Tag: Pasta

Spaghetti Primavera…

Anyone else a carb fan like us? Pasta is a store cupboard staple, you can literally chuck anything in with pasta and you got a tasty and filling meal. Hot or cold, pasta can be enjoyed at lunch, dinner and even on a picnic.

Now traditional primavera usually has double dream in, however we have swapped this for primula cheese, not only is this creamy but adds extra cheese, and who doesn’t love more cheese?

Please note you can use any cream cheese you prefer, however I used the chive Primula in this dish as it added that little extra flavour. You can use quark if you wish, and you can use any grated cheese on the top so adapt them to your own tastes.

Some recommended items from our kitchen for this dish…

  • Double sided dry and liquid measuring spoons for times when you need to measure both liquid and dry ingredients.
  • Cheese grater with varying grater sizes.
  • Pasta spoon, I can’t live without this spoon, makes life so much easier dishing up spaghetti.
  • A decent set of knives for chopping, with a knife sharpener which is always handy.

**NOTE: just a quick note about the seasoning we use in this dish, we have used a spice kit available from SpiceNTice which have all the spices you need all included in one kit so we don’t need to rummage through the spice cupboard for lots of different ones. Their spice kits and rubs are all Slimming Club friendly (Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Calorie counting etc). For 10% off your order you can use our code HICKMAN10 at the checkout.

Don’t forget to take a pic of your dish and tag us over on Instagram or Facebook @hickmans_slim_kitchen we love to see the recreations.

Also please make sure you credit us when sharing our recipes on social media. You can do this by directly linking back to the blog or tagging our social media pages.

Thank you.

Please note some posts contain affiliate links, you can find out what that means here.

Spaghetti Primavera

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

  • 140g dried wholewheat spaghetti
  • 1 red onion, peeled and diced
  • 1 large carrot, grated
  • 1 courgette, grated
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 bell pepper, deseeded and diced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
  • 100g french green beans, trimmed and sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small head of broccoli, cut into small florets
  • 2 teaspoons SpiceNTice Italian rub (** See note above about this rub)
  • 55g Primula chives
  • 40g light mature cheddar

METHOD:

  1. Add spaghetti, green beans and broccoli to boiling water and cook until spaghetti is al dente, drain and set aside.
  2. In a skillet pan on a medium heat cook the onion, garlic, carrot, courgette and pepper until softened.
  3. Add the tin of tomatoes, Italian seasoning and the tomato puree and bring to the boil.
  4. Add the spaghetti, broccoli and beans and cook until liquid is absorbed and pasta cooked through.
  5. Just before serving stir in the primula and add the grated cheese over the top.
  6. Place under the grill and melt until nice and golden.
  7. Serve with speedy vegetables, garlic bread or just a simple salad.

Hickmans Slim Kitchen

Zesty Garlic Spaghetti…

This recipe was a happy accident. Often we will just spend time in the kitchen and experiment throwing this and that into a pan and hoping for the best, after all that is how a lot of recipes are born.

Pasta is always a hit in our family but it can often get boring sticking to the usual tomato based sauces so this lemon version makes a refreshing change.

As always adjust herbs and spices to suit your own taste buds, you may want less or more so taste as you cook, we usually add extra to what I write in this recipe to suit our tastes but adjust to your own preferences.

Also adding the spiralised courgette adds extra veggies that you can hide from the kids if you have fussy eaters. Spiralisers are relatively cheap and are a great kitchen utensil to have but if you don’t have one you can find already spiralised veg in most supermarkets in the pre packed veg section.

Some recommended items from our kitchen for this dish…

  • Double sided dry and liquid measuring spoons for times when you need to measure both liquid and dry ingredients.
  • Pasta spoon, I can’t live without this spoon, makes life so much easier dishing up spaghetti.
  • A decent set of knives for chopping, with a knife sharpener which is always handy.
  • A spiraliser
  • Garlic crusher, we have had this one for a good while, easy to clean and can crush multiple cloves at once saving time.

