Beef & Vegetable Soup

Recently I've started making soup at the weekends for lunch. Something comforting about soup in the winter, really any time of year. Anyhow I want to share one of my family's favorite soups, Beef & Vegetable Soup. It's delicious and it's even better the next day!!!!

Beef & Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs stewing steak

1/4 cup butter

1 cup coarsely chopped onions

1 cup coarsely chopped celery

1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper

1 cup slice carrots

1/4 cup minced garlic

8 cups beef stock

1 pint diced tomatoes

8 oz can tomato sauce

6 cubed red potatoes

1 cup corn

1 tin red kidney beans (drained)

Directions:

1. In a stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sear meat to nice brown coloring then add onions, celery, bell peppers, carrots, and garlic. Saute for 3 - 5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted.

2. Add beef stock, tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours.

3. Add potatoes, corn and beans. Cook an additional 25 minutes.

4. Season to taste using salt and black pepper. Additional beef stock may be added to retain the volume of liquid.

Happy Home Cooking!

Rice & Gravy

Ok rice and gravy is probably the most unimaginative name for this one but over the past 10 years when my hubby asked what's for dinner that's what I told him and he knew what I meant.

I use round steaks and cook them in a gravy. And yes, you guessed it, I serve it with rice! Although the Northern Irish comes out in me and I have to have potatoes of any form with it! Recently I've been on a roast potatoes kick, although honestly they have always been one of my favorite ways to eat potatoes. There is nothing more glorious than a perfectly crisp roast potato, with it yummy fluffy inside, smothered in gravy! YUMMY!!! At this time I'll take a moment to wipe the drool from my face and compose myself!

OK back to meal in hand, Rice and gravy as I call it. This is a little more involve meal and requires starting early (although if you went to play in Pinterest land and lost track of time like I do frequently, a hotter stove and constant attention can reduce the time.)

This is also an amazing dish for the crock pot. Left alone all day to cook makes this dish perfect and I need to use my crockpot more!

I use butter for my roux with this one, oil will work too but I prefer the taste of butter and the creamy feel it adds. I'm sure somehow I'm a close relative of Paula Deen! However the butter issue will be a for another day and post, trust me I have strong opinions there!!

As the title suggests you can serve the steaks and gravy over rice but really any side dish works great with this, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, wild rice...and the list goes on. We have rice and potatoes the perfect Cajun/Irish mix! I always do some sort of vegetable too, again whatever works for your family.

Oh and one other note, I'm crazy about garlic, so I add a nice amount of it. You can omit it or reduce it to your taste.

Rice & Gravy

4 eye of round steaks, trimmed of fat

1 onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup flour

4 cups beef stock

1 teaspoon kitchen bouquet

Tony's seasoning to taste

1. Season steaks with salt and pepper (or Tony's if you are me!).

2. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Place the steaks on top and cook until the steaks turn brown. A little debris at the bottom of the skillet is OK, if it gets too bad add a little water.

3. When steaks are brown remove to a plate and set aside.

4. Add enough water to the skillet to deglaze it and pour liquid into a bowl. You could use wine although I've never tried.

5. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in skillet and add flour. Stir constantly for 5 minutes.

6. Using a whisk, stir in the beef stock (it's always a good idea to have the beef stock warm). When nice and smooth add kitchen bouquet and seasoning.

At this stage you can add it to the crockpot and let it do its thing all day.

7. For the stove top method, Cook on low for about 2 hours stirring regularly to prevent burning. Trust me on this one!!!!

Happy Home Cooking!

Made From Scratch Beef Fajitas

I am so proud of myself. One of my aims has been to completely replace processed food in our diet and find a way to make our favorites from scratch. Well for the longest time Beef Fajitas were my quick and easy open a packet go to meal, the seasoning was prepackaged, the tortillas were prepackaged. Recently for dinner I made Beef Fajitas from scratch, the seasoning was my own and the tortillas were completely homemade.

