When I was at uni I always said that if I were to write a cookbook it would be 101 ways with mince. At the start of each term, mum and I would go to the butchers and buy 2lb of minced beef which we'd portion up in freezer bags for me to use. I was lucky to go to university with slightly more than a working knowledge of the kitchen. Unlike one of my flatmates in the first year who genuinely survived on beans on toast - with beans and sausages on toast for highdays and holidays. No word of a lie. Every day.
Many of the recipes I use then, I still use now - with some tweaks thanks to either additional equipment (God bless the food processor) or my own changing tastes (no more dried garlic). One that I never made at university was minced beef hash - I actually made a tuna hash with red pepper which I keep threatening myself with revisiting.
I saw the origin of this recipe on a Jamie Oliver programme, and scrawled down the ingredients and a kind of method a couple of years ago. I've since then kept to the rough idea of it, but changed it up fairly significantly.
Minced beef hash - by me (with some help from Mr Oliver)
Serves 4
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
500g minced beef
4 sticks celery
4 carrots
250g chestnut mushrooms
1 red onion
Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper
2 small baking potatoes (I work to half a potato per person I'm feeding and have been known to double this when money is tight and there are extra people around the table).
Olive oil
First off, use a food processor or knife to thinly slice the celery, carrots, mushrooms and onion and set aside
Now brown your mince in a little olive oil in a non stick pan
Add the thyme, rosemary and a good grind or 12 of pepper
Add the veggies and stir well so it's all mixed up
Add the Worcestershire sauce - about 6 tablespoons (you'll notice we've not added salt so far - this is why)
Now using the food processor or knife, thinly slice the potatoes - add these into your pan
Put a lid on and let it simmer for 30 minutes or until everything has cooked down
Now this can be served so many ways - it's already got potatoes so you don't need an extra carbohydrate, but it goes epically well with garlic bread. Or so I'm told. Ahem.
The other way I cook this is exactly the same, but instead of adding sliced potatoes - bake up a potato per person in the oven and then after an hour or so, remove the potato. Split in half and take out the cooked middle. Mix this with the cooked minced beef, and pile it back it, topped with grated cheese. Heat through for about 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and crispy. Epic. The mince goes a lot further this way so this much ends up serving 8.
Showing posts with label batch cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label batch cooking. Show all posts
Friday, 9 May 2014
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Filling the freezer
Auditing, emptying, defrosting and refilling the freezer is something I try to do at least annually (my life is just that exciting!) and whenever I do it, I reluctantly declare that I should really do it more often. I regularly subject M to 'freezer surprise' dinners which on some days are wildly successful, and on others mildly perturbing - stewed apples with pasta anyone?
In advance of the baby arriving I felt that I should really get on top of the random contents of the freezer and try to organise them a bit more fully in order that we might have a good few weeks of being able to get something quick and easy for dinner out of our stocks.
As part of this planning, I've been going through my recipes and noting what would work best either doubled up, or cooked with leftovers portioned off and frozen. So far I've made and frozen the following:
Last week when I gave M another 6 carefully labelled takeaway containers he asked if we should get another freezer. I'm hoping that by the time the baby comes (9 weeks) ours will be nice and full of things that will see us through. I'm also planning a new currency whereby I swap cuddles (with bubba, not me) for roast chicken and salads. There are no flaws in this plan.
I've never posted my recipe for lasagne, and despite being sure that anyone actually Italian might want to kill me merely on sight of it I thought I'd pop it here as it's a long held favourite of ours - it's not changed that much since uni... OK well it has a bit, but it's very similar in essence.
