Save time and money – Part 8

A Hungarian rhapsody

I'm sure it's no surprise that the “Hungarian” refers to goulash. This time of year when it's turning cold it's difficult not to get bored once you've exhausted all the old favourites.

Here's my latest thought, “zhuzhed” a little. These days goulash seems to be served with rice or, spatzle (a soft egg noodle). I'm an old fashioned kinda gal with certain dishes and goulash is one of them. I like to serve mine, as was done in the 70s, with new potatoes. The ultimate comfort food however you want to serve it – by the way don't forget the sour cream - stirring in or even a blob on top – optional of course.

Hungarian Goulash

Serves 4-6 depending on size of appetite

900g braising steak, diced

glug of rapeseed oil to seal the beef

1 large onion, chopped as finely as possible

*8 tbsp tomato ketchup

*2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

*1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar

*2 tsps salt

*2 tsps Hungarian sweet paprika

*½ tsp mustard powder

300ml water

2 beef stock pots

1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water

small tub of sour cream - optional

Use a large frying pan and seal the steak in the rapeseed oil – in small batches – if you overfill the pan you will finish up with grey steak and it will “stew” - not nice! Set the batches aside in the slow cooker. Soften the onion for 2 minutes and then add to the steak.

In a medium sized bowl mix together the ingredients marked *.

Using the same frying pan – and therefore any residual juices, add the water and the stock pots, bring to the boil and stir until the pots have melted. Add the mixed ingredients * and pour over the beef.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat is tender.

At the end of the cooking time, using a slotted spoon, remove the steak from the gravy. Mix the cornflour with water and stir into goulash and cook on high to thicken.

Add the steak back into the thickened gravy and you're good to go.

Perfect for the hungry hordes!

Save time and money – Part 7

Here's another cheap and cheerful recipe, again uses your slow cooker and, other than minimum prep, the rest is done by magic!

Steak Pie Filling

Serves 4/6

1kg/2.2lbs braising steak or stewing steak, cubed

glug of rapeseed or Canola oil

2 x Knorr beef stock pots

2 heaped tbsp tomato paste

2 heaped tbsp small chunk Branston pickle

Brown the meat in a frying pan, using a drop of rapeseed oil – do this in small batches – if you don't you'll get grey looking meat - it'll take ages and will stew. Using a slotted spoon pop the browned meat into the slow cooker.

Dissolve the stock pots in the residual pan juices, then add the tomato paste – make sure the paste is properly melted and “cooked out” - if you don't do this you'll get a bitter taste. Add your Branston, then add 250ml water, bring to the boil and tip over your meat. Slow cook on low for 4 hours. If your gravy is too thin then add a little slaked cornflour and thicken to taste.

You can make this filling ahead and freeze it, should you have a spare 30 minutes.

All that remains in your choice of lid – you could cheat and use a puff pastry sheet or create a “hot-pot” style, sliced potato lid from your ready-baked potato stash or leave as is and serve with potatoes and other veggies of your choice.

By adding the tomato paste it enriches the gravy. By adding the Branston Pickle it gives a zingy flavour – ordinary it is not!

Life is so much easier with a slow cooker.

Save time and money – Part 6

Speaking of Christmas Eve – and whilst we're on the subject - here's another idea.

Did you ever wonder what to do with that jar of preserved lemons and black olives? This recipe is a Middle Eastern “hat tipping” to the wonderful tagine, cooked in stages for convenience. You could slow cook the dish altogether if that's better for you so – Plan A or Plan B!

