Chicken & Sweet Pepper Casserole

There is about a 100m stretch of gravel road from the tar road to our entrance here on the plots where I live. And this stretch of gravel road turns into a sticky, watery gooey clay road hell bent on devouring all vehicles who dares to drive it without 4x4, diff-lock and road side assist on speed dial... So, tonight's meal was supposed to have mushrooms in, and was supposed to look a bit different, too. But since we had 30mm rain in 3 days, I could not dare to drive on our car-devouring stretch of gravel road to go the shop to buy mushrooms and cream. I improvised. And it turned out AMAZING! 
Best part: I didn't even make it. I just gave the instructions to my daughter and she made it. Which makes this recipe a very easy, very tasty dish. Disclaimer: I am not implying that my daughter cannot cook - she actually can do it very well - it's just that during these teen years, between her boyfriend and technology, she doesn't want to.... So, paying attention is not part of her expenses at the moment!! 

Ingredients

3/4 cup oil
3 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 cube chicken stock
500ml warm water
10 pieces chicken (we used frozen)
2 tbs chicken spice
2 onions, chopped
1 sweet pepper (any color), roughly chopped
100g margarine

Method

1. Put the chicken pieces in a large, cast iron pot on full heat on the stove.
2. Add the oil and worcestershire sauce.
3. Dissolve the chicken stock cube in the warm water. Add to the pot.
4. Add the chicken spice.
5. Let it cook for about 10 minutes.
6. Add the onions, pepper and margarine, cover and cook until done.

Serve warm on rice, samp, mash, bread... it goes with almost anything!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Beans, Bacon & Beef

This dish is simple, easy, quick and delicious! It's also low-carb - bargain! 

Ingredients
3tbs butter
2 onions, chopped
300g bacon, diced
1kg cut beans
500g stew beef, cubed
1tbs soya sauce
1 rind feta cheese
salt & pepper

Method

Melt the butter and fry the onions till lightly browned.
Add the bacon and fry till browned.
Add the beans and lower the heat, cover and let is simmer till the beans are soft, but still firm. Add white pepper and salt to taste.
Dry the beef in a kitchen towel.
Fry in a very hot non-stick pan, without any oil or butter or anything else. Fry until browned. Remove from heat. Add the soya sauce and mix well.
Add the beef to the beans and crumble the feta cheese over. Mix through.

Serve and enjoy!!

 Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Stew on Rice

Not all my recipes are new creations... My goal is to create a recipe book with 365 different dishes -  different dish every day for a whole year!! That includes normal meals, like this one.  (Photo to follow)

Ingredients

500g stew meat / goulash
1tbs soya sauce
1tbs balsamic vinegar
1tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 onion, chopped rough
1cup mixed vegetables

Method

Place the meat in a slow cooker. Add the soya sauce, vinegars and water and cook for a minimum of 3 hours, preferably 4. Add the onion. Cook another hour. Add the veggies and cook until the veggies are just soft, but not soggy. Serve on rice.

And enjoy!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Buttery stew Pie

I am so sorry, yet ANOTHER stew recipe... Although, this one is a little different. And even more delicious than the others!! But I do love my pies...

Preparation time: 10min

Cooking time: 5 hours

Difficulty Level: Easy

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

4tbs butter

2tbs soya sauce

1tbs balsamic vinegar

500g stew meat

300ml boiling water

1 cube beef stock

2t Bisto

1 onion, chopped

4 medium potatoes, cubed

1 roll puff pastry

Method:

I used the slow cooker as it is very easy to put the meat in and leave it. It also cooks very soft, as stew meat can be a bit chewy. You can do this on the stove, if you don't have a slow cooker. Your cooking time will be much less, though, and you will have to continually check that it does not burn. 

Place the meat in the pot. 

 Add the butter, soya sauce, vinegar. Dissolve the beef stock in half the boiling water and add to the pot. 

Cook for 2 hours. 

Dissolve the Bisto in the other half of the boiling water and add to the pot. Add the onion and the potato. Cook for another 2 hours. The potato should be ready. Roll out the puff pastry and line a baking dish. Scoop the meat into the dish and cover with pastry. Brush with eggwash or milk. Bake in the oven at 160degrees C until nicely browned.