I cannot begin to tell you how delicious and superior this seasoning is to the McCormick pack. Now I'm not criticizing McCormick, they have been a faithful friend in my kitchen. However I have become more conscious of the label on food. McCromick's Fajitas Mix ingredients are: Spices (including Cumin, chili pepper, and oregano), corn maltodextrin, onion, onion salt, corn syrup solids, garlic, citric acid, caramel color, lime juice solids, modified corn starch and natural flavors. Now in the grand scheme of things that doesn't sound too bad and maltodextrin isn't the worse additive as it's actually from food not chemicals. However I know that glucose based items aren't usually that good for blood sugar. I do wonder why 'caramel color' is required!

I've posted the recipe for the tortillas before and once you have made them from scratch and see how easy they are and how awesome they taste you will have a hard time buy them at the store. 

So here is the recipe for Made From Scratch Beef Fajitas. Trust me these are the best fajitas, my father-in-law even loves them and he's a really picky eater!!!!

Beef Fajitas

 Seasoning

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp oregano

¼ tsp cumin

Tortillas

2 ¾ cups (about 12½  oz) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp kosher salt

5 T (2 ½ oz) vegetable shortening

¾ cup very warm water

Fajitas 

1 lb sirloin beef

2 T vegetable oil

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 green bell pepper, cut into strips

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

1 red onion, cut into strips

Directions:

1. Mix all the seasoning ingredients together.

2. Cut up the beef into strips and place in a bowl. Add the seasoning and mix to completely cover.

3. Let the meat marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also freeze the meat marinated.
4. To make the tortillas: in a bowl, using a whisk, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the shortening (and/or lard) and rub into the flour mixture until well incorporated.
5. Gradually mix in the water until the dough comes together. It should be a medium-stiff consistency, not a soft as bread dough but not firm either. Add additional water if needed a Tablespoon at a time.
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.

7. Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball. Set the balls on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

8. Flatten the ball of dough, flour it, and then roll forward and backward across it once. rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rolling and turning until you reach the desired circle size. Roll all of them before going to the next step. I've found that adding a little extra flour between them helps to stop them sticking together.
9. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet. Add the beef and cook, stirring frequently.
10. When the beef has browned add the bell peppers and red onion and continue to cook until they are done. Don't forget to stir it!

11. While the beef is cooking, cook the tortillas. Heat an ungreased griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium to medium high heat.
12. Lay the tortillas on the hot skillet, there may be a little sizzle noise and you will see bubbling across the surface.

13. After 45 seconds or so, when there are light brown marks on the bottom, flip it over and cook for another 30 - 45 seconds until the other side is slightly browned. Be careful not to leave it too long or it will become crispy. Remove from the skillet and place on a dry cloth. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and stack them one on top of the other on the cloth.

14. Serve immediately and with all the additions you like, cheese, sour cream, salsa, whatever takes your fancy.

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Home made tacos

Sorry for my absence but life gets so hectic sometimes.

But I'm back!!! And my mission to remove the processed food from my family's diet continues.

Today Tacos. For years I've used the old El Paso kits and seasoning. Honestly there was nothing too wrong with that, tacos were a quick easy meal! Then I started making the fajitas from scratch and they were delicious. Then I made the prepackaged tacos and my husband didn't really care for them anymore, it seems that he has been ruined.

So I decided it was time to make my own taco seasoning. After all this is not a move that means I will be cooking for twenty more hours. I got my seasonings out, mixed them in the bowl and ta da no more pre-packaged seasoning. I reduced the amount of cayenne pepper because it had a little too much kick to it, although my husband liked that.

I adapted my recipe from Alton Brown's All American Beef Taco. I love the show Good Eats because he really strips recipes to their core and explains why and how the processes are the way they are. We recently changed cable companies and now get the Cooking Channel. Can I say how much I am enjoying it!

I have to admit that I used store bought taco shells, we all have to cheat a little right. But I do plan to figure out how to make them. Mr Brown did say how to make them into shells by buying corn tortillas but I decided to save myself that step this time.

Oh one quick note, you can go ahead and make up a jar of the seasoning and it will keep for a month in an airtight container. Although it takes such little time to mix it that you don't need to, but it could be a help, if time is short, to have some ready to use. As for cost well initially buying the spices might be more than a pack of seasoning but they will make many of a seasoning mix. I already had all the spices in my cupboard so it was simply a case of reaching in the cupboard.

Home made Tacos

Seasoning

2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Put all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Using a hand whisk mix to combine. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.

