The FastDay Forum

Hi all, I got both of the Hairy Dieters books out of the library this week and was very excited by the prospect of some lovely hearty grub on fast days (the 3 egg omelettes aren't really cutting it any more) and I started today with the spicy pork and rice from the yellow book which looked nice and fluffy on the photo but was far too liquidy and sloppy looking when I cooked it (to the recipe). Tasted ok but wasn't what I was hoping for.

Anyone got any Hairy Dieters recipe successes, ones you'd make over and over again, or ones they wouldn't waste the ingredients on again? Not sure what to make next - I've got some chicken breasts, any recommendations?

For me it would have to be there piri-piri chicken dish with salad on a fast day or with rice on a feed day.
I keep mostly simple by ''butterflying '' the breasts then shake on either
Cajun-Tandoori-piri-piri- or hot spicy season-all ( Schwartz )
Then cook them on my George Grill Brilliant. Sue

Quite fancy making a curry on friday - won't necessarily be a fast day but using their recipes might help keep things low!

Can't see the words piri piri now without thinking of the pot noodle advert 'piri piri... by Brian'! Bet its tasty though - the chicken not the pot noodle!

I am a big Hairy Dieters fan! We've had a couple of recipes when we've thought next time we'll add some herbs or chilli flakes but not a disaster as such.

Try the Spanish chicken, really lovely and very filling (we halve the ingredients if just 2 of us are eating) sweet and sour chicken is amazing, just like the real thing! Lamb, spinach and potato curry is lovely as well, chicken jalfrezi and the chicken and mushroom risotto was great as well - all from the first book (white cover)

Still working our way through both books but from the second book we've tried: baked fish with chorizo crust,pork shnitzel, mince and veg pie with tumbled spuds, spicy pork and rice, beef stroganoff, doner kebab and beef madras.

Our spicy pork and rice was really good, both kids ate it as well, ours wasn't sloppy so I don't know how it turned out differently! We've also tried the pan haggerty (bit tasteless - think we needed to crisp the bacon up a bit more) I would add some herbs to it and the pork shnitzel was very lemony so I would probably leave that out next time. That's just personal preference though!

If you want to use the chicken I would definitely recommend the sweet and sour - really good!

Only just recently got the second book. The first recipe I made was the spicy pork and rice and yes I did have to increase the heat at the end to get rid of the liquid but there was silence in the house, everyone loved it.

My favorite from the first book is the lamb, spinach and potato curry. Also love their chilli, spag bol, leek & potato pasties, meat and potato pies, sweet and sour chicken.

The Shepherds Pie is a big hit here. That plus the Chicken and ham pie with Filo crust and the beefburgers aren't to be sneezed at.

Ooh thanks guys, will stick with it. I'll keep trying recipes while I've got the books out on loan and if they are really good I might buy the book (or just copy out the good ones!)

I tried the bean burgers last night - they were really nice but really quite small so wouldn't bother with them on a fast day as they wouldn't keep me full. We had them with potato wedges and a baked big flat mushroom topped with sliced (homegrown!) tomato and mozzarella, and salad. Yummy but not fast day fare!!

Any more recommendations. The sweet & sour sounds lovely will have to make that, although I think this week it might have to be a curry as my curry cravings have been growing all week!

Chicken Jalfrezi, chicken and mushroom risotto and easy crispy chicken are some of my family's favourites!

From the first book, I've cooked:

Stuffed peppers - hubby and I loved them but I did halve the amount of chilli.

Sweet and sour chicken - the whole family loved!

Chicken korma - ditto!

Cottage pie - ditto!

I only just bought book two, so have no reviews so far. My friend who is a chef has firmly recommended the spicy pork and rice from book two, so maybe its just a timing issue on the cooking?

Their chilli is awesome, have made it a couple of times, nice tasty and filling.

Lovely curries too.

Bean burgers are next, if I can find the recipe! May have to take a trip to library myself