**NOTE: just a quick note about the seasoning we use in this dish, we have used a spice kit available from SpiceNTice which have all the spices you need all included in one kit so we don’t need to rummage through the spice cupboard for lots of different ones. Their spice kits and rubs are all Slimming Club friendly (Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Calorie counting etc). For 10% off your order you can use our code HICKMAN10 at the checkout.

Don’t forget to take a pic of your dish and tag us over on Instagram or Facebook @hickmans_slim_kitchen we love to see the recreations.

Also please make sure you credit us when sharing our recipes on social media. You can do this by directly linking back to the blog or tagging our social media pages.

Thank you.

Please note some posts contain affiliate links, you can find out what that means here.

Zesty Garlic Spaghetti

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

  • 150g dried spaghetti
  • 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
  • 1 large courgette, spiralised
  • 100g french green beans, trimmed and sliced
  • 200g tenderstem broccoli
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 vegetable oxo cube
  • 2 teaspoons SpiceNTice Italian rub (** See note above about this rub)
  • Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

INGREDIENTS:

  1. Add spaghetti to boiling water and cook to packet instructions.
  2. Meanwhile fry the onion, broccoli, green beans and garlic for a few minutes.
  3. Add the courgette, oxo cube, Italian rub and 75ml cold water and simmer on a low heat until the vegetables are softened and the water almost gone.
  4. Stir in the cooked spaghetti, zest and juice of the lemon and give everything a stir and cook until all liquid is gone, taste and season with salt and pepper if required.

NOTES:

  • Serve with finely grated Parmesan on the top and a slice of garlic bread.

Hickmans Slim Kitchen

Harissa Squash Pasta…

This delicious Moroccan spiced pasta dish makes a great lunch idea, making the night before intensifies the flavour even more so we recommend making this in advance although it still tastes amazing eaten the same day.

You can add meat to this dish if you wish, lamb would work extremely well but we have kept this one vegetarian which is just as yummy.

Some recommended items from our kitchen to make this dish…

  • Double sided dry and liquid measuring spoons for times when you need to measure both liquid and dry ingredients.
  • A decent set of knives for chopping, with a knife sharpener which is always handy.
  • Baking trays, we have separate ones for cake items and others for things like veg and meat etc so we have more than one set floating around in our house.

**NOTE: just a quick note about the seasoning we use in this dish, we have used a spice kit available from SpiceNTice which have all the spices you need all included in one kit so we don’t need to rummage through the spice cupboard for lots of different ones. Their spice kits and rubs are all Slimming Club friendly (Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Calorie counting etc). For 10% off your order you can use our code HICKMAN10 at the checkout.

Don’t forget to take a pic of your dish and tag us over on Instagram or Facebook @hickmans_slim_kitchen we love to see the recreations.

Also please make sure you credit us when sharing our recipes on social media. You can do this by directly linking back to the blog or tagging our social media pages.

Thank you.

Please note some posts contain affiliate links, you can find out what that means here.

Harissa Squash Pasta

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

  • 300g penne pasta
  • 1 Very Lazy Harissa tagine paste pot (Available in Tesco)
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed
  • 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and dried
  • Half a small bag of curly kale
  • 300g cherry tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons SpiceNTice Italian rub (**See note above about this rub)
  • 3 tablespoons tomato puree

METHOD:

  1. Pre heat the oven to 200°C fan.
  2. On a baking tray add the butternut squash and chickpeas and sprinkle over the Italian rub, give a little shake to evenly coat and roast for 20 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes and roast for a further 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are golden and squash is soft.
  3. Meanwhile boil the pasta and kale until al dente, drain the water and tip the pasta back into the pan.
  4. Mix the harissa paste pot with 100ml boiling water and then stir into the pasta along with the tomato puree and heat through until all water is absorbed and the pasta is fully cooked (add a little extra water if needed).
  5. Stir through the roasted squash, tomatoes and chickpeas.
  6. Serve along side a simple salad.

Hickmans Slim Kitchen

Cheesy Chicken Fajita Pasta Bake…

It’s no surprise that we love pasta, it makes great dinners and leftovers for lunches too which is ideal for Shane to take to work especially in the winter when he needs a hot lunch to warm himself up.