Tacos

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 lbs lean ground meat (mince meat)

1 recipe of seasoning mix

1 cup low sodium beef stock

Taco shells, lettuce, tomato, cheese and other favourite toppings as desired

1. Place ground meat, garlic and onions in a skillet and cook until browned, making sure to stir to break up ground meat.

2. Add seasoning mix and beef broth.

3. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until sauce is slightly thickened.

4. Heat taco shells according to package instructions.

5. Assemble as desired!

Happy Home Cooking!

Country Fried Steak

I was introduced to Country Fried Steak back when I first moved to Louisiana. Its true southern cooking at its finest.

I make my gravy separate and before I cook the steaks. My reasons are firstly I like my steaks hot and crispy so having the gravy ready helps. Secondly I don't like the fried oily taste of making the gravy using the oil I fried the steaks. You can do this but like I said for me it's convenience and taste preference.

Cube steak is round steak or top sirloin that has been put through an electrical tenderizer to tenderize it and give it texture. It can also be done with a hand meat tenderizer and help relieve some stress with some good old fashioned beating! It's a fairly cheap cut of meat so great for the budget.

Country Fried Steak

Ingredients:

1/2 stick / 2oz butter

1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 tablespoons

1/2 cup finely minced yellow onion

3 tsp Tony's seasoning or other Cajun seasoning

1 large egg

2 - 3 cups milk, as needed

Four 6 - 8 oz cube steaks

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Make the gravy. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour to pan and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.

2. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the milk, 1 tsp of Tonys seasoning, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

3. Bring the gravy to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 - 6 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and there is no raw flour taste. Add additional milk as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.

4. To cook steaks. Combine 1 cup flour with 1 tsp of Tonys seasoning in a shallow bowl. Whisk the egg, 1/2 cup milk and 1 tsp of Tony's in another shallow bowl.

5. Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour, then dip in the egg wash, letting the excess drip off, and then dredge in the flour again. Set the steaks aside in a plate.

6. Add 1/2 cup vegetable oil to a sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Carefully add the steaks and fry until golden, about 3 - 5 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towel to drain.

7. Serve the steaks with the hot gravy, mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Happy home cooking!

Lasagna

Lasagna should be the Italian word for comfort food. There's just no other way to describe it. The ultimate one dish meal.

I have always loved it and will admit that many a frozen lasagna was eaten when I was younger. When I moved to the States and started cooking every day it was quickly placed on my list of dishes. I admit I had never made one from scratch before. Most of the recipes I found called for Ricotta cheese which seems to be the American version of lasagna. Now if this is what you have known and love then I am not knocking it but the lasagna I grew up on didn't have ricotta cheese but a delicious white sauce.

Now I did use the ricotta method for years and was ok with it but it was missing that rich creamy layer. So with a little searching I found that it was a bechamel sauce. So no more ricotta and hello creamy layer.

This is a wonderful make ahead dish that you can make and stick in the refrigerator until time to cook. I would add 10 minutes cooking time. You can even go so far as freezing it. Leftovers freeze well and if you cut it into portion size will make the perfect quick lunch or dinner in a hurry.

Serve it with a delicious green salad and garlic bread and you have comfort

food Italian style!

Lasagna

Ingredients:

8oz lasagna noodles (I use about 9 sheets for the dish I use)

1 finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1lb lean (90/10) ground meat

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp sugar

1 can Hunts Pasta Sauce zesty & spicy (or pasta sauce of your choice)

1/2 tsp Tony's Cajun seasoning

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 oz (1/2 stick) butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Add onion, garlic and ground meat to a skillet and cook until brown. Stir in sauce, italian seasoning and sugar. Cover and simmer on low heat.

4. To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a medium pan over low heat. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute.

5. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to the heat and stir constantly until the sauce boils and begins to thicken. Simmer for another minute.

6. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 tsp of Tony's and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the sauce to prevent a sling forming; set aside.

7. To construct the lasagna use a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Add a little meat sauce to the bottom, just enough to cover. Layer 3 lasagna noodles, 1/2 the bechamel sauce, 1/3 of meat sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella. Repeat layer one more time. Add 3 more layers and remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

8. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Quick tip, spray the foil with cookin spray to prevent it from sticking to the cheese. Trust me this will make life easier!

