My Mum’s Beef Stew

 This is the beef stew I cooked for Ireland’s Best Home Cook competition. Lots of you have been asking for this recipe so here you go, as promised 😉

I was actually planning on having lots of salads this week, but then met eireann went and issued a weather warning, hey ho, back to the winter dinners!

Ingredients:

1 lb diced beef

1 onion

5 carrots

3 sticks celery

10 button mushrooms

1 tbsp port

25g tomato puree

25g  plain flour

1/2 beef stock cube (I use Kallo organic)

1/2 mushroom stock cube (as above)

1 pint of water

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tomato ketchup (yes, tomato ketchup!)

 

 

Method:

Fry the onion in a large saucepan until soft. Add the beef and fry until browned on all sides. Add the chopped veggies and and turn the heat right down. I usually move mine over to the stove top at this stage…

Add the puree and stir through. Add the flour and stir, making sure it is cooked out – otherwise you will have a lumpy stew 😛

The port goes in at this stage, stir and gradually add the stock.

 

Simmer for about 3 hours. The meat should be really tender and the stew will have thickened.

 

I usually serve this with some really buttery, creamy mashed potato.

This stew like any tastes better the next day. You could pop a pastry case on top and bake it in the oven for a variation on the day before… 

 Enjoy 😉

raw macadamia, cashew and date energy balls

 Fancy a tasty treat without all that guilt? These little treats taste so good, you would imagine they’d be bad, but they’re not! Practically guilt free – I promise 😉

Ingredients:

100 g honeyed macadamia nuts

100 g cashews

25 g dessicated coconut

Method:

Throw everything into the blender and blizz for about 20 seconds. You may need to do this twice and scrape around the sides of the bowl in between. Roll the mix into even sized balls then roll in a little extra dessicated coconut.

I usually cannot wait to eat these and start munching immediately, but if you can, leave them to stand for about an hour or two at room temperature. They will have firmed up by then and will taste less like nut butter! If you feel that they need a little more starch, maybe add some cooked sweet brown rice to the mix…. I may do this myself next time to see how it works out 😉

Yummy goodness!

Enjoy 🙂

sun-dried tomato, pine-nut, basil and rocket pesto

 My blog has been a little neglected again people, apologies for my absence. Busy Mommy, busy student. Cannot wait for the Summer months when the pressure eases off a little. Speaking of  Summer, this recipe just screams sunshine!

It couldn’t be more simple to make. It makes a delicious topping for fish or chicken.

Today we ate it with sea bass, rocket and garlic potato gratin.

Ingredients:

1/2 jar organic sun dried tomatoes in olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 handful basil leaves

1 handful rocket

25 g pine nuts

a good glug of olive oil…maybe 3 tablespoons

Method:

Whizz together in a blender and serve on top of your chosen fish or chicken!

Taste the sunshine and enjoy 🙂

Milk and Cookies <3

 I really become a hero to my children when I make these chocolate chip cookies for them – you will love them just as much. They are chewy and buttery and delicious… mmm!

It is so lovely to bake with your children and what better excuse than the Easter Holidays 🙂

Ingredients:

200 g butter

350 g light brown sugar

2 eggs

350 g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate (bread) soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

50 g chopped dark chocolate

Pre heat the oven to 180 C

Method:

Cream the butter in your mixer then add the sugar, mix until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one by one and continue to whisk.

At this stage I just throw everything else but the chocolate in together and mix!

Form the dough into little balls and pop a few pieces of the chopped chocolate into each one >> 

Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 8 minutes. You may need to reduce this to suit your own oven, as I have said in other recipes, mine tends to run hot.

  <<My children couldn’t resist sneaking a cookie or two while my back was turned!

Ah… its the simple, wholesome things in life 😉

 Enjoy!

 

 

Posh sausage and creamy mash with port jus…

Apologies for my absence of late bloggers, sometimes life just gets in the way I guess.

