Salmon Pasta Salad (Slimming World Friendly)

This is a super simple and light pasta salad dish ideal for hot summer lunches or dinners. 

This works out at 1.5 syns on Slimming World (for the light mayonnaise and Dijon mustard). 

The below serves x4 and can be served with the pasta and salmon hot or cold. 

Salmon Pasta Salad (Slimming World Friendly)

Here's how:

• 500g salmon
• 350g dried pasta
• 1 tbsp capers
• !/4 cucumber
• 3 tbsp frozen peas
• Handful dill fronds
• 2 large spring onions
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Fill and boil the kettle and place the oven on at 180 degrees. 

Pop the salmon into an oven-proof dish and place into the oven for 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Cook the pasta with the boiled water and a pinch of salt according to the packet instructions or until cooked; usually between 9-11 minutes. 

Also cook the frozen peas and drain and set aside .

In the meantime prepare the rest of the salad ingredients. Dice the cucumber, pull the dill fronds apart and slice the spring onions and add all to a big bowl. Add the capers whole. 

Once cooked, drain the pasta and give a good shake and add to the bowl with the peas. 

Finally add the salmon, gently cut into flakes and add to the bowl.

Now add the light mayonnaise and Dijon mustard and season generously and give a really good stir till all of the pasta is coated with the sauce. 

Spoon into serving bowls and then add a few more dill fronds and a pinch of black pepper. Enjoy!

If you love salmon as we do, here are a few other dishes you may enjoy:

• Classic Salmon & Pea Fishcakes (Slimming World friendly)
• Cajun Salmon Tortilla Bowls (Slimming World friendly)
• Sticky Asian Salmon 
• Salmon & Dill Gnocchi Bake
• Thai Salmon Fishcakes with Quick Chilli Oil

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

These are a great biscuit to make with the kids, they're super easy to make and taste great too. 

The below makes approximately 15-16 biscuits in a heart shape but  use whatever shape you prefer. 

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Here's how:

• 130g butter
• 70g caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling on the biscuits)
• 180g plain flour
• 100g chocolate chips
• 200g milk chocolate

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking sheet with grease proof paper.

Take a large bowl and add the flour, butter and caster sugar and use a spoon to mix together until becoming combined. Now use your hands to mix together further, it should come together like a dough. Once this has happened add the chocolate chips and then mix more to distribute them throughout the dough.

Flour the kitchen worktop lightly and place the dough on there. Use a wooden rolling pin to roll out to approximately 1/2 cm-1cm thickness. 

Now use a cookie cutter to cut out the heart shapes and place gently onto the baking sheet. If you're left with excess dough, roll out again and repeat until all of it is used up. 

Use a fork to prick the biscuits a little all over, and then sprinkle a pinch of caster sugar over each biscuit and place the tray into the fridge for 15 minutes to chill. 

Remove from the fridge and bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 20 minutes. 

In the meantime, boil a kettle and fill a small saucepan with the boiled water and place on a low heat on the hob.

Break up the milk chocolate and place into a bowl, then place the bowl over the saucepan and allow to gently melt down, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. 

When completely melted, dip each biscuit in half way then place back onto a tray or board. When all the biscuits have been dipped in the chocolate, place the board into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set before eating.

Simple Slow Roast Chicken

If there is one thing I've tried a hundred variations for it's the humble Roast Chicken. There are literally so many ways to cook a chicken and they each have their own virtues. 

This particular variation is a 'slow cooked' version; which is actually only two and a half hours in the oven so isn't a great investment; but the end result is a perfectly cooked, moist and tender chicken, with crispy browned skin and tons of flavour. 

As with all roasted meats; the important thing is to allow the meat to rest after cooking as it will then retain its juices and be succulent; rather than dry. Everyone loves a good Sunday roast dinner and if you're not confident in cooking a chicken this is an excellent way to start and fool-proof in my experience. 

You'll see I cooked this alongside the Slow Roast Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling which is also cracking .

