The Recipe
Meat Sauce
1 lb ground beef
2-3 carrots
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
chili flakes (optional)
2 cups of your favourite tomato sauce (homemade or from a jar - doesn't matter - but remember that the better the sauce, the better your dish)
Biscuit topping
1 cup flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup grated parm or similar
1/4 tsp herbs (e.g. thyme, oregano, rosemary)
dash of salt
1/2 cup milk
4 tbsp melted butter
Preheat oven to 225C.
Finely chop onion and carrots. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet, add vegetables, season with salt and pepper and let them cook until tender, 5-10 minutes. Add ground beef, garlic and chili flakes. Cook until beef is no longer pink. Add tomato sauce. Bring the vegetable/sauce/meat mixture to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and let to go for 8-10 minutes until it's thickened a bit. Stir occasionally.
Meanwhile mix together the dry ingredients for your biscuit topping. Make a well in the middle of your mix and pour in the butter and milk. Stir the whole thing up until it comes together as a dough.
Season your stew according to taste and add any additional vegetables you feel like - corn, bell pepper, whatever. Spoon the meat sauce into four oven proof bowls (at least 8oz each or it won't fit). Put the bowls on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil for easy cleanup in case of spills. Use a spoon to dop your topping dough over the stews. There might be gaps where you can see the stew through the topping - that's fine. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
The Verdict
I think just possibly I didn't leave it long enough in the oven - the dough still seemed rather doughy and not at all as crisp and puffy as I would have expected. It tasted great though, and as I have leftovers, it'll be interesting to see what they're like after a second round in the oven.
The recipe above serves 3 generously.
ETA: Okay, the results are in, I definitely hadn't left it in the oven for long enough. I gave the left-overs another 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven, and they're so much better and crispier now! Still didn't rise all that much, but I expect that's because of the weird double heating.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Week 19: Corn, Sausage and Pepper Chowder
The Recipe
1 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 pound red potatoes, cut into chunks
A dash of white pepper
A dash of cumin
1 can (160g) corn
225g sausage of some kind, halved and sliced
1/3 cup milk
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and bell pepper until tender, approx. 10 minutes. Stir in broth, potatoes, pepper and cumin and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and leave to simmer for 25 minutes.
Puree half the corn in a blender or food processor. Stir pureed corn, remaining whole corn, sausage and milk into the soup. Leave to simmer for another 25 minutes or until the potatoes are done.
The Verdict
YUM!!! I like my corn chowder with a bit of a kick, so I added chilli flakes to my portion, and thought it tasted fantastic :-) But there was too little of it - according to the recipe, this should serve 3 - DH and I scraped the pot and hardly got our fill. Next time I'll increase the measurements by 50% - the liquids possibly by 100% as I don't mind my soup being a tad more liquid. Also not entirely sure that it's necessary to puree half the corn, but it might have added to the creaminess, so I don't know...
Anyway, this is DEFINITELY a soup I'll be making again. It was one of the best I've tried in awhile.
1 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 pound red potatoes, cut into chunks
A dash of white pepper
A dash of cumin
1 can (160g) corn
225g sausage of some kind, halved and sliced
1/3 cup milk
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and bell pepper until tender, approx. 10 minutes. Stir in broth, potatoes, pepper and cumin and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and leave to simmer for 25 minutes.
Puree half the corn in a blender or food processor. Stir pureed corn, remaining whole corn, sausage and milk into the soup. Leave to simmer for another 25 minutes or until the potatoes are done.
The Verdict
YUM!!! I like my corn chowder with a bit of a kick, so I added chilli flakes to my portion, and thought it tasted fantastic :-) But there was too little of it - according to the recipe, this should serve 3 - DH and I scraped the pot and hardly got our fill. Next time I'll increase the measurements by 50% - the liquids possibly by 100% as I don't mind my soup being a tad more liquid. Also not entirely sure that it's necessary to puree half the corn, but it might have added to the creaminess, so I don't know...
Anyway, this is DEFINITELY a soup I'll be making again. It was one of the best I've tried in awhile.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Week 18: Asian Peanut Butter Pork
The Recipe
600g pork tenderloin (or similar)
1 onion, sliced
2 bell peppers, sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into eights
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 dl peanut butter
1 lime, cut in wedges (optional)
This recipe fits my 4 quart (3.5 liter) crockpot.
Put onion, bell pepper and tomatoes into the bottom of the crockpot. Put pork on top. Add sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, and peanut butter. No need to stir--the peanut butter needs to melt before you can do so. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. 1 hour before serving, flip the meat over in the crockpot to allow the other side to soak up the sauce. Garnish with lime wedges.
