Make Ahead Meals

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Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff

When our third son was born almost 9 weeks premature, our life turned upside down for a short period.

My husband had just taken over the ownership of a business a few months prior to my forced bed rest and we already had 2 gorgeous and busy boys at home.

Seeing life through the lens of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was indeed life changing for us. Tiny, precious sick babies. So much silence, except for life saving machines beeping and the sound of the nurses (otherwise known as angels) hushed tones. Catching the eyes of the other parents huddled around their babies’ plastic incubators, not needing to speak but understanding in one glance.

This was a humbling time.

And chaotic. How to be a mum at home with 2 boys, and yet be by the side of this one who I didn’t want to leave, even for a second.

What’s this got to do with food I hear you say?

We were literally ‘carried’ through the weeks and months that followed, by family and friends who picked up our life, our pieces, our kids, our laundry.

And they fed us.

Meals, turned up, every night for at least 6 weeks. You cannot underestimate the power in giving a meal. For my husband juggling home and work, this was life saving. For me, who was living between hospital and home, this home cooked goodness was more than nourishing for my body.

As each meal arrived, accompanied usually by a warm hug, we knew we were not alone.

Over the years, I have been blessed to be on the receiving end of so many meals. I will never forget the day my beautiful friend who works full time, turned up on my door step with a hug, a BBQ chook, a yummy salad and a tub of ice cream. Sadly, the first thing she said was “sorry it’s not homemade.”

What she didn’t realise is that on that day, in that situation, that offering meant the world to us. In her limited time and capacity, she  gave to us.

One of the ways I love to love on people is through food. Surprise.

To give a meal, fancy or simple, bought or homemade, is so much more than feeding them.

It says ” We see you. Your situation matters. I wish I could fix it. I wish I could heal your pain, sickness, grief.”

Often we can’t do any of that.

But we can take a meal.

And these days, none of us need to look too far to find someone suffering, sick, struggling, alone, on the edge.

This Beef Stroganoff is a great one to do in a large quantity in a slow cooker. To make 2 portions, one for your family and one for another family is not that hard. It is one I have often given away. You may be reading this and have actually eaten it!

If you are planning on giving this one a go, I hope you get the chance to give some of it away and in doing so, BLESS someone richly in the process.

I found this recipe years ago, trawling the internet for good slow cooker recipes. I have no idea where, but as I have played with it a lot to make it my own…I’ll take credit for it now 🙂

The quantity below is usually enough for us (2 adults 3 kids) and another family of a similar size.

Ingredients

1.2kg of gravy beef, chuck steak or shin beef  (I used to get the butcher to cut this into strips for me, but it dries the meat out too much that way. I now keep it in really large chunks of meat and at the end of the cooking time, shred the meat up with a fork. It stays nice and moist this way.)

1/3 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 brown onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

400gm can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup of tomato sauce

1 heaped teaspoon of vegemite (you might think this strange, but once when I had no beef stock, I used this instead and loved the result!)

2-3 tablespoons of dry sherry

500gm of button mushrooms, washed and sliced

1 cup sour cream (for those who can’t have dairy, you don’t need to add this, it’s just as yummy without it. But it is the secret to making it very creamy!)

Pappardelle Pasta or Steamed greens to serve

Method

Place beef, flour and paprika in a plastic bag and give it a big shake to coat the meat.

Put the meat in the slow cooker and add all the other ingredients, except the sour cream.

Cook for 5- 6 hours (an hour or so less if using HIGH, an hour more if using LOW)

Check it a few times if you can and give it a stir.

With 30 minutes or so to go, stir in the sour cream and leave the lid off.

TIP  – if you are planning on freezing this for someone else, freeze it before adding the sour cream. You can just give them sour cream to add themselves when it’s reheated.

Serve with pappardelle pasta, or on it’s own with vegies on the side.

 

 

 

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Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine and Rosemary

At this time of year, I love my slow cooker for a number of reasons. I love knowing that dinner is sorted early on in the day, and if I happen to be home, I get to enjoy the smell of it cooking too. I love that it’s easy to produce hearty stews and soups that warm us up on these chilly Autumn days. And I also love that it makes large quantities at a time, which leaves me with a meal in the freezer for a busy day or to give away to someone who needs it.

This recipe I created when I found some yummy looking boneless beef short ribs on sale recently.

Chefs around the world, look away for a minute. It’s here that I need to confess I don’t ‘pre-brown’ my meat before putting it in the slow cooker. I agree with Jamie Oliver on this one – I have tried pre-browning and not, and have come to the conclusion that I can’t be bothered, with spending the time or washing up an extra pan.

So, this is my ‘bung everything in the slow cooker and turn it on’ recipe.

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It is rich and flavoursome and the meat just falls apart with the touch of a fork.

Serves a family of 4-6 depending on portion size.

Ingredients

1.2-1.5kg boneless beef short ribs (you could substitute chunks of gravy beef, but it just may cook a little quicker)

1 spanish (red) onion, peeled and roughly chopped

3 bacon rashers, roughly chopped

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 red capsicum, de-seeded and roughly chopped

1 x 400gm can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3/4 cup red wine

a few sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 fresh bay leaves, or dry if you don’t have fresh

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Bung it all in a slow cooker and cook for approx 6 hours on low or until meat is tender.