Chicken and Preserved Lemon Tagine

Serves 4

2 tbsp of olive oil – or rapeseed

125g diced chorizo - 225g

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

sweet baby peppers, de-seeded and finely sliced

30ml – 2tbsp preserved lemons – rinsed and

chopped

400g passata

60ml medium white wine

500ml chicken stock

black olives – pitted – 150g drained weight - 350g

2 cloves of roasted garlic or 2 cloves

peeled and finely chopped

15ml sweet paprika

salt and black pepper

4 medium chicken breasts

Plan A

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the garlic paste, onion and paprika until soft – 10 minutes. Add the chorizo and fry until crispy. Add the wine and simmer until reduced – 5 minutes. Add the passata, stock and slow cooked chicken breasts and simmer gently, lid off, for about 20 minutes.

Add the olives and preserved lemons and season well – taste and adjust!

I'd slow cook the chicken breasts the day before required, using the 500ml of chicken stock in the recipe and then set them aside to cool, box and fridge. You can make the “sauce” when it suits you too. Complete your “tagine” adding the chicken breasts to the sauce and finish off as above, heating through gently on the stove.

Plan B

You could slow cook this recipe all together, completing the dish with the olives and preserved lemons either as you're re-heating or for the last 10 minutes of cooking time if serving straight from the slow cooker. If you're using this method then I'd slow cook for three hours. If you prefer your chorizo crispy I'd leave the chorizo until the last 20 minutes of slow cooking time then fry until crispy and add, with the oil, to your tagine, together with the preserved lemons and olives.

If you'd like a veggie version, use Quorn fillets.

What to serve with?

Keep it simple - new potatoes – boiled or steamed and or even roasted in their skins. Mange tout – sliced lengthways and stir fried.

Yum – now back to the cheap & cheerful!

Save time and money – Part 5

Autumn thoughts and a Christmas Eve “think ahead”.

Make a chilli but not any old chilli - when I think of chilli I think of minced beef. Another confession – I hate minced beef. What makes this chilli special, nay posh, is it uses diced steak and slow cooks it. The only remaining task is to add the red kidney beans and any garnishes. A word of warning – just in case you've forgotten – do not slow cook the kidney beans.

Posh Chilli

Serves 4

500g diced steak

A glug of rapeseed oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of roasted garlic paste or 2 cloves crushed

tsp = teaspoon

half tsp ground cumin

half tsp ground coriander

half tsp ground cinnamon

quarter to half tsp chilli powder (to taste, depends how much of a kick you like – I used a quarter tsp)

500g jar of passata

60ml sweet chilli sauce

390g can of red kidney beans, rinsed

optional extras :

150g small dice or sliced chorizo

sweet baby peppers, de-seeded and

finely sliced

Method …

Seal the diced steak in batches in a large frying pan using a drop of rapeseed oil then set aside in your slow cooker.

Gently fry your onion and garlic, using another drop of rapeseed oil if necessary. Add the spices and cook together so that the spices are able to release their deliciousness!

Add the passata and the chilli sauce and bring to the boil. Add to the sealed diced steak and then slow cook for 4 hours. Turn off and then leave to cool. Freeze in boxes to suit your needs – remember – you can pull out two boxes if you need to, rather than have to throw away from a larger quantity.

Defrost thoroughly in your fridge. Re-heat gently on the stove adding your kidney beans, sweet baby peppers or chorizo.

For the optional extras :

Use a large frying pan and fry the chorizo gently so that it releases its oil. Set the chorizo aside, leaving the oil in the pan.

Sauté the sliced, sweet baby peppers in the chorizo oil.

If you enjoy a spicy hit you can use mixed beans in a chilli sauce instead of ordinary red kidney beans.

Serve with rice if you like but I think it's fab in a bowl with a blob of sour cream served with some rustic bread of your choice on the side or with wraps with bowls of relish of your choice – mango would work well.

Freezing serves dishes like chilli or curry very well – the freezing process allows the spices to develop. Here's a thought – you could double the recipe and serve as a supper or as part of a larger supper buffet. Hot food seems to go down so well and it's easier to cook and serve.

A great Christmas Eve idea – but you might want to double the recipe if you've got a houseful!

Step by step photo guide up next ...