Serve with rice.
The Verdict
I wanted to love this - I really did. It smelled fantastic while it was cooking, and the meat was perfectly tender. Unfortunately the peanut butter was a bit overpowering and made it just a tad too rich for my taste. I think if I'd added a bit less peanut butter or a bit more of the other liquids, it would have been a lot better, because I did like it - it was just a tad too much.
Edit 2025: I made it again with a few tweaks and it turned out MUCH better. New recipe is here.
600g pork tenderloin (or similar)
1 onion, sliced
2 bell peppers, sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into eights
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 dl peanut butter
1 lime, cut in wedges (optional)
This recipe fits my 4 quart (3.5 liter) crockpot.
Put onion, bell pepper and tomatoes into the bottom of the crockpot. Put pork on top. Add sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, and peanut butter. No need to stir--the peanut butter needs to melt before you can do so. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. 1 hour before serving, flip the meat over in the crockpot to allow the other side to soak up the sauce. Garnish with lime wedges.
Serve with rice.
The Verdict
I wanted to love this - I really did. It smelled fantastic while it was cooking, and the meat was perfectly tender. Unfortunately the peanut butter was a bit overpowering and made it just a tad too rich for my taste. I think if I'd added a bit less peanut butter or a bit more of the other liquids, it would have been a lot better, because I did like it - it was just a tad too much.
Edit 2025: I made it again with a few tweaks and it turned out MUCH better. New recipe is here.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Week 17: Tacos con Chicken
The Recipe
4 corn tortillas (didn't have any, so I used wheat instead)
2 tsp oil, divided
350g chicken breast meat, cut into very thin strips
2 onions, sliced
2 bell peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3/4 tbsp cumin
1dl salsa, plus additional for garnish
1can (160g) corn
Guacamole for garnish.
Heat half of the oil in a skillet over high heat until smokin’ hot. Add chicken, cook and stir until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Reduce skillet heat to medium and add remaining oil. Add onion slices and cook and stir until they start to brown around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, garlic, corn and cumin; cook and stir until peppers are bright but still crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in salsa and reserved chicken; cook and stir until chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve with warmed tortillas and extra salsa and guacamole for garnish.
The Verdict
I think this works equally well in corn and wheat tortillas, but I still want to try corn next anyway - I love tacos :D Both DH and I are partial to Mexican food, and this tasted great :) For once I took the time to actually slice the chicken thinly enough, and it made a huge difference. Quick and easy meal - definitely worth a repeat!
4 corn tortillas (didn't have any, so I used wheat instead)
2 tsp oil, divided
350g chicken breast meat, cut into very thin strips
2 onions, sliced
2 bell peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3/4 tbsp cumin
1dl salsa, plus additional for garnish
1can (160g) corn
Guacamole for garnish.
Heat half of the oil in a skillet over high heat until smokin’ hot. Add chicken, cook and stir until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Reduce skillet heat to medium and add remaining oil. Add onion slices and cook and stir until they start to brown around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, garlic, corn and cumin; cook and stir until peppers are bright but still crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in salsa and reserved chicken; cook and stir until chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve with warmed tortillas and extra salsa and guacamole for garnish.
The Verdict
I think this works equally well in corn and wheat tortillas, but I still want to try corn next anyway - I love tacos :D Both DH and I are partial to Mexican food, and this tasted great :) For once I took the time to actually slice the chicken thinly enough, and it made a huge difference. Quick and easy meal - definitely worth a repeat!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Week 16: Southwestern Chicken and Bean Soup
The Recipe
1/2 pound chicken breast meat, cut into pieces
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp ground cumin
250g white beans
1 small can (160g) corn
1 chopped onion
1 bell pepper
The original recipe called for browning the chicken first, but I couldn't be bothered doing that, so I skipped that step.
Add chicken to slow cooker. Add chicken broth, salsa, garlic, cumin, beans, corn, bell pepper and onion. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is cooked through.
The Verdict
DH wasn't home so I used hot salsa instead of mild - and it really was hot! Next time I might use medium instead just to moderate it a bit ;-)
Still, I loved it :) The chicken shredded nicely, so it didn't matter at all that I didn't brown it first, and it was lovely hearty and warming. Definitely something I'll want to make again.
1/2 pound chicken breast meat, cut into pieces
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp ground cumin
250g white beans
1 small can (160g) corn
1 chopped onion
1 bell pepper
The original recipe called for browning the chicken first, but I couldn't be bothered doing that, so I skipped that step.
