an hour before serving place the pasta into the slow cooker. It really wont take terribly long to cook.

** I prepared this around lunch time and it was all ready to go for dinner at 6. You could leave it longer if you wish. Its not like it will get over cooked.
*** I've also cheated with this recipe and used a whole cooked chicken. If you do it this way you can just make it on the stove top and will take no more than 15 minutes or so from start to finish.
** If you want to make it creamy you can add a scrambled egg into the mix. It reminds me of the Chinese chicken and corn soup I would eat as a kid.

Beef Stroganoff

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg of beef (2 lb), cut into strips about 1cm wide
3/4 cup plain flour, divided into 1/2 cup & 1/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
2 onions thinly sliced
250g button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup beef stock
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 x 250g carton sour cream

Trim any excess fat off the meat.

In a bowl combine 1/2 cup flour, mustard and a little salt & pepper. Place the beef strips into the bowl and coat well.

In a saucepan heat up the oil & add the onion. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms & cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from saucepan.

You can add a little more olive oil to the pan then add the beef strips & cook until brown.

Place beef, onions & mushrooms into the slow cooker. Add the beef stock.

Cover & cook for 8 to 10 hours on LOW.

Just before serving, combine the sour cream & flour. Add it to the cooker and stir thoroughly. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until stroganoff thickens slightly.

Serve with bow tie pasta.