                                                  Sealed diced steak in the slow cooker

                                                            softened onion and garlic

the four “c”s – cumin, coriander

cinnamon and chilli

the four “c”s cooked out with the onion

the chilli – ready to slow cook and perform its magic!

glistening with the beans and a blob of

sour cream

ditto with flat breads

What's not to love and it's a perfect Christmas Eve meal – done and dusted!

Save time and money – Part 4

… or you could try a posh Shepherd's Pie Upside Down.

SPUD

(Shepherd's Pie Upside Down)

Serves 4-6

940g braising steak – 1kg will do it doesn't

have to be precise

980g beef stock - ditto

Glug of rapeseed oil

salt and pepper

2 x beef stock pots

salt and black pepper

I zoomed to the butchers and bought 3 x trays of cubed braising steak for £10. A good start! A little patience is required here – using a large frying pan heat the rapeseed oil, place braising steak in the pan – it should sizzle – season with salt and pepper. Don't overload the pan, brown the meat and then set aside in your slow cooker making way for the next batch and repeat until you've browned all the meat. If you insist in ramming it all into the pan it will turn grey and stew – it's not a good look.

Add a litre of water to the juices left in the frying pan, bring to the boil then add the stock pots – stir until melted – pour carefully into the slow cooker with the meat. Pop the lid on and slow cook for four hours.

Switch off and cool – if you want to freeze all or part then divide the stock between two “pour and store” freezer bags and divide the meat between two in strong freezer bags.

Other than the slow cooking of the braising steak there's no work involved - the mash and turning the stock into a gravy beyond all gravies is easy, peasy, just thicken the stock as required with 1-2 teaspoons of slaked cornflour.

All that remains is the mashed potatoes – a large pan! Leftover mash is perfect for bubble & squeak or corned beef hash.

Was it worth the fifteen minutes I spent prepping the braising steak for the slow cooker … you betcha!

P.s. You might want to offer your guests a spoon too, to scoop up the leftover gravy. In the North we have a less refined custom but much more satisfying – use small pieces of crusty bread to dip and mop up the remains.

Yum!

Save time and money – Part 3

Here's a “flexible” family sized recipe for Gammon, Chicken & Leek pie. The beauty of it is there are three options here from the same recipe. The first is a healthy version, the second is not and the third is somewhere in between – something for everyone I think you'll agree!

I will concede that you'll have to think about your shopping list but if you are now subscribing to “getting organised” you'll have jacket potatoes on your list ready to bake.

Here we go :

Option 1 – healthy

Gammon, Chicken and Leek pie

Serves 4 - 6 portions

You'll need a casserole or foil tray 23x23cms/9” square

Gammon joint – smoked or unsmoked to suit your taste – approx 500g

4 chicken breast fillets

2 stock pots – chicken or vegetable

4 medium leeks, topped, tailed and sliced thickly

Rapeseed oil – approx 1 tbsp

black pepper

2 tins (295g) of Campbell's condensed low fat chicken soup (this is now low salt, low fat and only 77 calories per serving)

3 large jacket potatoes, baked, cooled, then peeled and sliced

Salt and black pepper for potato topping

Seal your gammon joint and slow cook in the stock pots, repeat with the chicken fillet. If your slow cooker is big enough cook them all together. 4 hours is fine. Remove the gammon and chicken and leave to cool.

Break up the gammon and the chicken into medium chunks and transfer for the moment into a large food bag and fridge. Reserve the stock and fridge.

Peel and slice your leeks, then soften in the rapeseed oil, set aside.

Tip the soup into a large mixing bowl. Next add a ladle of stock into the soup to loosen it, then fold in the gammon, chicken and leeks. Transfer the filling into your casserole or foil tray.

Place your sliced potato on top, season with a little salt and black pepper.

Pre-heat your oven and bake at 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 30-40 minutes – check after 30 - until the top is golden and crispy.

Then there's option 2 – definitely not as healthy, more indulgent!