Now fajitas usually consist of cheese, salsa, sour cream, peppers, onions and meat flavoured in a lovely spice and you serve it in warm tortillas. Mmmm. However we have turned this much loved dish into a pasta bake which is perfect to serve alongside a fresh salad, you can even include the salsa and sour cream if you wish on the side. Delish.

Some recommended items from our kitchen to make this dish…

  • Double sided dry and liquid measuring spoons for times when you need to measure both liquid and dry ingredients.
  • Cheese grater with varying grater sizes.
  • A lot of our dishes are pyrex, great for cooking. Perfect for roasters too and easy to clean.
  • Garlic crusher, we have had this one for a good while, easy to clean and can crush multiple cloves at once saving time.
  • A decent set of knives for chopping, with a knife sharpener which is always handy.

**NOTE: just a quick note about the seasoning we use in this dish, we have used a spice kit available from SpiceNTice which have all the spices you need all included in one kit so we don’t need to rummage through the spice cupboard for lots of different ones. Their spice kits and rubs are all Slimming Club friendly (Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Calorie counting etc). For 10% off your order you can use our code HICKMAN10 at the checkout.

Don’t forget to take a pic of your dish and tag us over on Instagram or Facebook @hickmans_slim_kitchen we love to see the recreations.

Also please make sure you credit us when sharing our recipes on social media. You can do this by directly linking back to the blog or tagging our social media pages.

Thank you.

Please note some posts contain affiliate links, you can find out what that means here.

Cheesy Chicken Fajita Pasta Bake

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

For the pasta:

  • 300g penne pasta
  • 4 chicken breasts, sliced in strips
  • 3 bell peppers (red, green and yellow), deseeded and sliced
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2 tins chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
  • 1 SpiceNTice fajita kit (** See note above about this kit)
  • 110g Primula with chives or 110g Seriously Strong lighter spreadable cheese (see pic below)

For the topping:

  • 80g light mature cheddar, grated
  • 60g red leicester, grated

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C fan.
  2. In a large saucepan boil your pasta until al dente.
  3. Meanwhile in a frying pan fry the chicken until starting to go golden, add the onion and fry for a further 5 minutes.
  4. Drain the pasta leaving a little of the water in the pan, add the pasta back into the pan along with all the other pasta ingredients and mix everything together.
  5. Pour the pasta into an ovenproof dish and top with the remaining cheese.
  6. Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the pasta is fully cooked, sauce absorbed and cheese is nice and golden and melted.
  7. Serve alongside a simple salad and a dollop of reduced fat sour cream and chive dip and a little salsa if you wish.
Cheesy Chicken Fajita Pasta Bake

NOTES:

  • Feel free to use any cheese you prefer, we use a combination of cheeses for extra flavour but always use the cheese you prefer.
  • This is also a great batch cook meal, simply cook as above and allow to cool, portion up and store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze. Defrost fully if freezing.

Hickmans Slim Kitchen

Margarita Pizza Pasta Roll Ups…

We love experimenting in the kitchen, and sometimes the simplest of experiments are the ones we enjoy the most.

You can add any vegetables you like into this dish, you can also add meat if you wish, however we kept it fairly simple and meat free which was perfect for our #meatfreemonday over on Instagram.

We have included a meat version under the original recipe for those who would like it.

Some recommended items from our kitchen to make this dish…

  • A big time saver for chopping veg with a veg chopper, from onions to carrots this is a god send to chop quickly.
  • Double sided dry and liquid measuring spoons for times when you need to measure both liquid and dry ingredients.
  • Cheese grater with varying grater sizes.
  • A decent set of knives for chopping, with a knife sharpener which is always handy.
  • A lot of our dishes are pyrex, great for cooking. Perfect for roasters too and easy to clean.

Don’t forget to take a pic of your dish and tag us over on Instagram or Facebook @hickmans_slim_kitchen we love to see the recreations.

Also please make sure you credit us when sharing our recipes on social media. You can do this by directly linking back to the blog or tagging our social media pages.

Thank you.

Please note some posts contain affiliate links, you can find out what that means here.