Simple Slow Roast Chicken

Here's how:

• 1 large chicken (approx 1.6kg-2kg)
• 1 large glass white wine
• Chicken stock
• 6 garlic cloves
• Thyme leaves and stalks (or dried thyme)
• Rosemary leaves and stalks (or dried)
• 1 lemon
• Knob of butter
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees. 

Place the chicken into a large roasting tin. Now use your hands to smear over the butter all over the skin; this will help to result in crispy skin and moist meat underneath.

Wash your hands, and then season the bird with sea salt and black pepper. 

Pour the white wine into the bottom of the roasting tin (be careful not to pour any onto the chicken skin) and then make up the same amount of chicken stock as the wine, about 250ml or just under and pour into the bottom of the tin too. 

Throw in the rosemary and thyme all around the tin, and scatter the garlic cloves. Cut the lemon into halves or wedges and add to the roasting tin. 

Now loosely cover the roasting tin in foil and place into the oven for 1 hour exactly. 

Remove from the oven, and take off the tin foil. Return for 50 minutes and then turn the temperature up to 220 degrees and cook for 30 minutes more which will help with browning the skin.

Take the chicken out of the oven and carefully take it out of the tin and place onto a plate. Loosely cover with tin foil and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes or 60 if you have the time. Enjoy!

Simple Slow Roast Chicken with Slow Roast Cider Pork Belly

Slow Roast Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling

My Mum is a bit of a crackling queen and she happily passed on her year's knowledge to me with cooking pork and the perfect, crispy crackling. Always dry the outer side with kitchen towels or a clean tea towel (which then goes into the dirty washing), score deep into the fat, but not into the meat flesh, and salt, plenty of sea salt. 

This is a slow cooked belly of pork that I cooked with the Simple Slow Cooked Chicken last weekend and it is a bit of a showstopper with that crackling. 

I've used a dry white wine here (Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc) but this also works beautifully with a dry cider in the tin too so feel free to experiment.

Slow Roast Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling

Here's how:

• 2kg belly pork
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• 250ml dry white wine or a dry cider
• 250ml chicken stock
• Fresh thyme
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• Fry Light or olive oil
• 2 carrots

Firstly whack the oven up to 230 degrees on high. 

Now prepare the meat as above, dry the skin and most importantly the fat. Now use a sharp knife and score across diagonally both ways all across the fat, so you have a criss cross of incisions. You need to go as far down into the fat as you feel confident without touching the flesh of the meat. 

Now season generously with sea salt, a good pinch, and black pepper to taste. You also need to oil the meat (but not the fat!) so I use Fry Light to gently spray around the outside of the meat, just a few sprays. 

Chop the carrots into equally sized pieces and place into the middle of the roasting tin, ready for the pork belly to sit on top of. This will help to cook the meat evenly all over and prevent the bottom side drying out. 

Split the garlic bulb into 3-4 bits and scatter around the roasting tin.

Place into the oven and roast for 50 minutes then remove from the oven.

Turn the oven down to 160 degrees. 

Now without touching the meat and especially the crackling, pour in the white wine and chicken stock. Now return to the oven and cook for a further three hours, by which time, the meat should be incredibly tender. Allow to rest for 30 minutes before carving. Enjoy! 

Greek Chicken Thighs with Roasted Jersey Royals

This is an absolute favourite in the summer months as once the chicken is thrown into the marinade, it soaks in so much flavour and then you just bung it into the oven to cook through - so simple yet so tasty.

You could also cook for just twenty minutes in the oven and then finish on the barbecue if you prefer. 

The below is enough for x6 adults as a main meal and the great thing is, once marinated, you can also freeze the chicken and simply defrost and cook next time you want it. 

As I've been following Slimming World, I used skin-less thighs for myself, but skin-on for everyone else and using the below it works out at around 5.5 syns per portion (accounting for x2 chicken thighs per person). 

