Topic: Maggie May's Recipe A Day

[kavah]

^ good user name for lamb fajitas 

[Dim Glas]

Just discovered slow cookers.

What incredible things.

Chuck in raw ingredients, then hours later its cooked and ready.

So far just done chicken taco type meat, but I love the concept.

I’ve got a slow cooker and an instant pot, and both are fantastic for all sorts of ‘stick it in and leave it’ type deals 

My current favourite slow cooker recipe is beef barbacoa:

around 2, 3 or 4lbs of beef (something like stewing beef that needs a lot of cooking, or over here in the US - chuck roast!) cut into big chunks.
A bit of cooking oil if you want to brown it first.

Seasoning mix:
salt and black pepper
teaspoon of oregano
teaspoon of ground cumin
a pinch ground cloves
2 bay leaves
a few garlic cloves (minced)
2 chipotle peppers, cut up very fine or minced - not sure if that’s what they are called in the UK though.
A spoonful of adobo sauce - this is the sauce from the can of chipotle peppers, and it and the peppers are SPICY, so adjust to taste.
A small onion - diced
Half a cup water (or broth or beer)


You can brown the beef if you want, or just fling it in. Add the seasonings and the rest of the ingredients, pouring the water/beer/broth around the beef.

Cook on low for about 8 hours. When done, beef should shred easily. After shredding the beef, put it back in the liquid.

This stuff is great for making tacos or burritos, or just searve it with rice, and if you want to Mexican it up even more, get some refried beans and serve it with them too!

[Elzar]

Exactly. I always thought you had to brown the meat first. Then I watch youtube videos of people chucking in totally raw meat next to veggies and things. Its so totally simple and after about 4 hours or so, yes it does start to smell lovely.

Browning the meat does tend to add flavour and texture of things like beef. If using mince, it stops clumping too.

[Elzar]

I’ve got a slow cooker and an instant pot, and both are fantastic for all sorts of ‘stick it in and leave it’ type deals 

My current favourite slow cooker recipe is beef barbacoa:

around 2, 3 or 4lbs of beef (something like stewing beef that needs a lot of cooking, or over here in the US - chuck roast!) cut into big chunks.
A bit of cooking oil if you want to brown it first.

Cook on low for about 8 hours. When done, beef should shred easily. After shredding the beef, put it back in the liquid.

This stuff is great for making tacos or burritos, or just searve it with rice, and if you want to Mexican it up even more, get some refried beans and serve it with them too!

Gonna try this, as I want a good mexican night soon. Something I would add, to warm them up, dip the tortilla's in the juice and then heat them in a pan (so they aren't soggy still).

[TepidT2O]

Crispy fried tofu bau buns with pickled cucumber

1. Use a peeler to peel strips of cucumber into white wine vinegar with a pinch of salt and sugar.  Leave to cure for a few minutes.

2. Get firm tofu.  Press with towel to remove water.  Cut into 2cm cubes

3. Prepare batter.  6 spoons of corn flour, 3 of oil and 3 of soy. Mix until you get a thickish batter (still runny though).

4. Heat a pan with some vegetable oil to medium high heat.  Toss the tofu inthe batter until it is coated, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Transfer to pan, a minute or two on each side until it goes crispy.

5. Zap bau buns in microwave for a minute

6. Put chopped spring onion, coriander, and your pickled cucumber in the buns, add the crispy tofu. Drizzle with sweet chilli sauce.

7 a squeeze of lime juice.

Wallop. Done.

[Statto Red]

I have a slow cooker, but like a good stew, it's always better eating it the next day, & casseroles are good for cooking in the slow cooker rather than the oven too.

[Dim Glas]

Gonna try this, as I want a good mexican night soon. Something I would add, to warm them up, dip the tortilla's in the juice and then heat them in a pan (so they aren't soggy still).

good tip! I will do that next time I make the barbacoa.

