BEEF & GUINNESS STEW An Arthur’s Day Tribute

BEEF & GUINNESS STEW
An Arthur’s Day Tribute

TOTAL COST (excluding electricity) € 11.84
SERVES: 6
COST PER PERSON: € 1.97


Ingredients

1.5 lbs of Round Steak (SuperValu – €6.55)
1 Can of Guinness (SuperValu - €2.01)
3 Carrots (SuperValu – 65c)
3 Parsnips (SuperValu – 65c)
3 Stalks of Celery (SuperValu – 30c)
2 medium Onions (SuperValu – 50c)
18 small washed new potatoes (SuperValu - €1.33)
2 tbl spoons of Tomato puree (the Kitchen Press)
4 cloves of finely dices Garlic (the Kitchen Press)
3 tbl spoons of Olive Oil (the Kitchen Press)
1 tea spoon of Chilli Powder (the Kitchen Press)
Salt & Pepper (the Kitchen Press)
4 table spoons of plain flour (the Kitchen Press)
1 table spoon of honey (the Kitchen Press)
1 Beef OXO Cube (the Kitchen Press)


(for the from” the Kitchen press” items, I have allocated 50c – I suggest a jar or money box on the window sill. Every time you use one of these menus, I will have an amount for replenishing the bits & pieces used in small amounts, i.e. salt, pepper, sugar, herbs, etc)


Method

Slice the round steak into pieces about 1cm x 2cm, discarding any fat.
Put the plain flour in a big bowl and add a tea spoon of salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the small steak pieces to the bowl with the seasoned flour and cover with a plate and shake until every piece of meat is coated in flour.
Dice the garlic and onions.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic for one minute and then add the flour coated beef. Fry for five minutes on a medium to high heat and add the diced onions and the chilli powder and fry for another two minutes.
Stir in the two tablespoons of Tomato puree and add some salt and plenty of ground black pepper.
Then add the Can of Guinness and your tablespoon of Honey and bring to the boil for two minutes before turning off the heat while you prepare the veggies.
Peel the carrots and parsnips and dice them and the celery into 1cm pieces (about the size of a dice you would use in a board game).
Wash the potatoes.
Now take a large casserole dish with a lid (if you don’t have a lid, you can use tin foil to cover the casserole dish) and add the diced carrots, parsnips and celery.
Then arrange the washed potatoes on top of the diced vegetables and pour over the sautéed beef and Guinness mixture from your frying pan and top up with your Beef OXO Cube mixed in a pint of boiled water.
Cover and place in a pre-heated oven at 160˚C for three and a half hours.
Remove and let stand for 15 minutes and serve with a sprinkling of fresh Parsley if you have some.

A tasty, healthy and filling tribute to “Arthur’s Day”, for less than the price of a can of Guinness per person.

Enjoy!

SAUSAGE POPOVERS

SAUSAGE POPOVERS
WITH SWEET RED ONION GRAVY, BUTTERY MASHED POTATOES & GARDEN PEAS

TOTAL COST (excluding electricity) € 7.85
SERVES: 5
COST PER PERSON: € 1.57


Ingredients

10 nice pork sausages (your local Butcher – €3.00)
1 medium red onion finely diced (Lidl – 20c)
150g of plain flour + 1 tbls for the gravy (the Kitchen Press)
3 fresh eggs (Lidl – 10 eggs for €1.33 = 40c)
1 tbl spoon of whole grain mustard (the Kitchen Press)
1 tbl spoon of chopped fresh chives (Lidl – 30c)
5 tbl spoons of vegetable oil (the Kitchen Press)
250ml of Milk (Lidl – 1L 96c – 250ml = 25c)
5oz of Butter (Lidl – 1lb €1.64 = 50c)
Salt & Pepper (the Kitchen Press)
1 tbl spoon of dark brown sugar (the Kitchen Press)
1 tbl spoon of balsamic vinegar (the Kitchen Press)
1 OXO cube in ½ pint of boiling water (from the fridge)
10 medium peeled Potatoes (Lidl – 80c)
2 tbl spoons of olive oil (the Kitchen Press)
200ml of Milk (Lidl – 1L 96c – 200ml = 20c)
300 grams of Frozen Garden Peas (Lidl – 1kg 65c = 20c)

(for the from” the Kitchen press” items, I have allocated €2.00c – I suggest a jar or money box on the window sill. Every time you use one of these menus, I will have an amount for replenishing the bits & pieces used in small amounts, i.e. salt, pepper, sugar, herbs, etc)