9. Bake for 30 minutes (40 minutes if cooking from refrigerator).

10. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until bubbling. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting for easier serving.

Happy Home Cooking!

Chili

Chili is one of those dishes that just says yummy, filling food. It's also one of those foods that has no set standard, it depends where you are and who you are with. It was one of the first things that we were taught to cook in Home Economics in school, but I can guarantee it wasn't the most flavorsome version!

I first developed this recipe when I decided I wanted to throw a cowboy themed 1st birthday party for my oldest son. And well when it came to the menu nothing says cowboy like a big old pot of chili!!!!

The original version had chunks of meat instead of ground meat and I actually really liked it but in our house ground is preferred. Although after hearing about the pink slime they add to the ground meat I'm thinking that I might start grinding my own meat. I haven't watched the news articles too closely because I don't think I could stomach it. Oh for the days of the local butcher where you could watch them grind it in front of you to order!!!!!

Chili

Serves about 6 

Ingredients

1 lb groundmeat (I use the leanest I can find 90/10 or 93/7)

1 1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic

2 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground red pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1 (28oz) can chopped tomatoes, undrained

1 (15oz) can dark red kidney beans, reduced sodium or no sodium, drained and rinsed

1 (15oz) can ranch style beans

1 cup water

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch Oven add ground beef, onion, green bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno and cook until browned and vegetables softening.

2. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You may also add it to your crock pot at this point and let it cook there for about 8 hours on low. If you started in the morning it would be perfect for dinner.

To complete the meal, serve with rice, or baked potato (my favorite) or with Fritos and cheese!

Happy Home Cooking!

Homemade burgers

You are going to think I'm a lazy cook at the weekend because yes the job of burger cooking is my husband's. In our house he has claimed the grill and I have claimed the stove.

So as with the fried fish I face the problem of I don't have a recipe. But really it's not that complicated. And they are delicious!!!

Now funny story time! For my youngest son's 1st birthday we decided to serve burgers. I'm not boasting (ok I am!) but his burgers are really awesome and always a crowd pleaser. Anyhow we made alot, the most we've ever done at a time. I couldn't get the usual 80/20 mix but they had the 70/30 and 93/7 mixes on sale. So I figured adding the two would roughly make 80/20! Well mmm NO! There was so much fat that it dripped down and the gas grill got so hot that the knobs melted off the grill and the grill caught fire!!!! Only at our house!!! So get the fat content right is the moral of the story!

Now size wise my husband makes huge burgers, I have finally got him to make me a smaller version!!!! There's only so much red meat a girl can eat! As you can see they are huge!!! But they do shrink down as the fat cooks so make you burgers larger than the finally size of burger you want. 

Yes that is 7 inches

Homemade Burgers

Ingredients

80/20 ground beef (minced beef in UK)

Worcestershire sauce

Tony's Cajun seasoning (if you are a regular reader you shouldn't be surprised!)

Fixings as they say in the South (optional) :

Burger buns

Lettuce

Tomato sliced

Cheese slices

Onion sliced

Mustard

Ketchup

Mayonnaise

Bacon

Directions

1. In a large bowl mix together ground beef, a generous helping of Worcestershire sauce and Tony's, use your hands to mix it.

2. Divide the mix into rounds about the size you would like the burger. I can't give you an exact amount because if you saw the size of his burgers, normal humans can't finish them. I like a good 1/4 lb or 1/2 lb.

3. Cook on the grill until done to your taste.

4. Serve with the remaining accompaniments of choice.

Happy Home Cooking!

Spaghetti & Meatballs

I really love Italian food, I could live on pasta. Spaghetti just seems to be a staple in every kitchen and every family has their version.

To be honest I haven't found a from scratch recipe for the sauce that I like but this year when tomatoes are in season I really want to give it a go. So for my sauce I like Hunts sauce the Zesty and Spicy flavor, it has a little kick to it, so I don't have add Tony's for a change!

I was never a big fan of meatballs but then I found this recipe and after a little adapting I really enjoy them. In fact I'm think of try it as a meatloaf. I'll let you know how that one turns out.