Take the lid off for the last half an hour to allow the sauce to thicken, or strain the liquid into a small saucepan, add a few tablespoons of plain flour and simmer away to thicken the sauce into a gravy. Due to the fatty nature of short ribs, you may also like to scoop the top oily layer off the sauce before serving too.

Serve with mashed or roasted potatoes, sweet potato, or roasted cauliflower.

This is also a freezer friendly meal.

/ emma@cookfasteatslow.com 5 Comments

Almond, Cranberry and Quinoa Granola

I recently found myself with an unplanned day at home. 2 boys were home sick and chilling in front of CARS the movie. I could have sorted out wardrobes, worked on the budget or got my ironing up to date, but no, I found myself in the kitchen with a sudden desire to make Granola. I’ve made various recipes over the years and every now and then I have bought a yummy looking one I have found in the shops. The good thing about making your own is you get to control what goes in it. You can add more of what you love, control the sugar content and leave out ingredients you don’t like.

This time I wanted to try using cooked Quinoa in the recipe. Unless you have been living under a rock, you would have come across Quinoa. You’ll be pleased to know it’s not just fashionable for fashion sake. It is INSANELY GOOD FOR YOU!

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), is a powerful SUPERFOOD. Considered one of the world’s most nutrient rich foods, it is a seed that actually comes from the same food family as Spinach and Beets. It is referred to as a ‘pseudo cereal’ as it is cooked and eaten in a similar way to grains and cereals, and can be ground into flour, but it’s not a grain at all. It’s the best non-meat source of complete protein, is suitable for people who cannot tolerate wheat or gluten, full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties, it’s high in antioxidants, high in fibre and is easily digestible.

To prepare it, you bring one part quinoa to two parts water to a boil with a lid on, reduce heat and simmer until all the water has been absorbed.

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The Granola lovers in our house (my husband and I and our eldest son) are enjoying this in the mornings with greek yoghurt and fresh berries. I actually look forward to getting out of bed for this…. oh and my coffee too!

Almond, Cranberry and Quinoa Granola

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup cooked quinoa (you’ll need approx 1/3 – 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa to make this quantity)

1/2 cup pepita seeds (pumpkin seeds)

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 cup chopped mixed nuts (I used Almonds and Hazelnuts)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Mix oats, quinoa, seeds, nuts and cinnamon in a bowl.

Add honey, vanilla and coconut oil (it hardens at room temperature, so melt it in the microwave first) and stir till combined and everything is moist.

Spread the mixture out on a large flat baking tray lined with baking paper.

Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, taking the tray out and stirring the mixture around every 5 minutes or so. You will find the outside parts will brown a lot quicker thsn the middle, so it’s best to keep moving it around so it cooks evenly.

With 5 minutes to go, add the shredded coconut.

Once it is golden brown, remove from the oven and leave to cool. It will harden into a lovely crunchy Granola as it cools. Stir in the dried cranberries.

Place in an airtight container. It can last for up to 2 weeks, but it never actually lasts that long in our house!

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/ emma@cookfasteatslow.com 2 Comments

Jamie Oliver’s 7 Vegetable Sauce

I first read this recipe in a Delicious magazine about 9 years ago. With a toddler at the time, we were going through the ‘101 ways to get vegetables’ into him phase.

This sauce has been a winner over the years and I use it as a base for homemade pizzas (post to come later in the week), in bolognese or lasagna and basically anytime a tomato based sauce is needed.

I would call this a ‘make ahead meal’. It takes a little chopping and about 30 minutes cooking on the stove. It’s perfect to make on the weekend and freeze in containers ready for whenever you need it.

The quantity below makes about 4 litres – which is enough for about 3-4 separate meals. I made a lasagna out of it and have enough left in the freezer for a few pizza nights and probably 2 other dinners at some point. It’s quite thick, but can be thinned out by just adding water.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 spanish onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 leek, white part only, washed and partly chopped

2 celery stalks, washed and roughly chopped

1 large zucchini, washed and roughly chopped

1 red capsicum, washed, de-seeded and roughly chopped

1/2 small butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed and grated

2 x 800gm cans of crushed tomatoes

Flavourings to taste like salt and pepper, dried herbs or a few splashes of balsamic vinegar.

Method

Heat a good splash of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.

Add onion, leek, celery, zucchini and capsicum. Cook, covered for 10 minutes or until softened. You may need to lower the heat at this stage and give it a stir occasionally.

Add the pumpkin and cook, uncovered for another 5 minutes or until soft.

Add the canned tomatoes, season at this stage with dried herbs like basil or oregano, salt and pepper and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. Stir thoroughly and bring to the boil.

Simmer over a low heat for about 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Using a stick blender (or a food processor, which you may have to do in batches) blend until smooth. Add some water if it’s too thick for you.

Cool slightly before pouring into snap lock bags or containers suitable for freezing and freeze until needed.

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