If there is one meat that is cheap yet incredibly tasty the award has to go to minced beef and I am a huge fan. I must buy at least one pack a week. Whether it is to make spaghetti and meatballs or lasagne you can do pretty much anything with it. Imagine if you sent two people into seperate kitchens with a pack of mince you can imagine that totally different items would end up being cooked.

I will often go into the kitchen and make meatballs where as Dominic is more likely to opt for cottage pie which is an old English favourite of his.

So to get you in mood for cooking mince here are three favourites of mine:

Recipe 1 – Cottage Pie

Ingredients:

1 Large Onion, Chopped
2 Medium Carrots, Chopped
2-3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 (14 1/2 oz) Can Beef Broth
1 1/2 lbs Minced Beef
1 (8 oz) Can Tomato Sauce
1 tspSalt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/2 tsp Parsley Flakes
1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
1/2 tsp Rubbed Sage
2 Cups Hot Mashed Potatoes

Method:

1. In a saucepan, combine onion, carrots, garlic and broth. Bring to the boil; reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

2. Drain, reserving liquid to make gravy, if desired. In a skillet, cook the beef until browned; drain. Add tomato sauce and seasonings; bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add reserved vegetables and mix well. Transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish.

4. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned.

5. If desired, make gravy with reserved vegetable liquid; serve with the pie.

Recipe 2 – Meatballs

Ingredients:

500g Of Mince Beef
1 Onion Grated

1/3 Cup Uncooked Rice

1/3 Cup Breadcrumbs

1 Egg

1 440g Tomato Soup

1 Cup Of Water

1 tbsp Sugar

Salt And Pepper

Method:

1. Combine all meatball ingredients, shape into meatballs then place the balls in the casserole dish.

2. Combine the tomato soup, water, sugar salt and pepper this is for the sauce to cover the meatballs put in the oven for 1 hour @180c.

3. Cook the rice as stated on the packet.

Recipe 3 – Chill With Roasted Peppers

Ingredients:

2 fat red chillies

2 medium red peppers

Jar of tomato sauce

1 Pack of minced beef

1 pinch of cumin

1 pinch of paprika

2 cans of kidney beans

Method:

1. Preheat the grill to high and halve 2 fat red chillies and 2 red peppers, scraping out the seeds as you go. Place them on a baking tray skin side up and grill until they look blackened and blistered. As they cook, start a pan and cook your minced beef and mix it with some tomato sauce.

2. Peel off the skin of the peppers and cut it into long strips and roughly chop the chillies. In a frying pan add the cumin and mince along with the pepper and chilli. Also add two tins of kidney beans and the paprika. Once cooked through it is ready to serve.

3. I suggest that you serve it with sour cream and tortillas for the ultimate meal.

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To your food heaven

Happy New Year to all my blog readers. I thought I would start this year with a Turkey Stir Fry as you attempt to get rid of the rest of your Christmas leftovers. We personally had a turkey stir fry on boxing day and it was wonderful. Plus it felt even better knowing how little it actually cost!!!!

Many don’t realise the asset of actually freezing some of their turkey once it is cool and then it will last even longer. So you could be having your christmas turkey on valentines day!!!

For the dessert I have opted for a victoria sandwich cake because it is really cheap to make, quick and you can get many days use from it.

Turkey Stir Fry:

Ingredients:

600g Left Over Turkey Pieces
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Grated Ginger
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Carrot, Thinly Sliced
½ Green Capsicum, Thinly Sliced
2 Small Sticks Celery, Thinly Sliced
2 Shallots, Chopped
200g Snow Peas
½ Cup Oyster/Soy Sauce
100g Button Mushrooms, Sliced

Method:

1. Heat half oil in a frying pan or wok, stir fry turkey pieces, garlic & ginger 3 minutes. Remove. Heat remaining oil.

2. Stir fry vegetables 2 minutes. Return turkey pieces etc. Stir in Oyster/Soy Sauce.

3. Heat through 2-3 minutes.

4. You could also add some egg noodles if you wanted, cook as per the packet.

Victoria Sandwich Cake:

Ingredients:

8oz of Butter

8oz of Sugar

4 Large Eggs

8oz Self Raising Flour

Jam for Filling

Icing Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Fresh Cream

Method:

1. Firstly you need to preheat the oven to 180c and then using an electric mixer you want to cream together the butter and sugar until light but fluffy. Then in another bowl break the eggs and mix lightly before adding them gradually a bit at a time to the other bowl until thoroughly mixed together.

2. Now add the flour to the mixture via a sieve stirring gently with a metal spoon until it is all mixed in and no flour is visible. Divide the mixture between the two baking tins. Pat it a couple of times so that it is flat and then place it in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

3. When it has cooled for a few minutes using a knife around the edges remove them from their baking tins and place on a cooling tray. Now place a layer of jam on the base of one of the cakes and then whip the cream and place it on the other. Once you have done this and made sure that it is smooth sandwich them together.

4. Finally sieve the icing sugar over the top of the Victoria sponge and enjoy your treat.

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To your food heaven

Dominic

At Christmas time we waste more money on wasted food than any other time of the year. Therefore I have put together two wonderful meals using leftover meat from Christmas. These two meals are catered towards Chicken and Lamb though you can adapt it to suit your meat.