Lasagne
2 cloves garlic
1 red onion
2 sticks celery
250g (ish) chestnut mushrooms
2 large/ 4 small carrots grated
350g minced beef
1 tin tomatoes
1 glass red wine
Dried oregano
Bay leaf
Splash of milk
Tomato puree
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Worcestershire sauce
30g (ish) Equal quantities butter & flour
300ml (ish) Milk
Nutmeg
Grated cheddar cheese
Parmesan, grated
If you're feeling flush - add some mozzarella too
Lasagne sheets
Put some oil in a nice big pan, cook down your onion, garlic and celery until soft over a medium heat
Add the minced beef, and brown this off too
Add the grated carrots and chopped mushrooms and stir to combine
Add the tomatoes, wine, oregano, bay leaf, tomato puree and milk. Stir to combine and leave to simmer gently for about 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
This can stay over a low heat simmering gently (if it starts reducing too much add a wine glass of water - or more wine - and put a lid on) until you're ready for it.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat (if you're using a non stick saucepan and want it to stay that way use a non stick whisk. Don't wreck your pans like I do) and whisk in the flour.
Once they've combined to make a sticky paste (roux) add your milk slowly, whisking as you go
Add the nutmeg and bring to a gentle simmer whisking as it warms through
As the sauce starts to thicken add the grated cheddar and switch to a wooden spoon - the sauce should thicken quickly now
Get a nice large, but shallow square dish
Line the bottom with a third of the meat sauce
Cover with lasagne sheets
Add a third of the cheese sauce
Then the meat sauce, then Lasagne sheets... and so on until you've used the final lot of cheese sauce
Top the lasagne with the grated parmesan - and if you're feeling flush some torn up mozzarella too
Put it in a preheated oven - about 180 for 30 - 40 minutes until the top is crunchy and if you stick a knife in it the pasta sheets feel cooked.
Serve with lots of red wine and good company.
What are your ideas of dishes to cook to stock your freezer up in advance of a big event?
In advance of the baby arriving I felt that I should really get on top of the random contents of the freezer and try to organise them a bit more fully in order that we might have a good few weeks of being able to get something quick and easy for dinner out of our stocks.
As part of this planning, I've been going through my recipes and noting what would work best either doubled up, or cooked with leftovers portioned off and frozen. So far I've made and frozen the following:
Last week when I gave M another 6 carefully labelled takeaway containers he asked if we should get another freezer. I'm hoping that by the time the baby comes (9 weeks) ours will be nice and full of things that will see us through. I'm also planning a new currency whereby I swap cuddles (with bubba, not me) for roast chicken and salads. There are no flaws in this plan.
I've never posted my recipe for lasagne, and despite being sure that anyone actually Italian might want to kill me merely on sight of it I thought I'd pop it here as it's a long held favourite of ours - it's not changed that much since uni... OK well it has a bit, but it's very similar in essence.
Lasagne
2 cloves garlic
1 red onion
2 sticks celery
250g (ish) chestnut mushrooms
2 large/ 4 small carrots grated
350g minced beef
1 tin tomatoes
1 glass red wine
Dried oregano
Bay leaf
Splash of milk
Tomato puree
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Worcestershire sauce
30g (ish) Equal quantities butter & flour
300ml (ish) Milk
Nutmeg
Grated cheddar cheese
Parmesan, grated
If you're feeling flush - add some mozzarella too
Lasagne sheets
Put some oil in a nice big pan, cook down your onion, garlic and celery until soft over a medium heat
Add the minced beef, and brown this off too
Add the grated carrots and chopped mushrooms and stir to combine
Add the tomatoes, wine, oregano, bay leaf, tomato puree and milk. Stir to combine and leave to simmer gently for about 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
This can stay over a low heat simmering gently (if it starts reducing too much add a wine glass of water - or more wine - and put a lid on) until you're ready for it.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat (if you're using a non stick saucepan and want it to stay that way use a non stick whisk. Don't wreck your pans like I do) and whisk in the flour.
Once they've combined to make a sticky paste (roux) add your milk slowly, whisking as you go
Add the nutmeg and bring to a gentle simmer whisking as it warms through
As the sauce starts to thicken add the grated cheddar and switch to a wooden spoon - the sauce should thicken quickly now
Get a nice large, but shallow square dish
Line the bottom with a third of the meat sauce
Cover with lasagne sheets
Add a third of the cheese sauce
Then the meat sauce, then Lasagne sheets... and so on until you've used the final lot of cheese sauce
Top the lasagne with the grated parmesan - and if you're feeling flush some torn up mozzarella too
Put it in a preheated oven - about 180 for 30 - 40 minutes until the top is crunchy and if you stick a knife in it the pasta sheets feel cooked.