Serve with a salad or side veggies and enjoy!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Quick Stew

There are so many things you can do with stew... Simply by adding one other ingredient, you can change the whole taste of the dish. This is quite a quick version, but also with depth of flavours that catches you by surprise!!

Preparation time: 2 min
Cooking time: 30min
Difficulty Level: Very Easy
Serves: 4

Ingredients

500g stew meat
1tbs olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3tbs soya sauce
2tbs balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
2t steak & chops spice
3/4 cup water
1tbs brown sugar
1 cube beef stock

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the meat and seal off until nicely browned. 

Add the vinegars, soya sauce, spices, sugar and 1/4 cup water. Mix through. Cook a couple of minutes, until it thickens up. Dissolve the beef stock in the 1/2 cup of water and add to the meat. Lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for about 20 - 30 minutes. 

Serve, and enjoy!! I served this with some chunky veg and couscous. Unfortunately, no photo - we were way too hungry!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Stew-Pie

Sunday Lunch... always the kicker!! What to make? It is somewhat of a tradition to eat a decent Sunday lunch, to the point of completely stuffing yourself, and then falling down somewhere for that well-deserved Sunday afternoon "nap"... mostly just waiting for the food to settle and a little space to open up in the very stretched stomach for that sought after Sunday Dessert... 
Well, I decided on a stew thing. With dumplings. So it's almost a pie, too... It's so delicious, you won't care what it is called - as long as you can make it again!!

Preparation time: 30min
Cooking & Baking time: 100min
Difficulty Level: Easy
Serves: 5

Ingredients

500g stew meat / goulash
2l water
1 cube beef stock
1tbs balsamic vinegar
3tbs soya sauce
potatoes - 1 per person
small pickle onions - 2 per person
8 whole cloves
3 bay leaves

Method

Put the meat in a pot - preferably one that is oven proof as well, again I used my cast iron pot.

Dissolve the beef stock in 1 litre of the water and add to the meat. Add the vinegar and soya sauce. Cover and cook for about 40min.

Add the other litre of water, the cloves, bay leaves, potatoes and onions.

 Cover and cook for another 30min.

Make the dumpling dough*, scoop over the meat. 

Cook covered in the oven at 160degrees C for about 30min, until the dough is done.

Serve and enjoy!!

I made cauliflower and broccolli with cheese and cream to go with the dish. It wasn't even necessary for rice!! The meal was filling, delicious - and healthy! Of course, for the low carb version: don't add the dumpling dough. But if your family loves it (like mine), make it, just don't dish the dough up for you.

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

* Find the Dumpling Dough recipe on this blog.

Intense Red wine Stew

Considering yesterday's somewhat dull (to my taste, anyway) mince, today's meat stew is exactly the opposite: deep, rich flavours beckoning for you to eat more - taste more - just that one little bite more...

I served it with broccolli and cauliflower with a flourless cheese sauce and the tastes complimented each other beautifully!! The rest of my family enjoyed it with rice. For my carb-free diet, I am not allowed to eat the rice. But it was more than enough - filling, tasty, simply delicious!!

Ingredients

700g goulash  / soup meat
7 pickle onions
1 250g punnet mushrooms, whole
150g margarine
2tbs balsamic vinegar
3tbs soya sauce
3tbs sweet chilli sauce
3tbs chutney
1tb olive oil
3tbs sugar
500ml water
125ml red wine

Method

I used a cast iron pot on my gas stove. It works miracles.!! Melt the margarine in the pot. Add the whole onions and the whole mushrooms. 

 Fry. Add the meat. Fry a little. Mix the vinegar, soya sauce, sweet chilli sauce, chutney, olive oil and sugar in the 500ml water. Add to the meat. Cook with open lid. 

Reduce the sauce until almost gone. Remove from heat. Add the red wine. Let it stand until it you dish up.

These tastes absolutely complimented each other... on the one hand you had the sweet, sour and tangy sauce of the meat, and on the other the cheesy creamy sauce with the veggies. Delectable....

Your family is sure to love this meal. It is tasty and healthy and filling.... Did I mention fabulously tasty, spicey and wholesome? Do try this at home!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch