Down with capsicum!

Dinner last night was sausages (beef with cracked pepper), corn on the cob and some roasted veg (potato and sweet potato cooked with rosemary and lemon – yum).

Sausages and roasted veg

For something different, I had roasted some capsicum on the barbeque before cooking the corn.  A lot of effort not very appreciated, I am afraid.  Skye wasn’t interested (spat it out!) and Grace wouldn’t even consider trying it….. So I have found something that they don’t really like – I wondered when that would happen!

Corn is way better than capsicum!

Don’t even think of giving me capsicum!!

The rest of dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by the Hungry Twins.  At least, I assume so, given the speed with which it was eaten.  Needless to say, sausages are always a hit!

 

 

Chunky shepherd’s pie

My version of shepherd’s pie uses chunky pieces of lamb and is topped with diced potato and sweet potato to make it easier for the Hungry Twins to eat.  If you are lucky, you might get some leftovers (it tastes even better the next day).

Chunky shepherd’s pie

• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 2 ¼ hours for lamb, 20 minutes to brown the top
• Makes: 4 serves

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 500gm diced lamb
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup red wine (optional)
• 400ml chicken stock
• 400gm tin crushed tomatoes
• 1 large potato, diced to 1.5cm pieces
• 1 small sweet potato, diced to 1.5cm pieces
• 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan

Method

• Preheat oven to 170^oC.
• Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, onion, 2 cloves chopped garlic and carrot to a heavy based casserole dish and cook on medium heat until onions start to colour and carrot starts to soften (about 10 minutes).
• Add the diced lamb and brown (about 5 minutes).
• Add the Worcestershire sauce, wine (if using), stock and tinned tomatoes.  Stir well and bring to a simmer.
• Place lid on casserole dish and put in the oven to cook until lamb is tender (around 2 hours).  Stir lamb halfway through and add a little more stock if required.
• While lamb is cooking, blanche the potato and sweet potato for 5 minutes in a pot of boiling water.  Drain and transfer to a bowl.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 cloves of crushed garlic and mix well to coat.

Luscious lamb ready for chunky topping

And now for the parmesan….

• Once lamb is ready, transfer to an oven-proof dish and spread the garlic-mixed potatoes evenly over the top. Sprinkle with parmesan.  Place in oven until lamb is bubbling and top is browned (around 20 minutes). Serve with a green salad or vegetables.

Steak with red wine and mushroom sauce

Too many leftovers so time for something new!  Scotch fillet (marinated in a little olive oil and light soy) together with a red wine and mushroom sauce hit the spot.  A few roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes as well as a bit of grilled asparagus rounded out the dish….

Steak was clearly a favourite – the Hungry Twins are quite carnivorous.  The asparagus (marinated in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked on the BBQ) was unappreciated, sadly.  The dogs did well out of that one!  Potato and sweet potato are always popular and not too many went on the floor (floor count = 10 at this stage).  The mushrooms were a big hit with Skye, but Grace wasn’t such a fan.  Even all of this was still not quite enough for the Hungry Twins – emergency breakout of cherry tomatoes!

Good thing there were tomatoes….

More tomatoes, please!

Still, the steak obviously filled them up pretty well (the Hungry Twins managed to eat a whole scotch fillet between them), so only a handful of grapes was required to complete the meal.  Not bad really – and we all managed to sit down for a family dinner.  Amazing what the Hungry Twins will eat….  Not sure that we can afford scotch fillet all the time, given their enormous appetites!

 

 

Lamb chops (less mess is best)

After the success and mess of meat pies for lunch, I thought perhaps to make something a little tidier for tea.  Lamb cutlets and roasted veg, corn on the cob cooked on the BBQ and peas (for the Hungry Twins, my husband eschews peas).  All easy to manage food in pieces and NO MESS.  Well, not the kind that requires a bath, anyway.

Not that I mind mess.  Most people who know me know that I’m not the tidiest person. Living on a small farm with dogs (three), a cat, chickens (two), geese (two) and some sheep and a couple of horses means that our place is usually full of dirt, dog and cat hair, prickles and various treasures that the dogs bring into the house.

The addition of the Hungry Twins to our home means that we now also have lots of toys lying about and of course, the detritus left over from meals.  Most of the large bits tossed on the floor by the twins get eaten by the dogs.  If they have “finished” with something, they find it quite entertaining to drop the food over the side of their high chair, then lean over to see if there is a dog to eat it.  It certainly saves on dog food – especially for our golden retriever, Monty.

The poor dogs miss out when the food is deemed delicious by the Hungry Twins.  Such was Saturday night’s dinner.  The lamb cutlets (simply marinated in light soy and olive oil and then cooked on the BBQ with the corn) were devoured, the roast veg (particularly the sweet potato) was gobbled down and the corn. Well, the corn!  Always a favourite with the Hungry Twins, this time we had to give them corn from our plate as well!  Not much left for the hungry dogs…..

Shh! I’m eating corn….

And look how tidy I am!