Margarita Pizza Pasta Roll Ups

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

  • 16 Lasagne pasta sheets
  • 140g reduced fat/light mozzarella cheese
  • 80g light mature cheddar, finely grated

Sauce:

  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 2 bell peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 500g carton passata
  • 1 beef or vegetable oxo cube
  • 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sweetener
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 2 teaspoons Italian herbs

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven 180°C fan.
  2. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the pasta sheets until al dente, to prevent them from sticking together place the sheets in one at a time crossing over each other so it looks like a cross in the pan, every few minutes simply lift each sheet with a fork and keep them moving. You can also however add a drop of oil to the pan which will help prevent sticking.
  3. Once the pasta is cooked enough, drain the hot water and fill the pan with cold water to cool the pasta down. Set aside for now.
  4. In a heavy bottomed saucepan saute the onion, peppers, garlic and celery until soft.
  5. Add all the other sauce ingredients and simmer on a low heat for around 10 – 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  6. In an oven proof dish add a couple of spoonfuls of the sauce to the bottom.
  7. Lay the mozzarella over the pasta sheets and slice each sheet lengthways. Roll the slices up and place standing up in the sauce in the dish.
  8. Add more sauce over the tops of the pasta to prevent the tops burning and add the cheddar evenly over the top. (If you have any sauce leftover simply pot it up in a freezer proof container and freeze for another day).
  9. Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until the pasta is fully cooked and the cheese is nice and golden and melty.
  10. Serve alongside a salad or vegetables and a slice of garlic bread if you wish.

For a meaty version:

  • In step 7 lay slices of thin ham with the cheese on the pasta before rolling up. In step 8 add some crumbled bacon. (For the crumbled bacon simply cook the bacon under the grill, place in a blender and pulse until you get bacon crumbs). You can also add some mini peperami to the tops too.

Hickmans Slim Kitchen

Macaroni Cheese…

This is one of Shanes favourites. Its a really quick recipe with a proper cheese sauce. Its an easy dish to make and can be enjoyed as either a main meal or even as a side dish for an American themed buffet.

Feel free to use your favourite cheese in this dish however we choose to include a mix of cheeses for maximum flavour.

Some recommended items from our kitchen to make this dish…

  • Double sided dry and liquid measuring spoons for times when you need to measure both liquid and dry ingredients.
  • Cheese grater with varying grater sizes.
  • A lot of our dishes are pyrex, great for cooking. Perfect for roasters too and easy to clean.
  • Non-stick milk pan as I love having the lip to make it easier to pour without spillage.
  • Silicone whisks in varying sizes, much prefer silicone to metal as it rusts.

Don’t forget to take a pic of your dish and tag us over on Instagram or Facebook @hickmans_slim_kitchen we love to see the recreations.

Also please make sure you credit us when sharing our recipes on social media. You can do this by directly linking back to the blog or tagging our social media pages.

Thank you.

Please note some posts contain affiliate links, you can find out what that means here.

Macaroni Cheese

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

  • 300g macaroni pasta
  • 25g Clover light spread
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour
  • 200ml whole milk
  • 100ml water
  • 80g light mature cheddar
  • 30g red Leicester cheese

METHOD:

  1. Cook the pasta according to the packets instructions.
  2. Meanwhile make your cheese sauce by melting the butter in a milkpan on a low heat.
  3. Add a drop of milk into the cornflour to make a paste, then stir in the rest of the milk.
  4. Whisk the milk and water into the melted butter and simmer until the sauce thickens, make sure you are continuously whisking.
  5. Whisk in the cheeses until all the cheese is melted.
  6. Drain the pasta and tip into the sauce and stir everything to combine.

NOTES:

  • Cook some bacon (fat removed) under the grill and pulse in a blender to become bacon crumbs. In step 5 leave some of the cheese behind. Place the mac and cheese in an oven proof dish, add the left aside cheese and bacon crumbs and pop under a hot grill until melted and golden.
  • Blitz some wholemeal bread. In step 5 save some of the cheese behind. Place the mac and cheese in an oven proof dish, sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and left aside cheese and grill until golden and melted.
  • In step 6 stir through some chilli con carne for a chilli mac and cheese.

Hickmans Slim Kitchen
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