Serve with lots of red wine and good company.
What are your ideas of dishes to cook to stock your freezer up in advance of a big event?
Monday, 30 April 2012
Meal Planning Monday: April showers got me down
Well I think we can all agree that it's wet, windy and miserable out there. Anyone who has good weather? If you could please just not mention it, that would be great.
So another week of work, blogging, baking, guiding, sleeping... and so it goes on. I feel a bit like I usually do in November; slightly devoid of any inspiration. This week will be a challenge on the meal planning front, I'm sure.
You'll be pleased to hear that baby sourdough is proving ever so slowly in the kitchen at the moment. Not quite doubled in size, but hopefully the warmth of the kitchen will keep her going.
The other baking I've done this evening (that I will blog this week) are some granola/ energy bars for M. He runs around like nobody's business on building sites and burns up more energy daily than I'm sure I do in a week. Hopefully these should give him some oomph at 3pm when he needs that kick to get through the rest of the afternoon. They're loosely based around something I saw on River Cottage the other week, and the flapjacks I used to back as a child.
So, this week:
Breakfasts: Cereal and Toast for M. Fruit for me, hopefully moving to sourdough (if it ever proves that is)
Lunch: I think I'll be making soup this week - the weather is just too foul to try and manage on salad or veg sticks.
Dinners:
Monday: Fortunately we had roast chicken tonight so tomorrow will be leftover chicken, stuffing with veggies and a baked potato.
Tuesday: Chicken and mushroom risotto (mental note to self: get chicken stock out of freezer) and then I'll make stock from this chicken
Wednesday: Possibly a butternut squash soup using the soup, and with the sourdough and some cheese.
Thursday: Butternut squash, chorizo and cannellini bean chilli
Friday: Leftovers of the chilli - with cornbread (don't tell M but I'm going to introduce him to the wonders of Nigella's cornbread)
Now we've got no plans next weekend, except my Mum is coming to visit, so I think I'm going to do slow roast pork, but also a bit of batch cooking, maybe a lasagne, chilli and cottage pie (we just cleared M's freezer out, there was a lot of mince). Hopefully I'll have a better handle on the sourdough so will be able to bake for Saturday morning, which will mean we can have poached eggs on toast.
Not a terribly exciting week I'm afraid, but it's just that kind of weather really - I feel like I should be in summer skirts skipping around, but I'm wrapped up in woolies and wellies. Sad times.
However, make sure you pop over to At Home with Mrs M and see what everyone else is up to this week.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Baby it's cold outside: Butternut Squash, chicken and barley casserole
It's snowed. Hurrah. I am over the prettiness in record time this year (without nary a snowball fight nor even a snoman) owing to this stupid *insert swearing here* migraine which is now on its sixth week of hanging around. However, the fact that I would miserably cocoon myself in my duvet and hibernate until spring arrives doesn't help M, who needs to eat. As I *suppose* do I. This means that I got up on my steps (yes, I'm that short) and got the slow cooker out of the top of the cupboard. Casserole it is.
I like casserole done in the slow cooker for lots of reasons. You can chuck stuff in, first thing in the morning and when you get home, shazam! Dinner is ready. Pretty much infallible, you can chuck most inseason ingredients in the dish, add some stock and then there you are, casserole. Increase your veggies, to make it healthier, to up the comfort factor add some philly cheese, double cream, or even Greek yoghurt towards the end of cooking.
This is a favourite recipe of mine, based on a long lost recipe card from a supermarket. In fact I have to tell you that I have no idea if it resembles the original any longer. There is plenty you could do differently, and if you don't have a slow cooker it transfers beautifully to a hob on a low heat or an oven. If I wanted to be fancy (as in serve it up to anyone other than myself and M) I'd flour and brown the chicken off in a frying pan first. I always serve this with greens, steamed lightly. This recipe easily serves 6 and it freezes beautifully.
