Easy Oven Beef and Vegetable Stew

There is something refreshing about placing a mountain of ingredients into one pan, placing it into a roaring oven and letting it stew for a few hours. The results are a delicious and hearty meal. 

Easy Oven Beef and Vegetable Stew

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Serves 6

1 1/2 Ibs. stewing beef

1 1/4 cups low sodium beef stock

1/4 cup flour

1 can (796ml) low sodium crushed tomatoes

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 large potatoes, diced

3 large carrots, chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 cups turnip, peeled and diced

3 cups water

fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme 

fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon pepper

pinch of salt

1 bay leaf

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Combine all the ingredients into a large roasting pan.

Bake for 3 hours. 

Serve with Irish soda bread, dumplings or dinner rolls.

Notes: With 1 hour remaining of the cooking time I added 1/2 cup of frozen peas. You may also try this recipe using chicken or turkey.    

Lorraine Pascale's ~ Fast, Fresh and Easy Food

I have wanted a cookbook by Lorraine Pascale for the longest time. While in England I came across this well designed and organized book of hers. 100 fast, fresh and easy recipes that are accessible and tasty. I made the sweetcorn rice from the book and it had an understated clean taste that was easy to digest. A positive side dish for virtually any meal.

This cookbook is divided into 10 segments or should I say chapters. Each chapter is presented with an inspirational quote and introduction. The one for Cakes + Puds is very fitting: "Everything in moderation... including moderation." - Julia Child. There is something for everyone here. Classics with a spin, simple sides, succulent mains, kitchen staples, and scrumptious afters. Most of the ingredients are accessible and recipes are quick and easy. You will want to make them again and again. Lorraine Pascale takes the guess work out of meal planning by making it quicker and providing a side with the main. She has also provided a handy note at the top the ingredient list for each recipe which states time from start to finish, how many it serves and the equipment you will need. Also recipes are designed with a time plan so that everything, main and side, may be served up together. So many recipes... Crispy Crunch Chicken Strips, Gingerbread Pancakes, Peri Peri Chicken, Chicken, Apple & Cider Casserole, Warm Salmon & Lentils, Spicy Bean Burgers, Walnut Cake, and Peanut Butter Squares! 

This cookbook is inspirational and will satisfy most culinary palates and also is a great addition to one's cookbook collection. 

There is foie gras and then there is this recipe for a vegetarian 'faux gras'. It is a bit different and seems decadent. Which I find very appealing and hope you do to.  

Vegetarian mushroom & port 'faux gras' with tarragon & chestnuts
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Time from start to finish: 20 minutes (+ ideally 6 hours in fridge)
Serves: 4
Equipment: Medium frying pan, food processor, 4 x 175ml ramekins

Oil
25g butter
2 shallots
3 garlic cloves
500g chestnut mushrooms
4 tablespoons port (optional)
2 sprigs of fresh tarragon
100g cooked chestnuts (available vac packed or tinned from supermarket)
300g cream cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Your favourite bread, crackers or breadsticks, to serve

+ Put a drizzle of oil and the butter in a medium frying pan over a low heat.

+ Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic and add to the pan. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring now and again, until soft and slightly golden.

+ Finely slice the mushrooms. Add them to the pan along with the port, if using, and season with salt and pepper. Turn up the heat to medium and cook for 8 minutes, or until the mushrooms have softened and all their liquid has evaporated.

+ Meanwhile, pick the leaves from one sprig of tarragon, divide the other sprig into four smaller pieces and then roughly chop the chestnuts.

+ Tip the cooked mushroom mixture into a food processor with chestnuts, individual leaves of tarragon and the cream cheese. Blitz for a few minutes until really smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Have a taste of it and adjust the seasoning if necessary. 

+ Divide between the ramekins, smooth their tops and place a tarragon sprig on top of each to decorate. Arrange them in a small tray or plate, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. You can also serve these straight away, but their texture will be much softer and flavour not so intense. Serve with your favourite bread, crackers, or breadsticks. 

Keep it simple. Here is the sweetcorn rice dish I made from the cookbook. Fresh, tasty and so delicious! 



Hope everyone is having a great week so far! - JD 

Budget Buster ~ Family Cookbook

I bought this cookbook for a mere $6.99! Hoping it would curb the grocery bill a bit. It was published in 2009 and seeing how it is 2013 I think trying to feed four or more for ten dollars is a bit of a stretch. By todays prices it should read feed four or more for $20 or less. And even then that may be a stretch. Let's take the Bread and Butter pudding recipe... fairly simple ingredients that you may have all ready however let's play devils advocate. Let's say we didn't have any of the listed ingredients and that we had to go buy them. 

You need six slices of day old bread. In order to have the six slices you need a loaf a bread. A loaf of bread can cost anywhere between $3.49 - $4.99. 

Butter 2 tablespoons, a pound is $4.99. 

Sugar 2 tablespoons, a 1kg bag is roughly about $3.99.

Golden raisins 1 tablespoon, bought bulk $3.00 approx. 

Currants 1 and 1/2 tablespoons, bought bulk $3.00 approx

Milk 1 and 3/4 cups, a 2 litre will cost $3.49.  

Eggs 2, however they are sold in 6 or 12, $3.49 for a dozen (12).

Allspice 1/2 teaspoon, bought bulk for .49 cents.

And the grand total is: $25.94 plus tax! That's $6.49 plus tax per person based on four people. A simple dessert can really add up. It's interesting when you break it all down. 2009 wasn't that long ago so I can see things being a bit cheaper. Not so much so to make this dish half price. Even then it's not at the price this book is claiming. 

I have made a few recipes from this book, including the Bread and Butter Pudding, Pork with Tomato Rice, Vegetable casserole and the Chickpea casserole. All tasty and somewhat economical. Each recipe has a dollar sign value. One $ = bargain, two $$ = budget and three $$$ = economical The bread and butter pudding had one $. The lowest rating. There are three chapters in this cookbook and they are 1) Soups, Snacks and Sides 2) Main Meals and 3) Desserts. Being economical means being focused! 

As you may know sometimes the best way is to buy bulk, make things from scratch and if your are going to dirty a pot you might as well double the recipe... ie: when making chili make a large stock pot full for more than one dinner. Use local and the freshest ingredients when possible. However tin tomatoes do just fine. Dried herbs are great! Rub them to bring out their flavour. Sometimes the inexpensive/expensive brand isn't always the best. The inexpensive may save money however the list of not so great ingredients may be long. The expensive brand may cost more however the ingredient list you may be able to pronounce. That's where you can decide which items are worth it and which ones aren't. Read labels, quantity and size. Is buying two for one really worth it or does the larger size really save you money? Always go for the lowest amount of salt. Compare items and prices. Budgeting can be hard especially at the grocery store if you plan ahead it will keep you more focused and help you save money. - JW