Beef Stroganoff

I’m eating meat again at the moment, although not much, and I couldn’t resist trying this delightfully simple crockpot Beef Stroganoff recipe from Best Recipes, on the weekend. I love this recipe site, and this beef dish will now be a firm favourite. Not only was it easy, but it tasted fabulous and the consistency was perfect – rich and creamy just like a stroganoff should be.

I did it on LOW so all up it was 8 hours cooking time – the 5 hours they say at the top of the recipe is if you cook on HIGH.

This definitely serves 6 as the recipe states, and could actually serve more if you have it as part of other dishes – great for a party buffet. I didn’t bother cooking pasta and green beans, as suggested, because I knew it would be very filling and there’s only me to feed – I just had a little black rice with mine. I have lots of leftovers in the freezer now!

Happy Fooding!

Not-Mince Comfort Food

I overdosed on red meat last week, with the Irish beef stew – so delicious, but eating it for 3 days in a row (plus what’s in the freezer) just made me need to stop eating meat for a few days. I do find I feel a lot healthier when I stick to seafood and veggies, but I like my curries, stir fries and roasts too much to completely becoming a vegetarian.

I wanted something healthy tonight but without meat – so I raided the cupboards and threw together this TVP based “mince stew” – reminiscent of an easy quick simmered stew my mum used to make when I was little. I loved it then, but my first husband had a distaste for minced anything (he was in fact Mr Food Fusspot personified), so a lot of things quickly made their way OFF the menu in my house for 15 years.

The one Mum used to make had, I think, Gravox in it to thicken the juices, and was probably a lot higher in fat content than what we can buy these days (mince was mince – none of this 3***, 5***, premium stuff!), but gee it was delish, especially served on hot, buttered toast.

This is today’s “what I had in the fridge” vegetarian version – lighter, but still tasting of meat. TVP is amazing!

You can add whatever veg you like to this – celery and baby spinach would be great. The chilli was from the garden of the lovely Carol from my work, who has been bringing them in to share with those of us that love cooking (there are a few of us and we are quick to reserve all the new cookbooks as they arrive!).

Vegetarian Mince Stew

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup dried TVP soy mince

1 small brown onion, finely chopped

3 baby potatoes, finely chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped

425 gm can diced tomatoes

1 small birdseye chilli, chopped

splash of soy sauce

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

1/2 tsp paprika

3/4 cup frozen peas

cracked pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in large pan and sauté onion, potatoes and carrots for 2 mins, stirring frequently.

Add all remaining ingredients, bring to a gentle simmer and cook, on low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Serves 2-3

(that was really hard, wasn’t it!)

Last week was actually “meat free week” – oops I failed there – but I don’t eat meat all the time anyway so I don’t feel particularly cut up about it – however, the supporting website has some really lovely vegetarian recipes on it, so check it out, even if you are a carnivore.

Happy Fooding!

A Rantingly Ravishing Roast!

All ready to go.

Yesterday I made this boneless pork roast from The Ranting Chef‘s blog. Lusciously tasty, and delightfully easy.

I don’t stock gravy enhancer in my pantry, so instead I just used a bit of Gravox, and I mixed all of the ingredients together in a bowl first, then poured over the meat in the crockpot.

9 hours later….

9 hours on LOW, and then 20 minutes resting time (sitting on a roasting platter, covered with foil), the meat sliced up beautifully and was unbelievably tender.

Yum!

I’m not sure that the “tropical” flavours actually permeated the meat to any noticeable degree, but certainly the pork tasted delicious and tender, so this was probably partly due to the sauces/spices poured over it – more exciting than just stock anyway.

Served with gravy and vegies, this was a really great roast dinner, without using an oven.

2, 4, 6, 8, bog in, don’t wait!

Happy Fooding!

Crockpot Chicken

Well I moved house a week ago, but have had no proper Internet connection until now. I have my iPhone, with the WordPress app on it, but I don’t seem to be able to actually post anything that way. I also had no hot water for 4 days and still have a couple of minor problems waiting to be fixed, but the lack of wifi was my main concern!

As I mentioned, I did end up having Crust pizza on the evening of the move (see above – tandoori chicken with yoghurt drizzled on top, delicious), which actually did me for the next night as well. I love that pizza so much!

I am not completely unpacked yet, but the bulk of it is done. I am still manouevring my way around several large boxes in the middle of the floor though, as I don’t have room to put the things in them, so am just leaving some stuff packed up rather than have to repack it again in a year’s time when I will be moving again.

In the meantime it has been lovely finding old friends like my wok and bread machine, and of course my cookbooks. I was too tired to do much but collapse, for the first few days, especially as it was 38-40C for a few days in a row and there is no air conditioning (yet – it’s coming apparently) or pool where I am now. I have been working a lot and studying hard as well, but I finally felt back to normal a couple of days ago and decided to throw a few things in the crockpot for dinner when I came home from my day’s classes. I found an old “French chicken stew” recipe from years ago, and revamped it according to what I had in my (not yet restocked properly) pantry.

Coming home to the smell of something cooking is so divine!

Crockpot Chicken Stew

425 gm can cannellini beans, drained

2 cps chicken stock

6 chicken thigh fillets (skinless), cut into large chunks (you can use breast fillets, but they do dry out easily)

420 gm can tomato soup

3 small potatoes, roughly chopped

1 carrot, peeled & diced

1 brown onion, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bay leaves

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp paprika

cracked pepper to taste

1 tsp cornflour (optional)

Place all ingredients in crockpot except cornflour; mix well, cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.

A couple of hours before you are ready to eat, mix the cornflour to a paste with a little cold water; add to the crockpot and mix through, to thicken.

Serves 4

Happy Fooding!