* Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce {Fat Free}

I'm still in a constant war with my weight, but I've finally begun to win more battles than I lose. You can probably tell by the fact that I've been labeling my recipes with Slimming World Syns rather than calories or points... that I have given the Slimming World WOE (Way Of Eating) a go... and so far so good... kind of - I have friends that have lost double the amount of weight that I have in half the time but I honestly don't care because this time it's staying off... again - kind of.

Most slimming world recipes drop cooking fats/oils and full fat products such as coconut milk, mayonnaise etc in favour of low cal sprays and low fat product alternatives, plus they don't tend to use any type of cream or butter and these have been my main concessions. I gave the fat free natural yogurt, fromage frais and quark a shot for a month or so in quite a few recipes - and hated them so have found alternatives. I'm not combining frog spit with calves ear lobes (not that that's what Slimming World is), so rest easy that all you have to do to unslimmingworld my recipes (currently) - is to swap back in the cooking fat/oil and full fat products... if that's what floats your boat. Personally my boat had stopped floating because it was weighed down with so much arse and I'm not getting any younger despite not telling anyone when my birthday is. Apparently, the fact that they don't know - doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Who knew??!!??

This Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce (Did you see what I did there? I bolded it... in case you forgot why you were here... I know I did.) came about because I was looking for a recipe to use up some rice and came across quite a few recipes for enchilada rice casseroles... I decided to make my own enchilada sauce to go in one because of the whole "boat that doesn't float" thing (plus I don't like jarred sauces) and it was scrumptious.

It was also easier than bunging on a pair of flip flops and flipflopping down the road to Sainsbury in the pouring rain. Those buggers get slippy when they're wet and I'm not ready to swap them for welly boots just yet. Plus Summer. It is still Summer. Until September 21st. The planet might not know it, because apparently it no longer takes any notice of The Calendar (wish my birthday didn't)... but it is.... still... Summer...

Kind of.

* Chicken Flavoured Rice

Plain boiled white rice is all very well, but occasionally it's nice to add a smidgen of flavour to it. My personal favourite is Saffron Rice, but I've just used up the last of the saffron - so that wasn't an option. It's also exorbitantly expensive to purchase in the big name supermarkets... one strand of saffron in a jar will cost you your first born's first born.

My first born hasn't got a clue that he's been born. Not sure how that'd work out as far as offering up my first grandchild as payment for a strand of saffron would be concerned. They'd probably want a refund. Heck... I'd want a refund.

Just think... if I'd bought my son in a shop I could have taken him back years ago and said "This one's broke can I have another?" As long as I didn't tell the shop owner that I broke him when I got him home, they'd have to give me my money back - wouldn't they?!? I wouldn't want an exchange - I've been lead to believe that girls are even more hard work than boys :/

I'm sure you think I'm being mean... but if I tell you that he doesn't eat my cooking... complains almost constantly that he's "not eating any of that foreign crap" (anything with pasta or rice is foreign... apparently)... then goes to the shops and buys himself one of those plastic burgers that you bung in the microwave for a minute and wolfs it down with a 2 litre bottle of cola... then complains that he's caught the sniffles from a passing bumble bee... and please could I make him something hot and spicy and foreign to help clear his nose...

... well...

... wouldn't you at least want to see if you could find the box he came in?

* Marinara Sauce

I have to stop myself from calling this Pizza Sauce, it does so much more than that - but that really is what it is.

This is the type of sauce you can fiddle with until it's exactly as you like it. It's a topping for pizzas, and is lovely stirred through pasta, as well as spooned over chicken etc - it's fairly versatile and very easy to cook. 

I've been using this recipe almost as long as I've been using the basic pizza dough recipe. 

I've tried a few - some with fresh tomatoes, some with tinned - some with white wine, some with red, others with none. This is the one that I always come back to, it's simple to make and I always have all of the ingredients to hand. 

Although there may always be a bottle of *something alcoholic* in the cupboard, there's rarely wine unless it's been bought as a gift. Wine makes me stoopid. Very. This recipe doesn't have wine.

* Basic Pizza Dough

Sometimes you need a few basics in the background for when you want to make other recipes. 

Pizza dough is one of those, for me.

 It's much more versatile than you'd imagine, and - a bit like pastry - it comes in many forms. I know I have my own favourite way of making pastry (now that I know that I can) - I also have a favourite recipe for pizza dough. Something I have been making successfully for years. 

Possibly because I luuuuuurve pizza - I actually bothered to hunt down a recipe that worked for me. I have been as faithful to it, as I have been to mayonnaise and cheese (Okay, I have more than one food issue). It has never yet let me down.