Tag: garlic

Slow Cooker Beef or Lamb Curry

Ingredients:
  • Cooking Spray
  • 3 x diced sweet potatoes
  • 500g diced lamb or beef
  • 2 x diced medium onions
  • 1 x 400g can of tomatoes w/ juice
  • 2 x cloves minced garlic
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 x beef stock cube
  • 2 tbsp Keen’s Curry Powder
  • 150 g spinach
  • 2/3 cup plain yoghurt
  • 250g peas
Directions:
  1. Spray slow cooker bowl with cooking spray
  2. Add sweet potatoes, meat, onions, tomatoes and juice, garlic, water, beef stock cube, and curry powder to the bowl and stir it all together
  3. Cook on low temperature for 7-hours
  4. Add the spinach and yoghurt to the slow cooker bowl and stir through
  5. Cook for another 25-minutes
  6. Add the peas to the bowl and stir through
  7. Cook for a further 5-minutes

Serve curry over steamed rice.

Creamy Chicken and Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 500g chicken breast cut into 1″ pieces
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 tbsp dried basil
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • pepper
  • salt
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 250g spiral pasta
Directions:
  1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
  2. Heat oil and sauté onion until tender, salt and pepper chicken pieces and add to the pan along with the garlic, cook until cooked through.
  3. Add can of diced tomatoes, including juice, to the onion and chicken an heat until bubbling. Add butter, milk, and cheese to the pan. After it has simmered for a while to reduce the sauce, add  the basil and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes.
  4. Add the cooked pasta to the chicken pan and stir to combine.
  5. Salt the dish just enough to bring out the flavour of the basil.

Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

  • Vegetable oil
  • 400 grams (1 pound) Ground Beef / Mince
  • 1 medium brown onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 4-cups mixed vegetables (I usually use 1 cup frozen corn and three cups of mixed frozen peas and carrots, but beans are also good)
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of fresh ground pepper
  • 3 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 3 teaspoons dried rosemary
  • 4 large potatoes mashed (about 3-cups)
  • Grated cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C (350F).

Brown the beef and onion in a pan with the oil.

Add the garlic and mixed vegetables. Continue to stir the ingredients until the vegetables are tender.

Mix in the salt, pepper and other herbs and stir it all together.

Pour the mixture into a 6×9” casserole dish that’s been either sprayed with oil or buttered. Cover the mixture with the mashed potato and bake it until the edges are browned, which is about 30-minutes.

Optional:

My wife’s preference for this recipe is to cover the shepherd’s pie with cheese before baking. The cheese melts and browns during baking and tastes great.

The last time I made this recipe I poured some brown gravy over the Shepherd’s Pie before serving and it added a great richness to the meal. Next time I make this I will probably add the gravy again.

Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker Recipe

Yesterday I did a whole chicken in a slow cooker that turned out fantastic.

Here are the ingredients:

  • 1 Large Roasting Chicken (ours was 1.75kg, or 4 pounds)
  • 4 x Medium Potatoes
  • 2 x Large Carrots
  • 1 x Large Brown Onion
  • 3 x Cloves / Tea Spoons Crushed Garlic
  • 1/2 Cup Cooking wine (I used a $5.00 bottle of Chardonnay)

I bought a pre-marinated chicken, but if you use a normal chicken rub your favourite chicken seasoning on the outside of the chicken (my favourite is Montreal Chicken Seasoning).

Wash and cut your potatoes into quarters and put them on the bottom of the slow cooker.

Peal and cut the carrots and put them in the bottom of the slow cooker with the potatoes.

Cut up your onions and put them in the slow cooker.

Add the 1/2 cup of wine (it doesn’t sound like enough, but because of how the slow cooker works, it will be enough).

Add the 3 x tea spoons of crushed garlic to the vegetables and wine.

Place the chicken on it’s back in the slow cooker on top of all the vegetables and wine.

Put the lid on the slow cooker and let it cook. The time will depend on the setting you, but this is a rough guide:

  • High for 5 – hours
  • Low for 10 – hours
  • Auto for 7.5 – hours (I used this one)

When it’s finished you will have a very moist and tasty chicken. I left the skin on when I cooked it, but then scraped the skin off after cooking.

I served this with creamed corn and fresh white crusty bread for a really tasty dinner.