Pantry casserole
350g chicken thigh fillets, chopped into bite size pieces and either, floured and browned off in a pan, or thrown, sleepily into the slow cooker
1 Butternut squash, peeled and diced (although that said, as my wrist - yes, still broken - wouldn't let me get a knife through it I chopped it up into siz pieces and put those through the food processor)
4 big leeks, sliced into pound coin thicknesses
750ml(ish) chicken stock - either from a leftover roast, or a stock cube. Just watch your salt if it's a cube
Half a mug (about 100g) of barley
150g boursin garlic and herb soft cheese
Salt and pepper
Prep your veggies, and chicken and put these in the slow cooker.
Cover with the stock
Add the barley and season with salt and pepper
Cook on high for about 4 hours, then add the cheese, and stir in, and cook for another 2 hours on low
This results in soft, yielding meat, sweet vegetables and a slightly creamy gravy. The perfect dinner for when it's cold outside *belts*
I like casserole done in the slow cooker for lots of reasons. You can chuck stuff in, first thing in the morning and when you get home, shazam! Dinner is ready. Pretty much infallible, you can chuck most inseason ingredients in the dish, add some stock and then there you are, casserole. Increase your veggies, to make it healthier, to up the comfort factor add some philly cheese, double cream, or even Greek yoghurt towards the end of cooking.
This is a favourite recipe of mine, based on a long lost recipe card from a supermarket. In fact I have to tell you that I have no idea if it resembles the original any longer. There is plenty you could do differently, and if you don't have a slow cooker it transfers beautifully to a hob on a low heat or an oven. If I wanted to be fancy (as in serve it up to anyone other than myself and M) I'd flour and brown the chicken off in a frying pan first. I always serve this with greens, steamed lightly. This recipe easily serves 6 and it freezes beautifully.
Pantry casserole
350g chicken thigh fillets, chopped into bite size pieces and either, floured and browned off in a pan, or thrown, sleepily into the slow cooker
1 Butternut squash, peeled and diced (although that said, as my wrist - yes, still broken - wouldn't let me get a knife through it I chopped it up into siz pieces and put those through the food processor)
4 big leeks, sliced into pound coin thicknesses
750ml(ish) chicken stock - either from a leftover roast, or a stock cube. Just watch your salt if it's a cube
Half a mug (about 100g) of barley
150g boursin garlic and herb soft cheese
Salt and pepper
Prep your veggies, and chicken and put these in the slow cooker.
Cover with the stock
Add the barley and season with salt and pepper
Cook on high for about 4 hours, then add the cheese, and stir in, and cook for another 2 hours on low
This results in soft, yielding meat, sweet vegetables and a slightly creamy gravy. The perfect dinner for when it's cold outside *belts*
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
(It's the) Hard Knock Life
Well it is if you’re my laptop. The hard drive had died. Again. And on the new one. To say I am annoyed is possibly the understatement of the century. I’ve lost a ridiculous amount of work, photos and a whole year’s Guide accounts. Much swearing has been heard around the house this week, along with the occasional tearful exclamation about unbacked up work.
Anyway, so this post is not only brought to you courtesy of Annie and the orphans but also a spare laptop from work. Apologies for the lack of pictures, but up and downloading are barred – with any luck this post will be amended next week sometime. Moving on swiftly before I start explaining about the time I was in Annie – of which, thankfully no photographic evidence remains.
Truly, it has been a bit of a hard knock life of late. Computer woes aside, I’ve been exceptionally busy with work and Guiding, and have taken to skipping meals and eating Prêt a manger sarnies for lunch as they seem to see me through. Actually, as someone who doesn’t really ‘do’ bought sandwiches unless I can see them made in front of me, Prêt is the exception to my rule, their ethos is to limit the number of ingredients in their products, have no additives or preservatives and they are freshly made daily (with any leftovers being given to charity). However, calorie content is immense, and whilst not someone who worries about that kind of thing unduly, I do notice that if I eat one for lunch, I can easily not be hungry of an evening. Anyway, before I realise that this post should have been at the very least sponsored by Prêt, I shall move on to...