Method

SAUSAGE POPOVERS

Pre-heat over to 220˚C.
Sieve 150g of your plain flour into a clean bowl and add three eggs one by one. Whisk the 250ml of milk into the flour and eggs until you have a smooth batter with no lumpy bits. Add your chopped chives and a tablespoon of whole grain mustard.
Lightly fry your 10 sausages in a little vegetable oil, for enough time to add a little colour to the sausages. You don’t have to cook them through as they will be going in the oven.
Take a bun tin with 12 holes and add a tea spoon of vegetable oil to each section. Place in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes making sure that the oil gets very hot. This is the secret of a great popover. (This mixture is perfect for Yorkshire Puddings without the sausages).
Remove the bun tin from the oven and place a hot sausage in each section and fill each hole with your batter mixture.
Return the bun tin with the sausages and batter in each hole (or at least 10 of the holes) to the oven and cook for 18 to 20 minutes.
You will know when they are done as the batter will have risen up around the sausages and they will be a golden brown.

SWEET ONION GRAVY

Heat one tbl spoon of vegetable oil in a saucepan and stir in the onion, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Cook the onion over a gentle heat for up to 10 minutes until the onions have browned and softened.
Remove the onion from the saucepan and keep in a bowl while the rest of the gravy is prepared.
Put ½ oz (15g) of real butter into the same saucepan that you used to cook the onions and when it’s melted, add one tbl spoon of plain flour and stir for up to one minute. Add the ½ pint of beef stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes and then add the onions cooked earlier and simmer on a gentle heat for up to 10 minutes.

BUTTERY MASHED POTATOES

Place the peeled and washed potatoes in a saucepan of boiling salted water and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. You can test if they are ready by sticking a fork in one. If it slides into the potato easily, then they are done!
Drain the potatoes and leave to one side for 3 minutes so that they dry a bit before you mash them.
Add some salt and pepper, the 2 tbl spoons of olive oil, the 2 oz of butter (very naughty, but nice!) and the 200ml of milk. Mash with a potato masher until there are no lumps and then take a strong fork and whip the mash vigorously for 1 minute.

GARDEN PEAS

Bring about 1 inch of water to the boil in a small saucepan and add the 300g of frozen garden peas. Once the water has started to boil again, simmer for 3 minutes. Strain the peas and add a pinch of salt & pepper and 1 tea spoon of sugar.

SERVING

Take two sausage turnovers and place them to one side of a plate and add two scopes of buttery mash and a couple spoons of garden peas. Then spoon the sweet onion gravy over the sausage popovers and drizzle a little over the mashed potato.
Kids and adults will love this forgotten dinner treat.

Enjoy!

BEEF STROGANOFF

BEEF STROGANOFF
WITH BASMATI RICE

TOTAL COST (excluding electricity) € 9.96
SERVES: 5
COST PER PERSON: € 1.99


Ingredients

1.5 lbs of Round Steak (your local Butcher – 5 for €5.50)
½ punnet of Mushrooms (Lidl – €1.40 full punnet = 70c)
2 medium Onions (Lidl – 30c)
2 tbl spoons of Tomato puree (the Kitchen Press)
500ml of Sour Cream (Lidl – €2.20)
6 cloves of finely dices Garlic (the Kitchen Press)
3 cups of Basmati Rice (Lidl – Full bag of Rice €2.00 = 66c)
3 tbl spoons of Olive Oil (the Kitchen Press)
Salt & Pepper (the Kitchen Press)

Optional: 1 measure of Brandy if you have it or like it!

(for the from” the Kitchen press” items, I have allocated 60c – I suggest a jar or money box on the window sill. Every time you use one of these menus, I will have an amount for replenishing the bits & pieces used in small amounts, i.e. salt, pepper, sugar, herbs, etc)


Method

BEEF STROGANOFF

Slice the round steak into 1cm thick strips about 4cm long.
Put in a bowl and marinate in the olive oil, diced garlic and salt & pepper while you are dicing the onions and chopping the mushrooms.
Sauté the onions and garlic for 2 minutes and add the marinated beef. Fry for 5 minutes and mix in the tomato puree, the mushrooms and plenty of salt & freshly ground black pepper.
(If you want to use a little Brandy, this is where you add it!)
Cook for 10 to 15 minutes and add the 250g of sour cream and mix through well. Bring back to the heat under the stroganoff but turn off before it starts to boil and leave to stand while you are preparing the rice.

