Beef Pie

Well I really like meat pies, yet I've never really made a good homemade one. So I tried again. I got a recipe from taste.com.au and tweaked it a bit.

1kg diced beef - I used chuck steak
plain flour
400ml beef stock
dried italian herbs
worcestershire sauce
1 diced onion
2 stalks diced celery
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas/corn/carrots (or fresh diced carrot etc)
short crust pastry
salt and pepper

Dust the beef with some flour to coat, then brown in a heavy based pan with a little olive oil for 5-6 mins until brown. Take from the pan, then fry up the onion and celery (and if using fresh carrots, that too) with a little more oil. After a few mins when it's a little softened, add the meat back in, and the beef stock and some italian herbs. Stir and then add the mushrooms. Let it simmer for 1 hour or so. Stir occasionally and don't let it stick. Then add the frozen veg and and worcestershire sauce (a few gloops of it to taste). Let it simmer another 30 mins or so. Add salt and pepper to taste.

By now it should have reduced a bit, but you'll need to thicken it. A bit of flour and water mixed to a paste, then slowly poured in while stirring should do it. Don't under do it, or overdo it so it's a pile of glug!

Get a pie dish or a lasagne dish (I used a square lasagne dish) and spray with cooking spray lightly. Line it with shortcrust pastry including the sides. Pour in the meat mix evenly and put a pastry lid on top. Make sure there's no holes and it's nice and sealed. I folded the sides over the top of the lid and that worked well.

Bake at 180C for approx 40 mins till golden brown.

Serve immediately. YUM!!!!

simple lamb casserole/stew thing

When I was a kid, mum used to make this 'mutton stew' which was the absolute bane of my existance! I hated it with a passion! However, lamb casserole was my favourite dinner ever.
They were the same thing.

So here is my version of my mum's mutton stew, although with lamb!

1kg diced lamb
1 onion, diced
6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, chopped into chunks
3 sticks celery, chopped into chunks
1 tin tomatoes
italian herbs
red wine
frozen peas (optional)

brown onion in pot, add diced lamb and brown. add other vegies, tomatoes, herbs and stir. then put in some red wine (1/2 to 1cup) and simmer for 1hour or so.
this would also work well in the slow cooker on low for 6-8hours.

towards the end, add the peas if you want them, and heat through until peas are cooked.

serve on it's own or with crusty bread or similar.