Menu Plan Monday #2 + Slow cooker beef casserole

THE garden is still rewarding us with vegies. This week it produced some rather tiny looking beetroot. Let’s call them baby beets. After Ella’s quite humorous response to eating beetroot, we roasted and then added them to homemade veggie pizza and suddenly they’re her favourite food.

We were also fortunate this week to have Mum bring a large bag of spuds, two shopping bags full of green beans and a large bag of onions. The beauty of being connected to farmers.

To top that off, my uncle gave us two large swedes, grown in Circular Head, which boasts the world’s purest air. So excuse us if there’s an overload of vegies on the menu this week.

Monday: Slow cooker beef casserole (recipe below) with mashed potato

Tuesday:  Atlantic salmon with vegetables

Wednesday: Veggie soup with crusty bread + Chocolate Brownies (for dessert)

Thursday: Leftovers (Julian not home)

Friday: Tacos

Saturday: Chicken and mushroom risotto

Sunday: Pork medallions with zucchini slice

I’m linking up with OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday and Ask Ms Recipe‘s Marvellous Menus. You find some more menu inspiration there.

Here’s the recipe for Slow cooker beef casserole, which Julian cooked last night and will be leftovers tonight. How much do we love our slow cooker!

• 

  onions, courtesy of Mum

  1 large onion

• 1kg blade or rump steak with fat trimmed
• 2 large carrots
• ½ swede
• ½ zucchini
• 2 cups beans
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 Tb tomato sauce
• 2 Tb soy sauce
• 2 tsp Wistershire sauce
• 3 tsp of mango chutney
• ½ cup beef stock or red wine
• Mushrooms (optional)
• Italian herbs
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp cornflour (optional)

Cut steak into strips or chunks and add to slow cooker. Pre cooking the meat is unnecessary and saves on cleaning.

Dice all vegetables and add to slow cooker. Add herbs, sauces and garlic and mix. Put lid on. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Make a paste with cornflour and water and add to casserole to thicken, if necessary. Alternatively, you can take the liquid out, put into a separate pot and reduce by boiling.

Add salt and pepper to season. Serve with mashed potato.

What’s your favourite kitchen utensil? Does your slow cooker get a good work out?