BASMATI RICE

Bring 1.5L of water and a tea spoon of salt to the boil. Add 3 cups of Basmati rice and simmer for 8 to 12 minutes (check the cooking instructions on the side of the packet of rice).
When the rice is cooked, drain in a colander and rinse with a kettle of boiling water.

Turn on the heat under the stroganoff for 1 or 2 minutes, but don’t boil.

Place some cooked rice on a plate and make a hole in the middle. Spoon some hot Beef Stroganoff into the middle of the rice and serve immediately. A little chopped fresh parsley is nice sprinkled over this dish if you have some to hand.


Enjoy!

THIN & CRISPY ITALIAN PIZZA

THIN & CRISPY ITALIAN PIZZA
PEPPERONI, SWEETCORN, PINEAPPLE, ORIGANO & MOZZERALLA ON BASIL FLAVOURED TOMATOE SAUCE

COST PER PIZZA: € 2.16
NUMBER OF PIZZAS: 6
TOTAL COST (excluding electricity) €12.96
SERVES: 7
COST PER PERSON: € 1.86


Ingredients

1kg of plain flour (Lidl – 79c for 1.5kg = 60c)
14g of yeast granules (Dunnes – €3 for 5 x 14g = 60c)
15 tbl spoons of olive oil (the kitchen press)
½ tbl spoon of salt (the kitchen press)
1 tbl spoon of caster sugar (the kitchen press)
1 tbl spoon of basil paste (the kitchen press or herb garden)
600ml of warm water (the kettle)
3 tea spoons of dried oregano (the kitchen press)
½ ltr of crushed tomatoes (Lidl – 79c for 500ml carton = 79c)
3 bags of grated mozzarella (Lidl – €1.43 per bag = €4.29)
2 double packs of thin pepperoni (Lidl – €1.99 per double pack = €3.98)
1 tin of sweet corn (Lidl – 90c per tin = 90c)
1 tin of pineapple chunks (Lidl - €1.20 per tin = €1.20)

(for the from” the Kitchen press” items, I have allocated 60c – I suggest a jar or money box on the window sill. Every time you use one of these menus, I will have an amount for replenishing the bits & pieces used in small amounts, i.e. salt, pepper, sugar, herbs, etc)


Method

Pizza dough

Sieve 900g of plain flour into a large mixing bowl and add the 14g of yeast, the salt & caster sugar. Make a hole in the middle and add the 6 tbl spoons of olive oil. Finally, gradually add the 600ml of warm water while mixing with a spoon until you have one big ball of dough.

Scatter some flour on a clean work top and turn the dough ball out of the bowl and on to the worktop. Sprinkle some more flour on top of the dough ball and knead vigorously for four minutes.

Wash out and dry your mixing bowl and return the dough ball into the bowl and cover with Clingfilm and leave to rise for two hours.

Toppings

Dice all four packs of thin pepperoni sticks into ¼ inch thick pieces
Open the three bags of grated mozzarella
Open and drain the tin of sweet corn
Open and drain the pineapple chunks. If these chunks are very thick, spend a few minutes slicing each chunk in half


Making the Pizzas

Pre-heat the over to its maximum heat (usually about 220˚C)
The dough will have risen in the bowl. Peal off the cling film and turn out onto a floured worktop and knead again for 30 seconds. Cut the dough into 6 equal amounts and roll each piece into a ball.
Take one dough ball at a time and use a rolling pin to roll out your dough ball into a flat circle about 12 inches (30cm) in diameter, careful to only roll one direction at a time and turning your pizza base every time you change direction. Keep your rolling pin floured all the time so the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin or the worktop.

Place the rolled out pizza base on a 12 inch (30cm) pizza tray that was dusted with flour.
Add a tbl spoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of basil paste along with one fifth of the crushed tomato sauce and spread evenly over the pizza base keeping ½ an inch back from the edges of the pizza base.
Sprinkle a ¼ bag of grated mozzarella over the tomato sauce and add your pepperoni, sweet corn and pineapple, making sure each ingredient is evenly scattered on the pizza base.
Sprinkle another ¼ bag of grated mozzarella cheese over the top of the pizza and sprinkle a ½ teaspoon of dried oregano and drizzle 2 tea spoons of olive oil over the top.

Place in the pre-heated over for 15 to 16 minutes.

Remove and let stand for 1 to 2 minutes before slicing into 6 & Serve immediately.

A normal domestic kitchen oven will take up to three pizzas at a time if you have three shelves in the oven.

Enjoy!