Tag: mince

Slow Cooker Sunday: Mince and Macaroni Soup

Bit of a laugh yesterday, the team from Netmums sent around a film crew.  They’re starting a parenting channel on youtube and would like to highlight food for all the family.  They asked if I could knock up a few Slow Cooker recipes that kids would eat.  In the end, I did Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs, Mince and Macaroni Soup, Sausages with Chutney Gravy and a Banana Bread.  It was really food fun.

I do public speaking everyday and am a fairly confident character and genuinely thought I’d be comfortable in front of the camera but I wasn’t.  Once I see the final version, if it’s not to cringe worthy I’ll pass on the link.

I wasn’t going to post a recipe yet, but, the cooking marathon has resulted in a huge amount of food in the house.  We went sledging today and it was so nice to come home to some hearty soup that helped us unthaw!  So, I thought I’d share it.

 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Mince and Macaroni Soup

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Slow Cooking
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
A hearty soup that is perfect for a cold winters night!
Ingredients
  • 1TBSP of oil
  • 400g of minced beef
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 450ml of beef stock or water
  • 1 500g carton of passata
  • 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 TBSP of soy sauce
  • 2 tsp of dried Italian herbs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 200g of uncooked macaroni
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Brown the mince for approx 5 minutes, add the onion and garlic, sauté for a further 3 minutes.
  2. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the stock, passata, tomatoes, soy sauce, dried herbs, bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
  3. Fifteen minutes prior to serving cook the macaroni according to the packet instructions. Stir into the soup. Ladle into large bowls and serve with crusty bread.
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This is the perfect weather for slow cooking.  So what have you been cooking?  Do add your recipes to the link below.

I will also be adding your recipes to our Pinterest board which is growing rapidly.

Enjoy the snow!




Slow Cooker Sunday: Eva’s Slow Cooker Mince Meat Pies

slow cooker mince piesI was inspired by @utterlyscrummy to have a go at making mince pies using my slow cooker.  I’ve never made mince pies in my life and I almost chickened out when I saw you can buy a box of them for a £1.  However, the end result was much better than I expected and we all had fun making them.

I roped in my neighbour ‘Eva’, an aficionado in the kitchen, to give me a hand.  We’re very different in the kitchen.  I tend to follow recipes like a science experiment but she just bungs everything in similar to the Muppet’s Swedish Chef.

However, this is the recipe we cobbled together in the end.

Makes:  12 Mince Pies

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 tsp of Clementine Zest (approx ½ a Clementine)
  • 5 small dessert apples or 2 large cooking apples.  Cored and roughly chopped.  We used Royal Gala.
  • 2 Cardamon pods (Big Brown ones) cracked to release the flavour
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 2 tsp of mixed spice
  • 4 cloves
  • 500g of Dried Mixed Fruit
  • 1 TBSP of Light Muscovado Sugar
  • 1 TBSP of Dark Muscovado Sugar
  • 125 of Apple Juice

Pastry

  • 500g Dessert Pastry Block you could also use regular shortcut pastry.

Method:

1.)  Throw all of the ingredients into the slow cooker, mix well and cover and cook overnight.  Approx 10-12 hours.
2.)  Roll out the pastry block on a lightly floured surface until it is 2-3mm in thickness.  Try not to handle the pastry too much or it becomes tough.  Use a fluted edge cutter to make the bases.  It should be a 2-3 cm bigger in diameter than the openings in the muffin tins.  Gentle encourage them in.flutedcutter
3.) Fill the bases about 2/3 full of the filling.

4.) We used a selection of star cutters to make our tops.

starcutter

5.) Pop in the oven for 20 minutes at 160 degrees.

startops

6.) Remove from tin while still warm and place on a cooling rack.

7.) Use a sifter to sprinkle icing sugar on top.

Mince Pies

They tasted so much better than store bought ones!  Enjoy!

Will you be using your Slow Cooker over the holidays?  Pop your recipes below.

Don’t forget we’re also on Pinterest with over 80 Slow Cooker Recipes to inspire you.

Merry Christmas and All the best in 2013!



Slow Cooker Sunday: Sloppy Joes – 24 June 2012

Slow Cooker Sunday has had a bit of a break, but we’re back and raring to go. My daughter normally eats with her child minder for the better part of the week, but recently it’s been school holidays, so I had to think of things that we all would eat.  So, as I often do, I think about things I ate as a kid.

One of our favourite meals was Sloppy Joes, named for the mess you make while eating them.  I know it may sound gross but it’s dead easy to make and she wolfed it down.  Served with a salad it could be called a balanced meal.  Well it does have ketchup/tomato sauce in it, which is one of your 5 a day.

Ingredients

  • 500g mince
  • ½ onion chopped
  • 1 Tsp of lazy garlic or 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 125ml ketchup/tomato sauce
  • ½ a red pepper, chopped
  • 30 ml Worcestershire Sauce
  • 30 ml Brown Sugar
  • I TBSP of mustard
  • I TBSP of vinegar
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • Hamburger buns/rolls

Method

  1. Sauté the onions for about 3 minutes, add the garlic, cook for another minute, then add the mince and brown.  Transfer to slow cooker using a slotted spoon.
  2. In a separate dish mix the ketchup, red pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, sugar, mustard, vinegar and chilli powder.
  3. Pour the sauce over the beef mixture in the slow cooker, mix well, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  4. To serve, put a generous portion on a roll, you can toast them if you like but we didn’t.  It’s lovely with a tossed salad or any green really.

    5. Remember it’s all about sharing, feel free to link up your favourite recipes. It doesn’t even have to be your own. Is there one on the web you use often? As long as it has a URL you can add it. If you don’t have a blog you can always leave your recipes in the comment section.