Emma's Beef

This recipe is from the wonderful Emma over at http://www.e-ddoesit.com/ - she's amazing at making great food from simple ingredients :) Amongst many other things too! I got this recipe from her blog, and I adapted it to suit what I had in the fridge at the time. It has become known fondly in our house as "Emma's Beef" in honour of the creator haha :D

I've made this using sour cream, creme fraiche or cream cheese, or a combination of any of those, depending on what's in the fridge. Usually, I'll use Lidl's light cream cheese, it's got I think 4% fat and is only 70-odd cents for a pack. (or Tesco's version of same, it's more expensive but because of their price promise you always get a voucher for the difference anyway).

Emma's Beef
Ingredients
2 onions, chopped
10 mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 green peppers, sliced
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
250 g sour cream, creme fraiche or cream cheese
500 g pack of beef strips (stirfry beef steak)
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
squeeze of lemon juice
Enough tagliatelle for 4 people

Method

1. Put the beef in a bowl with the vinegar and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Mix well to coat with marinade. Set aside and leave to marinate a bit. You can use this time following to chop your veg.
2. Heat a tbsp of olive oil/rapeseed oil in a large frying pan. Fry onions, mushrooms, garlic and peppers for 5-6 minutes until softened. Cook pasta.
3. Add the beef and marinade to the pan. Fry for about 4-5 minutes.
4. Add in the sour cream (or alternative) and the mustard. Mix well and bring to a simmer. 
5. Serve with tagliatelle, crusty bread and a big glass of red wine :)

Lasagne

My mum makes the most amazing lasagne. Both Sam and I have been craving it all week, but she already had steak taken out of the freezer for the dinner tonight so she said no can do. So, I took matters into my own hands, and decided to go about making my first ever lasagne, like mammy makes. Big step. Lots of pressure, and fear of failure. What if it wasn't nice? What if I failed? But I tried anyway, and my god was it worth it. May I say it...it may have been the best lasagne I've ever tasted. But that could be because Mum hasn't made lasagne in so long that I just can't remember the taste of hers.

Anyway, lasagne is the ultimate comfort food for me; pasta, creamy white sauce and a tomato-based sauce, all in one dish with cheese on top is just...food heaven.

It dirties a lot of dishes, so after I put it in the oven, I take full advantage of the waiting time by filling up the sink and getting the pans washed so I only have the baking dish to clean afterwards.

Lasagne

Ingredients
about 15 sheets lasagne
Tomato sauce
454 g pack of lean minced beef
1 onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
10 mushrooms, sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 carton tomato passata
half a tube tomato purée
1 tbsp dried basil
40 ml red wine
White sauce
1.5 pints milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 oz butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried basil
4 tbsp cornflour, blended with some milk
60 g cheddar/mozzarella, grated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease a 12" x 12" pan.
2. For the tomato sauce, heat some olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the mince, and brown. Season with salt and pepper and add the basil.
3. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the beef. Add a small bit of boiling water, and simmer for 5 mins.
4. Add the tinned tomatoes, passata, and tomato puree. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes until the carrots are softened. 
5. Add the mushrooms, stir in the mushrooms and wine and simmer for 5 more minutes. Taste and season again if necessary. 
6. For the white sauce, heat the butter in a saucepan. When melted, sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened and the flavours are released. 
7. Stir in the dried basil and add the milk. Bring to the boil and immediately reduce to a simmer.
8. Take off the heat and stir in the cornflour. 
9. Bring back to the boil and stir until thickened. Add more blended-with-milk cornflour if needs be. 
10. Starting with the mince tomato mixture, start layering into the greased pan in the following order: mince-lasagne sheets-white sauce-mince-lasagne sheets-white sauce. This will give you three layers; finish off with white sauce and sprinkle the cheese on top.
11. Bake in the oven for 25 mins until the lasagne sheets are cooked and the top is browned and bubbling.
12. Serve with garlic bread, a green salad and a big glass of red wine :) 

Pasta Olé

I used to make this dish regularly, and rediscovered it recently! So much yum. It's a comfort dish through and through. I got the recipe from my other mother :D

You can use whatever pasta shapes you have in the cupboard for this recipe really, I use fusilli - but whatever you have is fine; I've used spaghetti for this before.

Pasta Olé
Ingredients
400 g dried pasta shapes
500 g minced beef
OR
3 - 4 chicken fillets, chopped into small chunks
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pepper, chopped (doesn't matter what colour, I use red or yellow)
1 tub of sour cream
2 tins of tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp chilli powder
200 g cheddar/mozzarella, grated

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease the bottom and sides of a 12x12 ovenproof dish. 
2. Boil pasta until it's al dente, drain, stire through some olive oil and set aside.
3. Heat some oil in a big saucepan or frying pan.
4. Fry onions, garlic and pepper over a medium heat. Add a splash of hot water to keep it from getting burned. Fry for a few minutes.
5. Add the mince or chicken and spices. If you want this dish spicier, add more chilli flakes. Season with pepper and a bit of salt. 
6. Fry until the meat is cooked through. If it seems to be getting a bit dry, add more hot water. Stir every so often so nothing sticks or gets burned. 
7. When the meat is done, add the tomato purée and stir well to coat everything. Add the tins of tomato and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to reduce it down a bit.
8. Take off the heat and add the sour cream. Put back on the heat, stir to combine and bring back to the boil. Taste the mixture and see if it needs more salt, pepper or spices added.
9. Transfer the cooked pasta to the greased dish and spread over the bottom. Season. 
10. Carefully pour the meat mixture over the pasta somewhat evenly. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
11. Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
12. Serve with crusty bread and a green salad if you wish.