Life Changing soup™ (link to recipe) As I am sure many of you will recall, this Skye Gyngell recipe has kept me full and happy for nearly a couple of years now. This is the first batch of the autumn, and whilst I was hoping to be able to pair it with some home made bread, I can say with every faith that it was gorgeous. The lengthy ingredient lists have put me off experimenting much further with Ms Gyngell’s recipes but this weekend the call of Batch cooking has been heard and so I will be trying a couple of others of hers.
I would also like to introduce you to Mabel. Mabel is my sourdough starter, a gift from my friend Lucy’s husband Matt. And a daughter/ granddaughter/ second cousin twice removed (you’ll have to decide, genealogy defeats me) of http://doughblogs.com/. Happily residing in my fridge, Mabel is awaiting her first outing this weekend, in the form of a basic sourdough loaf.
I blame the change in seasons, it’s made me want to be all homely, in a kind of ‘wear a pinny and clasp a steaming mug of tea about my person’ way. So hopefully this weekend’s batch cooking will involve: Lentil Ragu from Dinner Diary, Jamie O’s Chilli con carne, a Victoria Sandwich (with Kavey’s Nectarine and Amaretto jam inside) the Sourdough loaf and something that requires roast potatoes – which are my current craving. I will take photos of that lovely lot, but sadly they won’t be seen until Dell manages to collect my laptop (which was supposed to happen yesterday. Grrr. Argh.)
Anyway, so this post is not only brought to you courtesy of Annie and the orphans but also a spare laptop from work. Apologies for the lack of pictures, but up and downloading are barred – with any luck this post will be amended next week sometime. Moving on swiftly before I start explaining about the time I was in Annie – of which, thankfully no photographic evidence remains.
Truly, it has been a bit of a hard knock life of late. Computer woes aside, I’ve been exceptionally busy with work and Guiding, and have taken to skipping meals and eating Prêt a manger sarnies for lunch as they seem to see me through. Actually, as someone who doesn’t really ‘do’ bought sandwiches unless I can see them made in front of me, Prêt is the exception to my rule, their ethos is to limit the number of ingredients in their products, have no additives or preservatives and they are freshly made daily (with any leftovers being given to charity). However, calorie content is immense, and whilst not someone who worries about that kind of thing unduly, I do notice that if I eat one for lunch, I can easily not be hungry of an evening. Anyway, before I realise that this post should have been at the very least sponsored by Prêt, I shall move on to...
Life Changing soup™ (link to recipe) As I am sure many of you will recall, this Skye Gyngell recipe has kept me full and happy for nearly a couple of years now. This is the first batch of the autumn, and whilst I was hoping to be able to pair it with some home made bread, I can say with every faith that it was gorgeous. The lengthy ingredient lists have put me off experimenting much further with Ms Gyngell’s recipes but this weekend the call of Batch cooking has been heard and so I will be trying a couple of others of hers.
I would also like to introduce you to Mabel. Mabel is my sourdough starter, a gift from my friend Lucy’s husband Matt. And a daughter/ granddaughter/ second cousin twice removed (you’ll have to decide, genealogy defeats me) of http://doughblogs.com/. Happily residing in my fridge, Mabel is awaiting her first outing this weekend, in the form of a basic sourdough loaf.
I blame the change in seasons, it’s made me want to be all homely, in a kind of ‘wear a pinny and clasp a steaming mug of tea about my person’ way. So hopefully this weekend’s batch cooking will involve: Lentil Ragu from Dinner Diary, Jamie O’s Chilli con carne, a Victoria Sandwich (with Kavey’s Nectarine and Amaretto jam inside) the Sourdough loaf and something that requires roast potatoes – which are my current craving. I will take photos of that lovely lot, but sadly they won’t be seen until Dell manages to collect my laptop (which was supposed to happen yesterday. Grrr. Argh.)
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