Fruity chicken breasts

2 apples, cored and cut into wedges

75g chopped dried dates

100ml apple juice

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

pack 4 skinless chicken breasts

4 slices stilton cheese

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200° C, 400° F, gas mark 6.

In a bowl mix together the chopped apple, dates, apple juice, ground cloves and cinnamon. Pour into an oven-proof dish.

Put the 4 chicken breasts in amongst the fruit mix and put a slice of the cheese on top of the chicken breasts.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, stir the fruit half way through the cook time if required. Serve straight away with any kind of potato and a green vegetable of your choice. I like to use boiled potatoes and green beans.

Leg of lamb in a white wine sauce

1.5kg leg of lamb

6 cloves garlic halved lengthways

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, halved

300ml chicken stock

300ml white wine

500g new potatoes

25g butter

2 tablespoons plain flour

freshly ground black pepper

Make 12 deep cuts in the lamb and push a piece of garlic into each. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the lamb and brown all over.Place the onion around and under the lamb and pour in the stock and wine. Cover and cook slowly for 1½ hours, turning the meat and adding the potatoes for the last 20 minutes.

Take out the lamb and vegetables and put them into a warmed serving dish; keep it hot. Melt the butter in another pan then add the flour making a roux ball and drop small pieces into the liquid remaining in the pan. Bring to the boil, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Remove from the heat and season to taste with pepper.Pour a little over the lamb and vegetables. Serve the remaining sauce separately.

Whatever you do with your leftovers just make sure it is something nice that will bring more joy to your meal times.

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To your food heaven

Dominic

Now to round off the week nicely with my traditional Christmas dinner I am finishing the week with details of two great recipes that you make from your Christmas leftovers. This is a great way of saving money at this time of year when money can often be tight after all the money you have spent.

TURKEY BUFFET CASSEROLE

4 oz. of medium white noodles, (about 2 cups)

1 pkg. of frozen broccoli spears

2 tablespoons of butter or margarine

2 tablespoons of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of prepared mustard

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

2 cups of milk

1 cup of grated American cheese

2 cups of cut up cooked turkey

1/3 cup of slivered toasted almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In separate sauce pans cook noodles and broccoli as labels direct just until tender. In saucepan over low heat, melt the butter; stir in flour, salt, mustard, pepper and milk. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in cheese until melted.

Drain noodles and broccoli. Dice broccoli stems; leave flowerettes whole. Arrange noodles, broccoli stems, turkey in shallow casserole or 8 inch square baking dish; pour cheese sauce over all. Arrange broccoli flowerettes on top, pressing them lightly into sauce; sprinkle with almonds. Bake uncovered 15 minutes or until bubbling hot. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

CHRISTMAS STUFFED BAKED HAM

Bake at 325 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. Serves 12.

1 fully cooked ham (about 10 to 12 lbs.)

1 (10 oz.) pkg. of frozen chopped kale

1 cup of finely chopped fresh spinach

1 lg. onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

3/4 cup of finely chopped watercress

1/2 cup of finely chopped celery tops (leaves)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 cup of honey

2 tablespoons of cider vinegar

2 teaspoons of dry mustard

Trim rind off the ham, if any. Trim fat to 1/4 inch thickness. Make X-shaped cuts with a small paring knife,2 inches deep and 1 inch apart; stagger the rows, all over fat side.

Cook hole in boiling salted water to cover, following directions on package; drain; cool; squeeze out excess water with hands. Combine kale, fresh spinach, onion, freshwatercress, fresh celery leaves, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl.

Press greens mixture into pockets in ham; pack down well with fingertips. Place ham, fat side up, in a large shallow pan. Bake in a slow oven (325 degrees) for 2 minutes. Stir honey with vinegar and dry mustard; brush part over ham. Continue baking and brushing with the remaining honey mixture, 30 minutes or until top of ham is richly glazed. Remove ham from pan. Let stand 20 minutes before carving. Carve ham carefully, holding slices together to keep the stuffing intact. Garnish platter with glazed carrots and fresh watercress leaves!

Whatever you decide to do with your Christmas leftovers just make sure you enjoy them without the need to throw lots of quality food in the bin.

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To your food heaven

Dominic

If you are looking for something easy to put together that will not cost much to make it doesn’t get any better than this tuna pasta bake. It is also a great way of using up your leftover pasta with some lovely seasoning.

My Tuna Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

30g margarine

4 tbs flour
2 cups milk

½ cup grated cheese

salt & pepper

1 can tuna, drained.
2 cups of pasta shells

Method:

Make white sauce with marg, flour, milk, salt & pepper. Add cheese
and tuna. Heat through.

Cook pasta until ready or if you are not sure look at the packet when ready take of the heat and refresh under cold water.

Then drain add to the cheese/tuna sauce mix well heat through then serve.

You can also make it in larger portions and then save some for your kids packed lunch the following day.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

If like me you love a traditional winter dish then look no further than traditional beef stew. It is great for making from your food leftovers or as a stand alone meal to keep you warm as the winter months fast approach us. Not to mention how much children love making the dumplings in the kitchen with you.

