Tortilla Mince Pies

Ingredients:

oil spray
400 g lean beef mince
1 onion, finely chopped
400 g can Delmaine chickpeas in curry sauce
1 cup corn kernels
4 extra light tortillas
3/4 c grated reduced-fat cheese

Optional:
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 - 1 pepper. diced
5 - 6 mushrooms, sliced
parsley to garnish

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and spray 4 small pie dishes with oil.
2. Cook mince in a non-stick fry pan with a little spray oil until evenly browned.
3. Add onion and cook for 3 - 4 more minutes. If using additional vegetables or garlic add at this stage.
4. Add chickpeas and corn. Heat for 5 minutes.
5. Place 1 tortilla in each pie dish. Push into mould properly and spray with a little oil.
6. spoon mince into tortillas and sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. 
8. Garnish with parsley.

Side salad:

1 1/2 cups grated (or sliced) mixed carrot and beetroot

200 g curly kale, shredded

Arrange kale on serving plates and top with carrot and beetroot.

Notes:

I haven't made the side salad. I find it's easier to add extra vegetables into the mince mixture. A great way to use up little bits of veges hiding in the fridge.

Asian mince on rice

Ingredients:

• 500g pork or beef mince
• 1T Thai sweet chilli sauce
• 1T sesame oil
• 1T grated fresh ginger
• 1T soy sauce
• 1t fish sauce
• 2t brown sugar 
• 2T oyster sauce
• 2 spring onions, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 2 zucchinis, grated; or a head of spinach or silverbeet, prepared like this
• 2T chopped coriander, mint, basil (or mixture) 
• 1/4c cashews, roasted

Method:

1. Mix mince with sweet chilli sauce, sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Leave for at least five minutes, or all day in the fridge.

2. Heat a wok and fry mince mixture over high heat until cooked through.

3. Reduce heat and mix in oyster sauce, carrots, silverbeet/spinach/zucchinis, spring onions, herbs and cashews.

4. Cook for another couple of minutes.

Serve on plain Basmati rice.

Serves four to six.

Tips:

• Try using other vegetables e.g. diced onion, sliced mushrooms, small florets of broccoli &/or cauliflower, sliced capsicum, grated cucumber.
• The first time I made this I didn't have oyster sauce so just added an extra 2T of soy sauce. 

Potato top pie

Ingredients:
1 T oil
1 onion, chopped
500 g mince
2 T plain flour
1 T tomato sauce
1 T chutney or relish
3/4 c beef stock
4 medium-large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 T butter
1/2 c grated cheese
salt
black pepper

Optional:
1-2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 - 1 pepper, diced
1/2 c frozen peas

Method:

Mince mixture:

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear.
2. Add mince and cook until well browned, stirring constantly. Pour off excess fat.
3. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. 
4. Add tomato sauce, chutney, stock and optional extra vegetables.
5. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Set aside.

Potato mash:

1. Cook potatoes in boiling, salted water until tender, approximately 15 minutes.
2. Drain and heat for a few minutes to dry off excess moisture. Shake the pan frequently during this time.
3. Mash potato. Add butter and half the cheese, mixing until smooth and creamy.
4. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

To finish:

1. Put mince into pie dish. Top with potato mixture.
2. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
3. Bake at 180 degrees celsius or until golden and heated through.

Serves 4

Notes:

• Try using 2 large kumara instead of potato for mash.
• Try combining 2 potatoes with 1 kumara to make mash.
• Try other optional extra vegetables e.g. corn kernels, sliced mushrooms, diced tomatoes.
• This is a great recipe for using up small quantities of vegetables you may have hiding in the fridge.

Tasty meatball bake

Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes, cut in chunks
3 parsnips, cut in chunks
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
400 g lamb mince
1/3 c fresh mint, chopped
2 medium red onions, halved
1 egg
oil spray
1 cup cherry tomatoes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C. 
2. Place potatoes and parsnips in a pot of boiling water and cook for 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, to prepare meatballs, place breadcrumbs in a bowl with mince. Finely chop half a red onion and add to mince mixture with egg and half the mint. Mix together until well blended. Shape into 12 small meatballs.
4. Drain potatoes and parsnips. Spray a large ovenproof dish with some oil and add meatballs with potatoes, parsnips and the remaining red onion halves cut into wedges. 
5. Spray with oil. Cook for 25 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.
6. Add tomatoes for the last 5 minutes of cooking time. 
7. Serve meatballs and vegetables sprinkled with the remaining mint.