We are still experiencing the chill factor here in Ireland at the moment. We need some tasty, hot dishes to keep us warm while we await Spring 🙂 While not breaking the bank either 😉

This is my ‘posh’ version of bangers and mash. The ‘jus’ used in this recipe is incredibly versatile and can be used with lamb and beef also.

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 clove garlic

1 sprig thyme

100 ml port

300ml beef  or lamb stock

equal quantities flour and tomato puree (about 15 g)

Salt

black pepper

I usually make my jus first as I like to allow it to reduce on the stove while I cook everything else.

Chop the onion and garlic roughly. Fry in a little olive oil until soft, together with the thyme.

When soft add the tomato puree and flour and mix until cooked out. Add the port gradually and mix until you’ve formed a smooth paste. Add the stock and allow to simmer.

Leave this to reduce for approx 20 mins. While the sausage and potato cook.

Steam your potatoes, I used ‘rooster’ but any floury potato will do.

Meanwhile heat a little olive oil in a griddle pan and fry your sausages. Try to get really good quality sausages from your butcher – with at least 70% pork quantity.

Fry the sausages until cooked.

Meanwhile mash the potato together with some butter 15 g and a little warm milk. I usually whisk my potatoes after mashing to achieve a really light fluffy consistency – yum!

Sieve the jus and pop back into the saucepan.

I usually place the potato underneath the sausages to catch all the yummy gravy – delish!

 Enjoy 🙂

St Patricks Day Apple Cake

 <<<< Happy St Patricks Day Apple Cake

Apples were a staple in Irish cooking fado fado! Which is Irish for long ago, even still today apples play a big part in Irish cooking. Ingredients would have been limited to what grew easily in the locality also they didn’t spoil so quickly.

For the day that is in it tomorrow, I decided to praise the humble apple and make this traditional apple cake… I remember eating this in my Nana’s kitchen.  I have tried to replicate the recipe from taste! 

Preheat the oven to 150 C

Ingredients:

2 eggs

150 g caster sugar

75 g  butter

75 g milk

125 g plain flour

1/2 tsp mixed spice

2 tsp baking powder

1 large granny smith apple or similar

1 tbsp granulated sugar to sprinkle over the top

Method:

Mix the eggs and sugar until pale, fluffy and quite thick

Melt the milk and butter and whisk into the egg mixture

Do this gradually as the milk and butter mixture will be hot.

Sieve the flour and mixed spice  and fold in gently.

Bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes, this needs to bake slowly. Allow to cool slightly. It tastes delicious warm.

Enjoy with a cup of tea 😉

Chocolate Marbled Baked Cheesecake

 Do we need an excuse for cake? The midweek treat perhaps?!

Okay, okay, if we need an excuse here is one. The sly fox recently annihilated our beautiful hens 😦 We grieved for a considerable couple of months, but, on Sunday we replenished our stock and now have three wonderful birds. Fancy Nancy, Willy Wonka (yes!) and Pip!

It is so great to have fresh eggs again, so, in their honour we decided to make something spectacular! 

Well we think it is spectacular!

Ingredients:

400 g cream cheese

225 g caster sugar

200 ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp cornflour

2 eggs

50 g  dark chocolate

Base:

200 g digestive biscuits

50 g melted butter (clarified)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160.  Fill a roasting tin half – way with water and pop this into the oven.

Whiz up the digestives with the butter in a processor. If you don’t have a food processor just bash your biscuits with a rolling pin in a paper bag, then mix with the melted butter.

Line the base of a spring form 9 inch tin with the biscuit mixture. 

Pop into the fridge and whip up your filling!

Filling:

Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. I do this in the kitchen aid but you can also do this by hand.

Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat. Gradually add the cream and mix some more. Finally add the eggs and cornflour and mix.

Melt the chocolate.

Pour half of the filling on top of the digestive mix. Add a few swirls of chocolate and make a marble pattern   <<<<It should look a little like this 

Add the other half of the mix and repeat the swirling pattern again.

Bake in the oven (in the bain marie) for 45 minutes.

Voila!