[Sangria]

I’ve got a slow cooker and an instant pot, and both are fantastic for all sorts of ‘stick it in and leave it’ type deals 

Have you tried thermal cooking? I have a shuttle chef that I use for stews. I throw everything together in the pot and heat on the stove until it boils. I leave it to boil for a minute or so, then move the inner pot into the outer pot and forget about it for a few hours. Around 3-4 hours later, the stew is done. Not quite as good as the instant pot, but it takes less than 10 minutes of stovetop heating to cook something that lasts me for a few days.

[Dim Glas]

Have you tried thermal cooking? I have a shuttle chef that I use for stews. I throw everything together in the pot and heat on the stove until it boils. I leave it to boil for a minute or so, then move the inner pot into the outer pot and forget about it for a few hours. Around 3-4 hours later, the stew is done. Not quite as good as the instant pot, but it takes less than 10 minutes of stovetop heating to cook something that lasts me for a few days.

I have not! Wasn’t even aware of it, sounds interesting!  I’m going to check it out.

In a far more basic way, the way you can get dried beans ready for using without pre-soaking is similar. Bring them to a boil, turn off the heat,  and then just leave them sitting in the hot water for a couple hours. 

[Sangria]

I have not! Wasn’t even aware of it, sounds interesting!  I’m going to check it out.

In a far more basic way, the way you can get dried beans ready for using without pre-soaking is similar. Bring them to a boil, turn off the heat,  and then just leave them sitting in the hot water for a couple hours. 

I have quite a few cartons, so I just arrange them in terms of how much soaking they need (overnight, in the morning when I get up, or not needing a pre-soak at all). There's a curious pleasure to seeing ingredients for several days' meals, neatly stacked, with minimal work. When the time comes to cook, I drain and throw them into the above pot. I think chopping onions might be the most preparatory work I do, and it's a minute for 2 onions.

That said, I used fresh carrots and potatoes to make beef and veg stew. Marinated some diced beef for an hour, then tossed them in some flour and lightly fried them in the pot. Added some more oil and the rest of the flour as a thickener (not liquid enough to be called a roux). Added the rest of the ingredients, with the potatoes on top (as they need the least direct cooking). Filled the pot with water up to the level of the carrots, leaving the potatoes clear on top. Brought the water to a boil and kept it boiling for 2-3 minutes, then moved it into the outer pot. The stew was ready 3 hours later.

Beef & veg stew
Main ingredients: diced beef, carrots, potatoes, onions (all roughly chopped).
Beef marinade: cornflour, soy sauce, salt, sugar, sesame oil (very little).
Flavourings: garlic, beef stock cubes, oyster sauce, Worcester sauce, bay leaf, cracked black pepper (I also added dried mushrooms, fish sauce and mushroom ketchup as I have them, but they're not necessary).
Other ingredients: oil, flour.

[Statto Red]

Just brought a swan 4lt air fryer from home bargains for £44.99, really good value, enough to do a couple of meals in it, just done steak & chips with onion rings, still had plenty of capacity left to put more stuff in at the same time, chips & onion rings were very crispy too.

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Just brought a swan 4lt air fryer from home bargains for £44.99, really good value, enough to do a couple of meals in it, just done steak & chips with onion rings, still had plenty of capacity left to put more stuff in at the same time, chips & onion rings were very crispy too.

What time do you have your tea at?

[kavah]

Nice simple xmas cake for ya... 

150 gms of butter/marj .. (room temp)
150 gms sugar .. (any will do-dark brown best)
2 eggs
225 gms self raising flour
1 jar of mincemeat 400 gms

Extra bits if you want to.... 50 gms sultanas - glug of whiskey

Gone already 

Oven on at 160 c ... mix butter & sugar, then add 2 eggs... then mix in flour, jar mincemeat..... (sultanas and or whiskey if using)
put into any oven tin or dish and cook for 1hr 15 mins... ish (poke it with a scewer or summat to check its cooked inside-comes out clean)
let it cool for 20 mins... should keep for 10 days.. 

Back on this again 

Gone already 

[Claire.]

A spoonful of adobo sauce - this is the sauce from the can of chipotle peppers, and it and the peppers are SPICY, so adjust to taste.

Drives me mad that these are so useful but the supermarkets still don't stock these and you need to buy them online. They do a paste or dried chipotles, but it's nowhere near the same. Moan complete.