Serves 4

Notes:

You can also use beef mince and leave out the mint. 

Try adding 1/4 c finely chopped mushrooms to the meatball mixture.

Try using other vegetables - carrots, kumara, pumpkin, peppers etc. 

Pork noodle stir-fry

Ingredients:
200g rice noodles
oil spray
400g lean pork mince
4 spring onions, sliced
4 carrots, cut into sticks
4 cups broccoli florets
4 T salt-reduced soy sauce
2 T sweet chilli sauce
2-3 T fresh coriander or fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 lime, juice (optional)

Method:

1. Place rice noodles in a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave to soak for 8-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick pan with some spray oil and add mince. Stir-fry for 5-6 minutes, breaking up with a spoon, until evenly browned.
3. Add spring onions, carrots and broccoli. Cook for 3-4 minutes, adding more oil spray if needed.
4. Mix sauces together. Drain noodles and add to the pan with sauces. Heat through.
5. Top with fresh herbs and serve with a squeeze of lime juice (if using).

Notes:

• I often use Hokkien, Singapore or Udon noodles. One or two packs depending how many people I'm serving. Instead of soaking in boiling water, add noodles at step 4 with the sauces (they take 2-3 minutes to cook).
• Try using other vegetables e.g. capsicum sliced, mushrooms sliced, frozen stir-fry mix, onion diced.

Lazy Lasagne

For 4 - 6 servings:

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 x 400g can whole or diced tomatoes in juice

1 x 30g pkt tomato soup, or tomato and onion soup mix 

500g minced beef

¼ cup tomato paste

1 tsp each dried basil and oreganum

2 tsp instant beef stock

1 cup hot water

250g (about 3-4 cups) small lasagne shapes or long lasagne strips

Topping:

2 tsp cornflour

1 large egg

3/4 cup milk, sour cream, or a mixture

1 cup grated tasty cheese

paprika, optional

Method:

Turn the slow cooker on to HIGH to preheat and coat the bowl with non-stick spray.

Put the garlic and tomatoes (with any juice) into a food processor or large bowl and process or mash with a fork to break up the tomatoes. Add the soup mix, minced beef, tomato paste, herbs, stock and water, then process or mix until well combined.

Spread one third of the meat mixture evenly over the bottom of the slow cooker bowl. Place half the lasagne noodles over the meat. Repeat the layering with another 1/3 of the meat mixture, the remaining pasta then cover with the remaining meat mixture. (You may like to keep a bit more than a third of the meat mixture for the top layer.)

To make the topping, mix together the cornflour, egg, milk (and/or sour cream) and cheese. Pour this over everything in the slow cooker and sprinkle with paprika (if using).

Turn the slow cooker to LOW and cook for 8-9 hours. Serve with a green salad or cooked vegetables and garlic bread.

NOTE: 1 x this recipe, cooked in a 4.5 litre oval slow cooker, is 4-5cm deep.

To cook conventionally: Assemble the 'filling' in the same way, layering the mixture into a non-stick sprayed 25x30cm lasagne dish. Cover with foil and place in a oven preheated to 180 degrees Celcius and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and pour on the topping mixture, then bake uncovered for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes:

I cooked this recipe in the oven but plan to try the slow cook version too. I browned the mince first. Also added half a diced onion which I sauteed with garlic before combining with the meat mixture. Didn't have any soup mix or dried basil so just left those ingredients out. Added 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms. I wasn't sure about using dried lasagna shapes that weren't pre-cooked but followed the recipe and turned out fine. 

Slow Cooker Mince Stew

This mince stew is simple and delicious as-is, but it is also great as a base recipe to which you can add your favourite herbs and spices. You could also add some chopped carrot, leek, mushroom, etc. Serve with rice or mash. Leftovers are nice to use to make pies.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 600g minced beef
• 125ml water
• 1 teaspoon stock granules
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• sprig of thyme

Preparation method

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 4 hours

1.

Heat oil in frying pan. Brown the onion and the garlic for 5-10 minutes over low heat, then place in the slow cooker.

2.

Turn the heat up and brown the mince in the frying pan.

3.

Add the rest of the ingredients and transfer to the slow cooker.

4.

Cook on High for 2 hours then turn down to Low for 2 more hours or longer.

Alternatives:

Works with a can of diced tomatoes instead of beef stock and water. Also added diced potatoes, carrots and mushrooms.