Option 2 – not as healthy, more indulgent

This is a luxury version, perfect for a supper with friends.

Replace the soup with a Velouté sauce. A Velouté sauce is one of the “Mother Sauces” - a light white sauce made with chicken or fish stock and a roux – it is also used as a base for other sauces, for example, a Sauce Supreme, known as a “Daughter Sauce” using Velouté and then enriched with cream.

Here's the Sauce Supreme recipe :

half a pint (300ml) of cold stock

15g unsalted butter

15g plain flour

½ tsp Dijon mustard

200ml double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – do not walk away.

Then tip your cold stock straight into the roux and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 20 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the mustard and cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

Fold your gammon, chicken and leeks into the sauce.

Top your sliced potatoes with seasoning and 2/3 knobs of butter, finish with a mixture of grated Red Leicester and mature Cheddar cheese. Bake as before.

Option 3 – somewhere in between

Omit the potato, butter and cheese topping and replace with a puff pastry lid. This option can also apply to Options 1 or 2. Bake as before. You could “hit the middle” and make Option 1 enriching the tinned soup by adding double cream. The world is your pie!

For those sceptics among us who think that a slow-cooker is only capable of producing stews and casseroles I hope you might be persuaded otherwise.

Save time and money – Part 2

Then again you could choose a soup - how about a hearty, cream of chicken soup?

This is “chicken soup for the soul” – it makes you feel better when you're in need of comfort.

Dice, box and fridge your leftover chicken - ready to add to your soup later – amounts don't matter, it's whatever is leftover.

You will need 500ml of stock – you can use your liquid gold – you have 250ml. Make up another 250ml using a Knorr stock pot .

Alternatively if you want to make your own stock, using a large saucepan, cover the carcass with water and any stock you've got - chicken or veggie - bring to the boil, turn it down to a simmer and let it do its magic for 30/45 minutes. Strain the stock, cool, cover and set aside until you're ready – you may find more chicken to add to your stash.

Another rummage produces a few Charlotte potatoes that need using plus a large onion that's always in the veggie basket – these additions will definitely make this soup more substantial!

Here's the recipe :

Cream of Chicken Soup

Serves 4

30g unsalted butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic – preferably roasted

500ml chicken stock

250ml whole milk

celery salt and white pepper

diced chicken stash

garnish of grated nutmeg

50-75ml double (heavy) cream

leftover Charlotte potatoes, peel and cut

into small dice

a handful of frozen petit pois

Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté gently for 2-3 minutes – there should be no colour, season with celery salt. Add the stock and diced potatoes and simmer gently for 15 minutes then add the milk and simmer again for 10 minutes Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Blitz 2/3 ladles of the soup until thick and return to the pan. Add the cream, nutmeg, peas, ground white pepper and chicken - heat gently until piping hot.

Don't forget to warm the soup bowls.

If you don't have a huge amount of leftover cooked chicken adding the potatoes supplements and gives a hearty thick soup – a rib sticker as we say!

It's no big deal if you don't have the inclination to make a chicken soup - box and freeze your leftover chicken and likewise bag and freeze the strained stock, for another time, when you are in the mood!

The next idea is “a sandwich for the soul”

It's my take on a “takeaway” chicken idea for the weekend. If there are four in your household then you might want to consider slow cooking a whole chicken just for this purpose, lets be honest, it doesn't take a great deal of effort, nor break the bank either. I'd recommend too that you use the star anise option in the cavity, the flavour is divine. You'll also produce lots of moist chicken which shreds very easily, it almost melts before your eyes.

We've already had chicken soup for the soul – now here's a chicken sandwich for the soul – I have it on good authority that this is the best ever and well worth slow cooking a whole chicken solely for that purpose!

You'll need delicious bread and when I say delicious bread I mean a loaf (or may be two) that can be sliced into doorsteps.

Who likes what?

It wouldn't be a sandwich without the extras, here are my

suggestions and it is not an exhaustive list!

