I was flicking through my slow-cooker recipe books for some inspiration last week when I came across this. Its a bit like a rich beef Asian stew...it is apparently eaten in the Philippines but also popular in Spain. It was a nice change, and one I'd make again.
Ingredients
750g braising steak, cubed
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp plain flour
450ml beef stock (I used vegetable stock as I'd run out)
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 bay leaves
Juice of half a lime
Method
Brown the beef in a frying pan, remove & set aside.
Add the onion to the pan and fry for around 5 mins (you don't want it to brown). Add the garlic and cook for 2 mins more. Stir in the flour then gradually add the stock. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and bay leaves and bring to the boil.
Transfer the beef to the slow cooker and pour over the onion & stock mixture. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours.
Before serving, stir in the juice from half a lime.
I served the beef with rice, and a garnish of spring onion, sliced carrot and coriander leaves.
We have recently moved baby girl from sleeping in with me to being in her own room so I gave her room a little change-around and a mini-makeover to help her get excited about the prospect.
I started looking around at bedside tables for her but they all seemed so expensive for what they were. My tightness kicked in, and I held off buying. Then I remembered we had this old thing sitting in the garage - we used to have our stereo on it in our London house but we don't really have a use for it now.
Its pretty cheap and nasty looking in my opinion - with that shiny laminate look - plus it had black ring marks made from the feet of the turntable that just wouldn't come off no matter how much I scrubbed, which you can see here.
So I thought I would smarten it up a little, and if it turned out well enough, baby girl could have it for her bedside table.
First I removed the wheels from the bottom, as I didn't want her pushing it round the bedroom and it only added to the cheap look of it. Then I filled the holes - there were various peg holes so you could adjust the shelf height but I chose a mid-height set to keep and filled in the rest with wood filler.
When the filler was dry, I spray painted the whole thing - I didn't take it all apart (as I couldn't be bothered...) but just took the middle shelf out. As I have been banned by DH of adding anything else pink to DD's room, I chose a teal-type colour. The spray painting definitely worked better when applying to a flat surface - i.e. I turned the cube around so I was spraying onto the "top" at all times, and it saved drippage.
I also bought a piece of hardboard the size of the whole unit when upright (the nice man in B&Q cut it to size for me) and I covered it with this lovely colourful Ikea fabric I had, held in place with material glue. When everything was dry, I nailed the hardboard to the back using taking pins. Although you don't see it much, especially if she fills the shelves, it is a nice cheerful back drop to catch a glimpse of.
Now, I'm the first to admit I'm not the best at DIY...I have some good ideas but I lose patience when carrying them out. So I'm happy to report that this was super easy - everything I needed was purchased from B&Q, and it took me just a few afternoons to fix up. I'm pleased with the result, and best of all, DD got a new bedside table for just the cost of some spray paint and a piece of hardboard!
Remember the restaurant meal I boasted about last week?! It was *so* worth the wait. Pan fried scallops followed by Chateaubriand steak with thick-cut chips and salad, all washed down with wine and Bellini cocktails. And yes, I did have to look up how to spell that. The steak...not the cocktails :) Kudos to my child-free sister for surviving 24 hours with my two monsters - not quite sure she's recovered yet!
Anyway, back to the reality of school runs and family suppers now. The Easter holidays are looming so I will be using my slow cooker a lot more than usual so that at least I don't have to worry about dinner *and* trying to entertain the kids!
Monday - Everything Fried Rice and after a quick root around in the freezer, I'll be adding bacon in too.
Tuesday - Slow-Cooked Chilli ...this is a firm favourite in our house!
Wednesday - Kids will have left-over fish pie and I will rustle up something easy for DH as I'm out meeting a friend for a pub dinner :)
Thursday - Quick Beef Stroganoff...a new recipe that I'm trying from a new Quick & Easy Family Meals recipe book. Hope it lives up to its name...
Friday - Kashmiri Chicken cooked in the SC...looking forward to that one! Not too spicy so hoping the kids like it too.
This post is part of Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday so don't forget to check out all the other recipes right here.
A thoroughly lovely week by all accounts!
Day 69 - Sunday 10 March
It was Mothers Day here in the UK and my two lovelies surprised me with some beautiful cards and breakfast in bed (with a little help from Daddy!).
Day 70 - Monday 11 March
I managed to get this stack of books at the charity shop for £1.20...saving them for our holiday and the dreaded plane flight!
Day 71 - Tuesday 12 March
Remember in Week 9 I showed you the bag(s) that DD likes to fill up, and how it drives me crazy?! Well, here's some more...she's progressed to three at a time now :/
Day 72 - Wednesday 13 March
DD and I made jam tarts while DS was at school. She barely needed my help, and was very proud of the result.
Day 73 - Thursday 14 March
I whipped up a batch of homemade pesto to use with pasta - find the recipe here.
Day 74 - Friday 15 March
DD helped me make dinner by peeling shallots for the sauce - I love the look of concentration on her face :)
Day 75 - Saturday 16 March
Some rare time out for me, I took a sewing class at a local college and learnt how to install zips and make buttonholes...look out kids, I'm gonna be making you some clothes :)
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Without further ado, here are the Mama/Papatography2013 participants!
I'm coming to the realisation that quite a lot of my life revolves around food... Here's whats on the menu at Three Counties Mum HQ this week.
Monday - Chicken Curry...we had a roast chicken yesterday so I'm using up the leftovers! I make it tame so the kids can eat it too, with coconut milk & mild curry powder.
Tuesday - Pasta with homemade pesto and garlic bread
Wednesday - Slow-cooked Goulash
Thursday - Fish pie
Friday - Leftover fish pie for the kiddos because mum & dad are spending their first night away from home - woo hoo! We get to eat dinner in a *real* restaurant without being interuppted - imagine! :)
This post is part of Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday - go check out all the other delicious link-ups!