Add chicken to slow cooker. Add chicken broth, salsa, garlic, cumin, beans, corn, bell pepper and onion. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is cooked through.
The Verdict
DH wasn't home so I used hot salsa instead of mild - and it really was hot! Next time I might use medium instead just to moderate it a bit ;-)
Still, I loved it :) The chicken shredded nicely, so it didn't matter at all that I didn't brown it first, and it was lovely hearty and warming. Definitely something I'll want to make again.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Week 15: Salsa Steak
The Recipe
4 cube steaks (couldn't find any, so I used pork chops instead)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups chuncky salsa
Pre-heat oven to 200C.
Place steaks in an oven proof dish and season with cumin, salt and pepper.
Arrange bell pepper and onion over the meat and pour the salsa over all. Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the steaks are done.
Serve with rice.
The Verdict
For my husband's sake I used mild salsa which was probably a good thing as he still found it a tad on the spicy side, and I could always add more chili at the table ;) It turned out pretty good. Not mind-blowingly so, but good enough that I might make this again another time.
4 cube steaks (couldn't find any, so I used pork chops instead)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups chuncky salsa
Pre-heat oven to 200C.
Place steaks in an oven proof dish and season with cumin, salt and pepper.
Arrange bell pepper and onion over the meat and pour the salsa over all. Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the steaks are done.
Serve with rice.
The Verdict
For my husband's sake I used mild salsa which was probably a good thing as he still found it a tad on the spicy side, and I could always add more chili at the table ;) It turned out pretty good. Not mind-blowingly so, but good enough that I might make this again another time.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Week 14: Pavlova
I've had this several times, but have never made it myself. I was feeling adventurous, so I figured it was about time.
The Recipe
3 egg whites
2 cups sugar
1dessertspoon tbsp cornflour
1½ tsp vanilla
1½ tsp vinegar
3-6 tbsp boiling water (it really depends on the eggs... the mixture should still be really thick or the pavlova won't keep its shape properly. If you tilt the bowl, the mixture should be very reluctant to move. Better to add too little water than too much)
Beat egg whites until stiff. Add all other ingredients and beat well until THICK and fluffy.
Preheat oven to 250 deg C. put a tray near the top of the oven and put in pavlova (grease and then wet baking paper, then spread mixture on in one big or two smaller rounds.) Turn oven off and leave for one hour.
Don't leave for too long before removing from paper – this is the trickiest bit! But don't worry if it breaks a bit – cream and decoration cover it all up!
Decorate with whipped cream, fruits and berries - e.g. kiwi, grapes, strawberries, blueberries etc.
The Verdict
I had no idea how much a "dessertspoon" was, so I guessed a teaspoon, and think that may have been a tad too little - in any case, the pavlova flattened while in the oven and didn't get quite as nice and tall as it ought to have been. It still tasted great though, and was a LOT easier to make than I had made myself believe.
Oh, I couldn't find regular vinegar in the supermarket (I know!), so I ended up buying cherry vinegar instead. A lot more expensive, but it tasted great! :D
ETA: Made this again with a tablespoon of cornflour instead of just a teaspoon and it turned out perfectly. So very chuffed about that :)
The Recipe
3 egg whites
2 cups sugar
1
1½ tsp vanilla
1½ tsp vinegar
3-6 tbsp boiling water (it really depends on the eggs... the mixture should still be really thick or the pavlova won't keep its shape properly. If you tilt the bowl, the mixture should be very reluctant to move. Better to add too little water than too much)
Beat egg whites until stiff. Add all other ingredients and beat well until THICK and fluffy.
Preheat oven to 250 deg C. put a tray near the top of the oven and put in pavlova (grease and then wet baking paper, then spread mixture on in one big or two smaller rounds.) Turn oven off and leave for one hour.
Don't leave for too long before removing from paper – this is the trickiest bit! But don't worry if it breaks a bit – cream and decoration cover it all up!
Decorate with whipped cream, fruits and berries - e.g. kiwi, grapes, strawberries, blueberries etc.
The Verdict
I had no idea how much a "dessertspoon" was, so I guessed a teaspoon, and think that may have been a tad too little - in any case, the pavlova flattened while in the oven and didn't get quite as nice and tall as it ought to have been. It still tasted great though, and was a LOT easier to make than I had made myself believe.
Oh, I couldn't find regular vinegar in the supermarket (I know!), so I ended up buying cherry vinegar instead. A lot more expensive, but it tasted great! :D
ETA: Made this again with a tablespoon of cornflour instead of just a teaspoon and it turned out perfectly. So very chuffed about that :)
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