I serve with a Greek Salad (obviously measured out feta for HEA) and some Tzatziki made with fat free yoghurt which is completely syn free for Slimming World too. 

Greek Chicken Thighs with Roasted Jersey Royals

Here's how:

• x12 chicken thighs
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp dried chilli flakes
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 250ml white wine
• 3 lemons

For the roast new potatoes:

• 1 pack Jersey Royal Potatoes (or any other new potatoes)
• Fry Light
• 4 garlic cloves
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Rosemary 

Marinate the chicken a few hours before you plan to cook in a large bowl. Place the chicken thighs into a bowl with the olive oil, white wine, oregano, rosemary, paprika, cinnamon and dried chilli flakes. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Now mince or roughly chop the garlic and place into the bowl and cut the lemons in half, squeeze in the lemon and add to the bowl. Use a large spoon to move the chicken thighs around and ensure all get a good coating of the marinade. Cover with clingfilm and place into the fridge for a few hours or until ready to cook.

When ready to cook, firstly pre-heat the oven to 180, fill and boil the kettle and then fill a saucepan with the boiled water, add a pinch of salt and add the Jersey Royals or whichever new potatoes you are using into the water with a lid on and cook on high for fifteen minutes. 

Now drain the Jersey Royals and give them a really good shake in the colander. 

Place into a roasting tin and spray generously with Fry Light, season with sea salt and black pepper and scatter the garlic cloves about along with some fresh rosemary and set aside. 

Now place the chicken into a roasting tin too including all of the marinade ingredients. Move the chicken so each piece is skin side up and then place into the oven to roast for 40 minutes. 

Ten minutes into the cooking time, add the Jersey Royals into the oven to roast for 45 minutes; so the potatoes should stay in the oven for a further fifteen minutes when you remove the chicken, and allow it to rest in the pan until serving. Enjoy!

Classic Salmon & Pea Fishcakes (Slimming World Friendly)

I call these Salmon & Pea Fishcakes 'classic' as they are flavoured with capers, mustard, spring onion and chives mainly, whereas I have shared a few other fishcake recipes previously which ave a bit of spice such as these Thai Fish Cakes with Quick Chilli Oil, Haddock Fishcakes, Tuna Fishcakes and Mexican Style Salmon Fishcakes  

I am following the Slimming World programme at the moment, and this was an 'on plan' meal at only 2.5 syns per portion for x2 fishcakes (this is for the small amount of flour and the wholemeal breadcrumbs - you could actually use HEB for this if you haven't already as I had yesterday). 

This recipe makes x8 fishcakes which I shared between the family, but if you're cooking just for you, these would keep in the fridge for a few days and you can also freeze them. I serve with a big salad for lots of Speed. 

I also made a quick and syn-free 'tartare sauce' by popping into a small bowl 3 tbsp fat free yoghurt, a tbsp of capers and a few cornichons chopped up with a squeeze of lemon juice, some chopped chives and a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Classic Salmon & Pea Fishcakes (Slimming World Friendly)

Classic Salmon & Pea Fishcakes (2.5 syns on Slimming World)

Here's how:

• 1/2 side of salmon or roughly 470g salmon 
• 1 large spring onion
• 3 potatoes (or some leftover mash potato)
• Handful fresh chives
• 1 tbsp English mustard
• 1.5 tbsp capers
• 150g frozen peas
• Salt
• Black and white pepper
• 1 slice of wholemeal bread
• 1 egg
• Fry Light Spray (I like to use the Rapeseed spray)
• 1 tbsp plain flour

Firstly place the x3 potatoes, with their skin on, into the microwave for fifteen minutes. 

In the meantime prepare the rest of the Salmon & Pea Fishcake ingredients. 

In a large bowl place the capers, English mustard, snip in the chives and finely slice the spring onion and add to the bowl. 

Take the 1/2 side of salmon or fillets, and chop into bite sized pieces and add to the bowl. 

Cook the frozen peas for a couple of minutes in boiling water, drain and add to the salmon mixture. 