Avocado, sliced or mashed to suit, with lemon

juice

Crispy bacon – and bits are better!

Good quality mayo

Beef tomatoes, sliced thinly

Beetroot relish or slices if you prefer

Any salad item you love – spring onions, shredded

iceberg lettuce

capers, cornichons

A slaw of your choice – here's an Asian

recipe that will compliment your anise infused

shredded chicken

Asian Coleslaw

110g white cabbage, finely sliced – approximately

one third of a medium size cabbage

1 carrot – peeled and sliced with a

julienne peeler

1 spring onion – 15g finely sliced

if you want to create a basic slaw stash then

double the amounts given above

3-4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp caster sugar

Half tbsp rice wine

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp peanut butter

Half tsp chilli powder

4 tbsp fresh coriander

Combine all the above ingredients except the fresh coriander.

Marinade for at least an hour – 2-3 is better still!

Just before serving strain off the excess liquid, stir in the coriander and serve!

If you don't want to go to the bother of making the coleslaw you could buy a good quality alternative, then serve with wedges sprinkled with a seasoning of your choice.

The perfect idea for a Saturday night supper – everyone can choose whatever they want – it's a win win. You can delete the takeaway delivery numbers you have on speed dial!

You should be feeling very pleased with yourself – you've used every last morsel of the chicken and it's not taken you three weeks of preparation, cooking and the aftermath.

I say every morsel, what you were left with, literally, was the carcass of the bird. If you have the time and are sufficiently enthusiastic you've made a stock. Making stock from scratch is a worthy but long winded process, but may be not appropriate for the time saving, speedy stuff.

These recipes are not set in stone – they are only a guide - not a rigid set of rules. I'm just trying to give you an idea or two that might inspire your own creation or an old favourite that you'd forgotten.

If it moves freeze it – in portions that are practical for you – you can always take out more if you need to.

One thing is for sure, slow cooking a whole chicken means you'll get the most from the bird and you'll use every morsel – it's the perfect emergency food!

Save time and money – slow cook!

The moral of this slow cooking lark is that it allows you to make the most of the time you've got. If you're in your kitchen anyway why not spend an extra five minutes and fill your slow cooker and stock your freezer. It may not seem like much at the time but you might change your mind in the middle of the working week when you're worn to a frazzle and can't string a sentence together, let alone split an atom and create a meal!

Stuff you might find useful - Slow cooking – hints and tips

You can slow cook all sorts apart from meat and poultry – soups, veggies, desserts, the world is your slow cooker!

I've used slow cookers for years and still apply the same principles as I've always done (which does not include the whole chicken recipe – rules are meant to be broken!). I seal my meat/poultry before it goes into the slow cooker and although these days you can buy slow cookers that are suitable for hob to hotplate I use a frying pan to seal – I know it creates washing up but the method in my madness is that I can set aside the protein and then use the juices in the pan, adding stock and whatever else I feel like, then bringing it to the boil, de-glazing and getting the best flavour possible, ready to place everything in the slow cooker. I can see what I'm doing too!

Don't overfill the cooker with liquid – as a guide half to two thirds maximum.

Thickening. I'm not a lover of coating meat in flour and then sealing it. As far as I'm concerned you're slow cooking the coating and not the meat. I prefer to thicken with a teaspoon or two of slaked cornflour at the end of the cooking time.

If you're thinking of investing in a slow cooker you might be tempted to buy a small version. It's my experience that you'll regret it – if you are cooking for yourself but feed family and friends too it's the perfect vehicle for saving you time, effort and of course dosh.

I find that stainless steel and a separate hotplate is most practical for me. I can decant from the slow cooker to freeze but leave enough for a meal and then transfer the cooker to my hob to re-heat later.

If you're new to this slow cooking malarkey invest in a slow cooking recipe book - there are some excellent ones out there – Lakeland publish at least two.

Check out bargains and deals – you'll usually find a chicken. Rocket science it ain't but if you want to make the most of your good deal with a chicken then let the slow cooker take the strain and do the cooking for you - that's two massive ticks!

I make no apology for repeating this recipe. It should read “Slow Cook a Whole Chicken or how to make the most out of your slow cooker – how did I manage without one”.

Slow Cook a Whole Chicken

1 chicken – between 1.5kg – 1.75kg

1 chicken stock pot

2 tsps of garlic paste or 1 garlic stock pot

generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic

Italian seasoning

OR

Alternatively use two whole star anise in the cavity

and omit the herbs

Place your chicken in the slow cooker and mix the stock pot with the garlic paste and spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with the herbs OR add the whole star anise to the cavity and omit the herbs. Switch your slow cooker to the low setting and leave it for 8 hours.

Strain the stock and freeze the resultant liquid gold, strip the chicken, keeping aside what you need and then bag and freeze the remainder.

Here are the photos :

The whole chicken, lifted from slow cooker onto the foil lined tray, ready for action or to be cooled, covered and fridged.

The stock, strained into a jug, ready to be cooled, covered and fridged.

The stock the following day, decanted into a “pour and store” bag ready to freeze. The stock forms a golden jelly with some natural fat from the bird – you've not added any fat at all – nice colour don't you think?

Here's the chicken stripped and portioned into four.

Top right and bottom left are the breasts. I would freeze each breast individually – you may only need one in the future but should you need both it's not an issue. Top left is a leg as is, again to be frozen. There's no doubt that if you leave meat on the bone it is less likely to dry out. Finally bottom right we have a mixture of leg and thigh meat. What you'll also find when you strip the chicken the next day is that you'll have blobs of the jellied stock – don't waste it, freeze it in ice cube trays, the flavour will be great, whatever you decide to cook.

What to do with? Rocket science it ain't!

Who doesn't love a pie – how about chicken and mushroom? You get to use your chicken stock – it's now called liquid gold in my kitchen. It's intense and rich and what better way to show it off than by making the sauce for your chicken and mushroom filling. I apologise, I should have said that you get between 250/300ml of stock depending on the size of your chicken.

Chicken & Mushroom Pie

2 x slow cooked chicken breasts and/or

a mixture of leg and thigh meat -

400g in total, diced and placed in

a large bowl

250g chestnut mushrooms

Sauce Supreme – using your

chicken stock

Sliced cooked baked potatoes – 3 medium size

skin on or skin off, whichever you prefer

salt and black pepper and a dot or two of

butter

Preheat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Ensure that your chicken and stock have been taken from your best friend (the freezer) and fridged overnight.

There are only two elements to cook – the mushrooms and the sauce.

Heat a medium sized frying pan, slice the mushrooms and sauté with 50g of unsalted butter adding salt and black pepper. Turn the mushrooms – they'll produce water and the idea is that you use a high heat to reduce the liquid. Add a glug of dry sherry or red wine and reduce again. The sherry or wine enhances the flavour of the mushrooms. Whilst I'm at it don't be afraid to use mushrooms that might be past their “best before” date. They have more flavour.

Your sauce recipe :

15g unsalted butter

15g plain flour

½ tsp Dijon mustard

200ml double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously making a roux sauce – do not walk away.

Tip your cold stock straight into the roux and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 20 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the mustard and the cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

You can freeze the sauce if it's more convenient – it's every bit as good from the freezer.

You have choices for your pie lid. I'm using the potatoes I've already baked and have stashed in my fridge.

You could use the ever popular puff pastry sheet, again taken from your freezer stash.

Add the mushrooms to the chicken and then fold through the sauce. Pour the filling into a casserole measuring 23x23 cms approximately or, in my case, a foil tray - layer the sliced potatoes over the top, add a little salt and pepper and a dot or two of butter . Place in the oven for 25 minutes and serve.

That's the first idea …