I braise my meatballs in the sauce, it just seems to merge all the flavors. If you don't have fresh herbs you can use dried, just use a one-to-three ratio (one part dried to three part fresh). I use Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago cheese and it's worth the additional expense over Parmesan, but feel free to try it with Parmesan.

This recipe makes about 32 large meatballs, serving 8 - 12, or enough for 2 nights dinners. If you only want to make enough for one meal just cut everything in half. Or put half in the freezer for next time! I tried this last time in the crock pot, I started it up to step 6 on the stove and then transferred it to the crock pot. It turned out fine but it wasn't as good although everyone in my house seemed to enjoy it just the same.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Ingredients:

Sauce

2 large jars or cans of Tomato Sauce (I use Hunts Zesty & Spicy Tomato Sauce)

2 can condensed tomato soup

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Meatballs

2 large eggs

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 cup chopped yellow onions

3 tsp minced garlic

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

2 tsp freshly chopped basil leaves

1 tsp freshly chopped oregano leaves

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp Tony's

1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Hot cooked spaghetti noodles.

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients for the sauce in a large pot, simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

2. Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl. and stir until all the ingredients are combined. 

3. To form the meatballs take 2 tablespoons of meat between your hands and roll them into a ball. To make this easier make sure your hands are damp. Place the meatballs on a plate.

4. When you have made all the meatballs, gently place the balls into the sauce one at a time, I use a ladle so that I don't burn myself. 

5. Cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes, DO NOT STIR!

6. After 10 minutes gently stir when the meatballs have risen to the top of the pot. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan.

7. Serve with your hot cooked noodles.

To make a meal out of it serve with some fresh salad and garlic bread.

Happy Home Cooking!

Beef fajitas

For day 2 we're having beef fajitas. Now I'm going to admit this is one of my not made from scratch meals. I experimented years ago with a seasoning recipe but it didn't quite do it for me. So I buy a packet of fajita seasoning. The prepackaged kits are really good and you will find them and taco kits in my cupboard because it's quick and easy.

I use beef because that's what my husband prefers but you can very easily use chicken. Any beef I use I buy on sale and freeze, most stores put their meat on sale regularly so if you can figure out the timing and buy the amount will need until the next sale it can make it more affordable.

To make it more of a meal I make a big bowl of my guacamole and heat up some queso (from a jar, need to add to my list of things to learn how to make!) and add some tortilla chips.

Beef fajitas

Ingredients

1lb sirloin steak

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 packets of fajitas seasoning

1 medium red onion, cut into long strips

1 red bell pepper, cut into long strips

1 green bell pepper, cut into long strips

1 package of flour tortillas

Fixings (optional) Sour cream

                 Salsa

                                  Shredded cheese

                                 Shredded lettuce

1. Cut steak into thin strips. It's easier to cut thin if it's a little frozen.

2. In a ziploc bag or bowl mix oil and seasoning and add the steak. Stir and make sure all the steak is covered with the seasoning. Place in the fridge and allow to marinate for at least an hour, the longer the better.

3. I use a cast iron skillet to cook my fajitas. Heat the skillet until nice and hot and empty the steak, oil and seasoning mix into it. Stir and cook the steak until it is browned. If you like your steak rare you may just want to cook it for a short time or longer if you are more a well done kind of person.

4. Add the onions and bell peppers to the steak and continue cooking until the bell peppers are softened but still have a little crunch.

5. Heat the tortillas as the package describes. Serve.

Happy Home Cooking!

Beef Stew

Okay before I start I need to post a disclaimer - THIS IS NOT AN IRISH STEW RECIPE.

I'm not a big fan of lamb and most traditional Irish Stew recipes involve lamb. My family always made it with beef. It was simply lean stewing steak, potatoes, turnip and carrots, throw it all in the pot and a few hours later you have a yummy dinner. To be honest after I left home it was kind of a comfort food for me. A pot went along way when I was living on my own.

Beef Stew is one of my husbands favorite dishes and he likes it to have a good gravy, of course me being the potato crazy person I am would just load it up with spuds and let them cook down until it's a sloppy pureed mess and I'd be happy. So this recipe has been a work in progress and as I'm writing this I am getting delicious whiffs of it from the kitchen.