Once the potatoes have cooked for fifteen minutes, remove from the microwave, slice in half, then spoon out the potato inside and place into the bowl. 

Season generously with white pepper and salt and use a fork or spoon to mush together and mix up until all of the ingredients are combined. 

Separate into eight almost equal sized amounts, and then use your hands to shape into a fishcake, circular shape and place onto a plate, repeat until you have eight fishcakes. 

Now into one bowl place the flour and season with black pepper and a pinch of salt. 

Into the second bowl, place the breadcrumbs from the wholemeal bread (I blitz in the Nutribullet). 

Into the the third bowl, crack in the egg, and give a quick beat. 

Now you are ready to pane the fishcakes. But first place a large non stick frying pan onto a low-to-medium heat on the hob and give a spray with the Fry Light, 3-4 sprays. 

To pane, firstly, take one fishcake and roll into the seasoned flour, then place immediately into the beaten egg, and finally roll in the breadcrumb mixture. Set aside on a clean plate. Repeat until all of the fishcakes have their breadcrumbs and are ready to cook.

Place each fishcake into the pan and pop a timer on for five minutes. 

After five minutes, carefully turn each fishcake over, they should be slightly golden. I use two tablespoons to turn over carefully. 

Cook for a further five minutes and serve with a wedge of lemon, a big salad and if you like, the Fat Free Yoghurt Tartare Sauce. Enjoy!

Salt & Pepper Chicken

I cannot stress enough how delicious this Chinese fake-away dish is and what's more, I've played around with the method and ingredients so it's only 1 syn on Slimming World too. Win, win. 

This packs a real punch, so if you're a spice-wimp, tone it down a little, if you love spice, you'll love this dish.

This serves two as a main dish. 

Salt & Pepper Chicken (1 Syn)

Here's how:
For the chicken & seasoning:

• x2 chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice
• 1 tsp sweetener
• Fry Light

For the stir fry:

• 2 spring onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 red chillies
• 2 cm piece fresh ginger
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 carrot
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Fry Light

Firstly place a wok on a medium heat, dry. Now add the 1 tbsp of sea salt to the wok and allow it to dry-fry until the salt has started to take on a browny colour. Once that begins, remove from the heat. 

For the rest of the spice mix, in a small bowl place the cornflour, black pepper, Chinese Five Spice and sweetener. Add the salt once it's toasted too and mix together. 

Return the wok to the hob and spray with a few sprays of Fry Light, I prefer the rapeseed oil version here as it's pretty flavourless. 

Cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces and toss into the spice mixture so each side is coated and when happy pop every piece of chicken into the now-hot wok, and fry for two minutes initially. Then use tongs to turn over each piece and fry for a further 2 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Give the wok a little shake every so often, and check each piece is getting cooked on both sides. Once cooked, remove the chicken and place onto a plate to rest. 

For the stir fried vegetables, finely slice the spring onions and chilli and add to the wok with a couple more sprays of Fry Light. Mince in the garlic and finely chop the ginger and add to the wok too. 

Slice the peppers and peel and cut the carrot into matchsticks and add to the wok too on a high heat. Add the soy sauce too. This will cook in under two minutes, moving around all of the time. 

Return the chicken to the wok to coat a little before serving. Enjoy!

Salt & Pepper Chicken (1 syn)

If you love a Chinese fake-away on the healthier side then I have included eight other Chinese-inspired recipes with the Slimming World syns per portion included. 

• Chilli Crab Noodles  (1.5 syns)
• Slow Cooker Chinese Pork with Noodles  (1/2 syn)
• Sticky Asian Salmon (2 syns)
• Chicken Satay Noodle Salad (6 syns)
• Vegetarian Peanut Noodles (7 syns)
• Asian Tuna Fishcakes (3.5 syns)
• Chinese Style Roast Chicken (5 syns)
• Fake Away Char Sui Pork (5 syns)