OH. MY. GOSH.
Seriously, I am not a massive casserole fan. I'll throw things in the slow cooker occasionally for convenience, but no meal to come out of it has ever rated highly on my tastebuds. Blame my mother; I pretty much grew up on casseroles and other boring meals of the 90s, haha.
So I found this recipe and didn't tweak it a whole lot. I mostly wanted an excuse to buy and consume a bottle of red. ;)
INGREDIENTS:
500g beef steak, diced (I can't remember the name of the cut I used, but it was cheap)
4 pieces of shortcut bacon, diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbspn plain flour (I used GF flour)
1 cup red wine - I used a lovely Cab Sav
1 cup beef stock
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
3 carrots, sliced
salt & pepper, to season
METHOD:
Preheat a large frying pan to medium-high and add 1 tbspn olive oil. Add bacon and cook for two minutes, add onion and cook for another two minutes, then add garlic and cook for one minute. Tip mixture into slow cooker.
Toss diced beef with flour to coat, then add some more oil (just a little!) to the frying pan and add beef. Cook for a couple of minutes, or until flour is cooked and beef is lightly browned - you do not want the beef cooked completely though, just browned.
Tip beef into slow cooker, then put the wine into the frying pan to deglaze - about 30 seconds). Pour wine into cooker along with the tin of tomatoes, stock, carrots, and salt & pepper to taste.
Put slow cooker on low for 6 hours, remembering to not lift the lid at all during the cooking process!
I served the casserole with lovely mashed pumpkin & potato.
This meal is great for lunch/dinner the next day, as the flavours are even better!
Sorry, no photo. It smelled so good when it was cooking that I was ravenous by the time it was ready at dinnertime!
- L. x
Saturday, 31 January 2015
Banana & Fig muffins
I made these this afternoon to use up some figs I randomly purchased. These muffins are actually pretty good! I shall tweak, because it's what I do (I'm gluten intolerant, so I always make recipes I like friendly for my tummy once I know they're good to start with!).
Anyway, here you go!
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tspn baking powder
1 tspn baking soda
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn salt
200g fresh figs, chopped into small pieces (approx)
1 1/2 cups banana, mashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 tspn vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)
**You could also add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, however I omitted these due to school being nut-free.
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180°, and lightly grease muffin tray.
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then add in figs (and walnuts if using), tossing to coat the figs.
In another bowl, whisk the banana, brown sugar, egg, melted butter and vanilla, then add to dry ingredients and fold until all combined.
Divide batter evenly amongst the twelve muffin spaces, then bake for 20-22 minutes, or until tops are golden and skewer comes out clean.
Cool on rack before storing. Can be frozen for up to four weeks.
Anyway, here you go!
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tspn baking powder
1 tspn baking soda
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn salt
200g fresh figs, chopped into small pieces (approx)
1 1/2 cups banana, mashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 tspn vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)
**You could also add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, however I omitted these due to school being nut-free.
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180°, and lightly grease muffin tray.
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then add in figs (and walnuts if using), tossing to coat the figs.
In another bowl, whisk the banana, brown sugar, egg, melted butter and vanilla, then add to dry ingredients and fold until all combined.
Divide batter evenly amongst the twelve muffin spaces, then bake for 20-22 minutes, or until tops are golden and skewer comes out clean.
Cool on rack before storing. Can be frozen for up to four weeks.
Well, hi there!
My name is Crazy. I will be your guide for the next ...however long I'm here, to assist you whilst you decline into that state of being commonly known as "OMG MUM, YOU'RE SO WEIRD!"
I swear, I wasn't always this crazy. I've always been a little quirky - this is bound to happen when you grow up being the eldest of four, with three younger brothers. But once upon a time, I could have a conversation with strangers that wouldn't conclude with a weird look being sent in my direction by at least half my audience. My audience who, by now, is desperately trying to think up some excuse to get as far away from me as possible. LOL. See that on the floor?? That suspicious white puddle?? That's superglue. You're stuck here now - FOREVERRRRRR.
Ahahahaha. But seriously. Hello!
My name is L... Yeah, L. Let's just play it cool for awhile. ;)
My son is 5 years old. He is not allowed additives of any kind. Like I said, I'm trying to stay sane for as long as possible.
I live in Geelong, which is the second largest city in Victoria, Australia. My son goes to a cutesy little school with a big sense of community. I love it. The mothers are nice. Yes, NICE. I know some of you fellow mothers out there are thinking "but most mothers are nice!" ...No. Not once your children enter school. They turn, and they turn fast. Like vampires....except they don't sparkle. They glare. Maybe like zombies. Yeah, zombies.
Speaking of zombies, The Walking Dead, anyone??? I cannot wait for the break to end. YAY!
I was going to conclude this post with a recipe, but I think I'll create a new post, so those who don't want to read my ramblings, but want my recipes, can get them without walking away from this wondering what on Earth they just read.
Peace out!
- L. x
I swear, I wasn't always this crazy. I've always been a little quirky - this is bound to happen when you grow up being the eldest of four, with three younger brothers. But once upon a time, I could have a conversation with strangers that wouldn't conclude with a weird look being sent in my direction by at least half my audience. My audience who, by now, is desperately trying to think up some excuse to get as far away from me as possible. LOL. See that on the floor?? That suspicious white puddle?? That's superglue. You're stuck here now - FOREVERRRRRR.
Ahahahaha. But seriously. Hello!
My name is L... Yeah, L. Let's just play it cool for awhile. ;)
My son is 5 years old. He is not allowed additives of any kind. Like I said, I'm trying to stay sane for as long as possible.
I live in Geelong, which is the second largest city in Victoria, Australia. My son goes to a cutesy little school with a big sense of community. I love it. The mothers are nice. Yes, NICE. I know some of you fellow mothers out there are thinking "but most mothers are nice!" ...No. Not once your children enter school. They turn, and they turn fast. Like vampires....except they don't sparkle. They glare. Maybe like zombies. Yeah, zombies.
Speaking of zombies, The Walking Dead, anyone??? I cannot wait for the break to end. YAY!
I was going to conclude this post with a recipe, but I think I'll create a new post, so those who don't want to read my ramblings, but want my recipes, can get them without walking away from this wondering what on Earth they just read.
Peace out!
- L. x
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