So here is our traditional beef stew recipe:

Ingredient:

1 Kg boneless stewing beef cut into small cubes
2 large chopped onions
3 parsnips peeled and cut into 4 cm julienne
6 carrots peeled and cut into circles
2 small turnips peeled and cut into cubes
Any other veggies in the cupboard, don’t overdo it
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 cups of beef stock, more if required
2 cups of red wine
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon rosemary chopped
500g of sliced mushrooms
8 to 10 small potatoes peeled and quartered
2 cloves of garlic grated or minced
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dumplings

2 cups of self raising flour
1 cup of beef suet
If you want more just ensure the mix is two flour to one with the suet

Method:

Sauté the beef until all sides are browned, don’t crowd or it will steam and not brown properly, cook it in batches if necessary. When finished transfer to a
large casserole pot with a lid.

Put the vegetables into the sauté pan, add butter, garlic and sugar, cover and
cook over medium high heat for approximately 10 minutes, then add them to
the meat in the casserole dish.

Put the wine into the sauté pan to deglaze, then add the beef stock and then
whisk in tomato paste and rosemary, allow to simmer for a few minutes before
pouring into the casserole dish.

Season with salt and pepper and gently stir ingredients so the meat is evenly
distributed throughout the dish.

Ensure the liquid covers the contents, add more stock if required
Place in a low oven (160 to 170) with the lid on and leave to cook for at least two hours, lower the heat if you need to cook it for longer.

Dumplings

Place the flour and suet in a mixing bowl. Turn the ingredients until well blended
Add water, a tablespoon at a time and mix, gradually add more water as required.

When you have formed a dough break off small pieces and role into balls of the
desired size.

20 minutes before serving place the dumplings into the top of the casserole dish.
Leave the lid on, the base of the dumplings will absorb the gravy and the tops will
brown.

If required add a little more stock or wine.

Note the dumplings will double in size so give them room to grow.

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To your food heaven

Dominic

In this day and age it is such ashame if you waste food whether you are on a budget or not. The sight of rotting food in the back of the fridge is the last thing you want to see but how can you stop it?

Even if you write an amazing shopping list and don’t overspend things come up and a certain planned meal can soon be forgotten about. Remember all those times you have gone into the freezer and discovered that the meat you had planned to eat sometime this week is past its due by date. You start getting cross with yourself that you wasted money on a nice piece of food only to have to throw it in the bin.

People think that the only type of leftover food is cold pizza but this is further from the truth than what you can imagine. I cook leftover meals all the time and apart from me knowing where the meals come from everyone else is in the dark.

Here are my favourite leftover recipes for you to get to grips with:

Bubble and squeak – use up your leftover mash, cabbage, eggs, other vegetables with this british favourite. The good thing about this recipe is that it can be altered to suit any taste or what you have in the fridge.

Chicken Stir Fry – just by using a few florets of broccoli, leftover chicken and some noodles from the cupboard you can have an amazing lunch or evening meal one of my firm favourites.

Banana Milkshake – We all have bananas in our kitchen that look like they are on the verge of dying just before they hit this moment surprise your children with a lovely fresh banana milkshake with fresh milk and icecream and they will love you forever. Be warned though if you do this once they will want them all the time!

Cheese Mash with gravy or beans - This is a classic family meal and can be used with yorkshire puddings too if you fancy pushing the boat out for your family meal. You can even include minced beef in this meal if you want a big meal.

Pasta bake – By using up mince that you have sat in the fridge this is an ideal meal. Make a nice cheese sauce for on top of your mince and line the dish with pasta and you have a great show off meal without any real effort.

Macaroni Cheese – this is a really simple dish and great if you have leftover cheese sauce that needs a purpose. If you add a few spring onions to this it can give it a great hit and will certainly impress people with your talents.

Minced Beef wraps - This is a lovely meal and can be done plain or with mexican spice. By wrapping mince and pepper in wraps and then placing a cheese sauce over it and cooking in the oven tastes wonderful. If you prefer a kick to your meal polish the wraps in pri pri spice prior to rolling and the taste will be even better.

Bread and butter pudding – This pudding is very simple to make yet gets rid of all the left over bread that is driving you crazy. If you have even more left why not make some breadcrumbs and stick them in the freezer for a later date.

Homemade Quiche – I love quiche and the idea of how many different styles you can do is rather special. We always seem to have leftover eggs and this is the perfect way of getting rid of them in one dish. If your kids start with the “I hate eggs” line simply add more milk to the eggs and use mature cheddar then the problem will be solved.

Strawberry mousse - I love this for a quick pudding for the kids and adults love this speedy pudding just as much even though most of them don’t admit to it! Using a simple packet of strawberry powder and mixing it with leftover milk is a great way to get the calcium in their bodies. You can then make it look special with a lower layer of jelly and some grated chocolate on top. It really can make a difference and you can put it together in a few short minutes.

So there you have it – my favourite leftover ideas – now instead of just reading it and moving on to your next blog make these meals next time you have some leftovers sat there in your fridge.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic