Eating It

A couple of months of crazy days has seen us eating some “creative” meals of late.

My main focus has been to feed us reasonably healthy meals that do not require too much in the way of preparation or fuss. Some days there may have been time to do things like cook a roast for a couple of hours.  Other days were “we need to eat in the next 30 minutes” type days.

We very rarely eat takeaway, as mostly we find we can do better at home, cheaper, faster and healthier. We do however look to fast food for concepts.  I have seen some blog/facebook groups that term this as “Fake-away” or “Takeaway at Home”.

Often our version of fast food turns into a “clean out the fridge special”.  Some “recipes” for Clean out the Fridge specials are…

• A packet of mince ( which we buy in bulk and freeze in 250g pieces, whatever veges are in the fridge simply chopped and fried together with a bit of beef stock made from powder and a dollop of tomato paste get a tin of tomatoes added and simmered for 15 minutes or so while some pasta cooks sees a satisfying meal on the table in well under 30 minutes and reduces wasted food.
• A similar dish can be done with veges and a cheese sauce added to a tin of tuna and pasta or rice,
•  Veges sauted with a bit of butter or oil and add some chunks of beef, lamb or chicken. Pour over 2 cups of water with a tablespoon of gravy powder, add any herbs you like and simmer until the meat is pull-apart tender. This one might take about 50 minutes to an hour.

Other ideas for “Fake-away” meals include..

• Make your own pizzas. This is great for using up leftover deli meats.  You don’t even need a “proper” pizza base for these.  Put two pices of bread in the toaster together so just one side the bread gets toasted.  Spread some tomato paste or sauce onto the untaosted side.  Pile the taost nice and high with yummy toppings and sprinkle over some tasty cheese.  Pop them under a hot grill until the cheese is melted and brown.  Cut each slice of “pizza” into 2 and serve.
• Fish and Chips are a good standby to have in the freezer. Frozen crumbed fish fillets and frozen chips are simply put in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes and “voila” dinner in half the time it would take to drive to the takeaway, wait for the order and drive home.
• Burgers are easy to make with either rolls or bread. Serve with chips from the oven

While all of these ideas are fast and affordable, the easist way to have superfast meals ready to go in to always cook far more than you need and have meals ready to go in the freezer.  We have always got something for those days when we really just could not bothered.

What are your favourite “Fast, Fuss Free” meals??

I have (again) decided I need to lose a few kg’s.

I really do not bother too much about my weight, and do stick to a fairly healthy diet, but I know I have been a bit slack lately.  Tripping up and back 400kms to see my Mum has seen me not eating the best.

Yesterday I thought I did not want my regular eggs on toast, but still wanted eggs.  I came up with this yummy little omelette on salad.

It is a simple dish that is made by gently beating just one egg with a fork until just fluffy add some chopped onion and a bit of grated cheese. I then lightly greased two egg rings and cooked until the egg was cooked through and golden brown.

I then placed them on a bed of store bought salad leaves with a bot of chopped tomato, onion and capsicum. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and breakfast was ready ?

Who says dieting has to be boring?  🙂

Ps. Balsamic Vinegar is a fabulous addition to your pantry. A quick drizzle elevates any dish to “restaraunt” quality.

Have you ever had Dry Aged Meat??  Hubby and I were aware that some high-end butchers dry aged meat, but we had never seen it let alone eaten it.
What is Dry Aged Meat?  According to Wikipedia

I noticed on Facebook recently that Cotton Tree Meats not far up the road from as had installed a dry aging cabinet. The reviews were that the meat was something that had to be tasted to be believed.

When my birthday rolled around in August, hubby asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and where would I like to go out for dinner.  I suggested a “2 for 1” present and said why not buy a piece of dry aged beef?

A short trip later and we were the proud owners of the most beautiful looking piece of 28-day dry aged Black Angus Rib-eye on the bone.

We like to think we are pretty capable cooks, but we thought we had better find out how to do this lovely steak true justice.  The answer turned out to be a cooking technique we had not tried before.  “Reverse Searing”

Reverse Searing is a method that involves slow cooking the steak in a super low oven until the internal temperature reaches the desired doneness, then finishing in a screaming hot pan to give a lovely seared crust.

This method works best with a thick piece of steak so have your butcher cut a nice piece of Sirloin, Rib, Rump or T-bone into at least a 50mm thick (this will feed 2-3 people).

This is the step by step method.

Step 1:
Pre-heat your oven to 135º C

Step 2:
Pat your piece of steak dry with paper towel. (the drier you can get the
steak the better the crust you will get)
Season well with salt and pepper. (there is no need to oil the meat)

Step 3:
Place the meat on a grill over a baking pan lined with foil or baking
paper to catch any drips.

Step 4:
Bake in the oven until the internal temperature of the meat reaches your
required doneness.  Do NOT guess this, invest in a meat  thermometer.
Remove from the oven and rest under foil for at least 10 minutes.

Step 5:
Get a heavy frying pan (cast iron is good) or BBQ screaming hot and add
a couple of tablespoons  of vegetable oil to the pan.  Carefully place the steak in the pan and sear well for 1- 2 minutes on each side, don’t forget the edges until a lovely golden crust form.

Step 6:
Place your steak on a board and cut into pieces on the diagonal across the grain.  Serve simply with a bit of herbed butter or your favourite sauce.

Next time you get a piece of steak, do try this method of cooking. It might
just change your life 🙂