I'm doing it in the slow-cooker today but you can very easily do in less time on the stove, which when you forget to go to the store and get the meat the day before or take the meat out of the freezer (which both happen a lot around here) is a quick solution. I don't know if one method is necessarily better than the other, I guess it all comes down to taste.

This is one of my E.T.T. dishes (Eat Tonight and Tomorrow). I don't recommend freezing it because potatoes and freezers don't go well together, it makes them gritty. And gritty potatoes doesn't fair well to an Northern Irish palette, remember potatoes are almost sacred in Ireland that's why a bad potato crop nearly wiped out the whole island in the late 17th century.

For all you wives who, like me, are married to an avid hunter, you can easily substitute deer meat for beef. I don't do anything special to the deer meat when I cook it, I know some people say there's a 'wild' taste to it but I don't taste it. I think deer meat is a beautiful meat so lean and tender. Plus talk about organic!!!! I don't think you get more organic. If you do have a thing about the 'wild' taste I would recommend you do what you normally do to it.

So let's get started.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs lean stewing steak

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter (split)

Tony's Seasoning or other Cajun seasoning (I told you I can't get enough of the stuff!)

Mushrooms

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups beef stock

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

8 medium russet potatoes or red potatoes whatever your preference, cut into bite size cubes

2 large carrots sliced or 1 cup of baby carrots cut in half

1/2 cup frozen pearl onions

1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Directions:

1. Season stewing steak with a little seasoning (do it to your taste, it you don't do spicy then just do some black pepper). Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in frying pan or skillet on medium high heat, add half the stewing steak and brown. Remove to a bowl and repeat with remaining meat.

2. Melt another T butter and add a little water to the pan to scrape the pan. Add the mushrooms and saute them.

 4. Turn the heat down to medium and add tomato paste and stir constantly until mixed in.

 5. In a measuring jug add the flour to 1 cup of beef stock and add to the skillet. Stir constantly as you bring it to the boil. 

6. Transfer to the crock pot and add the remaining beef stock and season with Tony's. Turn the crock pot on high and leave to cook for 1 hour.

7. Add the potatoes, carrots, pearl onions and Worcestershire sauce and allow to cook for 5 more hours.

Enjoy and Happy Home Cooking!

Beef & Pepper Stir Fry

I thought for the first recipe I'd share a quick and easy dish for all the busy mothers. This is Chinese fast food home style! It's one of my favorite go to recipes for busy nights.

I think the best thing to own is a wok or good skillet! Either will work with this.

Go ahead and do ALL your preparations BEFORE you start cooking, once you start it's really quick! It probably takes longer to cook the rice and cut up the ingredients that the actual cooking.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp cornstarch, divided

6 Tbsp dry sherry, divided

6 Tbsp soy sauce, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/8 - 1/4 tsp of ground red pepper (adjust to taste we like things spicy at our house)

1 lb top sirloin, thinly sliced into ¼ inch strips

½ cup water

2 Tbsp good quality refined peanut oil (I use Spectrum, it's a little more expensive but when it comes to taste you need it).

1 green bell pepper, cut into strips

1 sweet red bell pepper, cut into strips

Hot cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 2 Tbsp sherry, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, garlic and ground red pepper.

2. Add beef and toss to coat; put in fridge for 10 – 15 minutes or longer.

3. In a small bowl, combine water with remaining cornstarch, sherry and soy sauce; set aside.

4. In a wok or skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high.

5. Add green and red peppers; stir fry for 1 minute or until crisp-tender. Remove peppers to a platter.

6. Add remaining oil and the beef to the pan; stir-fry for 1 – 2 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Remove to platter.

7. Return peppers to pan.

8. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to pan; bring to the boil, stirring constantly until thickened.

9. Cook 1 minute longer.

10. Serve immediately over hot rice.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: you can actually cut the beef and mix it with the marinate and freeze it, then take it out of the freezer when you are ready to cook and throw it in the wok. I tried cutting and freezing the peppers too but they become soggy and not crisp but it will work, it's all down to taste.

You can cut all the ingredients in the morning ahead of time and stick them in the fridge and just pop them in the wok when it's dinner time!

HEALTHY TIP: Peppers are high in vitamin C and actually I think it's higher than an orange so this is a great dish during cold and flu season to give the family's immune system a boost!

I promise I'll try and start posting pictures of the dishes in future!