Steak in Red Wine Sauce

2 steaks
2 c good quality red wine
garlic powder
fresh ground pepper
olive oil
4-8 tbspn butter, chopped into small pieces

Using a baking dish that is big enough to hold your steak, fill with red wine. Whisk in garlic powder and pepper. Marinade steak for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Add oil to a non-stick pan, and sear steak on each side for 2 minutes on each side (do not overcook - steak should be medium rare). Remove steak from pan and place on plate. Add marinade to steak drippings and boil until reduced to 1/2. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the butter, a bit at a time, until melted. The colour of the sauce should lighten and sauce should thicken up. Serve steak and pour sauce over. Excellent with greens and mash.

Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

This was so good I'm never getting Chinese take away again;) I didn't use specific measurements.

Peanut Oil
Sesame Oil
Garlic Powder
Oyster Sauce
Fish Sauce
Water
Beef strips
Broccoli

Heat peanut oil in wok on high, then add beef and stir-fry until browned. Remove beef and set aside. Add sesame oil to wok, then add broccoli and garlic powder and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, then add water and oyster sauce and bring to boil. Simmer until sauce thickens, then add in cooked beef and fish sauce. Mix well and serve over rice.

Beef Goulash

I think sour cream just makes everything that much better, and so long as you aren't ingesting it on a regular basis, all is good.

Canola oil
1/2 kg diced beef
3 large onions, chopped
1 tsp salt
1.5 tbspn paprika
1 c beef stock
1 tbspn tomato paste
1 tbspn flour (optional, to thicken)
1/2 c sour cream

Heat oil and brown beef (*option to flour, salt & pepper beef beforehand so as to retain more flabour). Remove beef and add more oil, then add onions and saute until soft and golden. Return meat to pot and add salt, paprika, stock and tomato paste. Bring to simmer and let cook for about an hour or until the meat is tender, then add in sour cream before serving. Serve over mash or noodles.

Lamb & Barley Stew

Found another great recipe on Closet Cooking, and am going to change it up slightly to include some parsnips and squash. I'll also use the frozen diced lamb I have and see how it goes, instead of beef. A perfect start to the winter stew season, as we are soon to head into it here in Oz.

Ingredients:
1/2 kg diced lamb
salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (chopped)
carrots, diced
celery, cut up
parsnips, cut up
1/3 cup barley
1 cup red wine
beef stock
1 bay leaf

Season the meat by tossing in bag with flour, salt & ground pepper. Heat oil in a large pot. Add lamb and brown, then set aside. Heat more oil in the same pot, and add the onions, sauteing until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies saute for a few minutes. Add the barley and saute for a minute, then add the red wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Put the lamb back in the pot and pour in the beef stock until everything is covered. Add the bay leaves, and some additional salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour, or until meat and veg are tender.

Polpettone

Polpettone is described as 'the giant meatball' as well as an Italian meatloaf. It is basically a meatloaf with meatball seasoning added, sometimes cooked in the sauce before being baked, and filled with salami, cheese and hard-boiled eggs. I saw a few recipes, but made up my own, based upon my meatloaf recipe and meatball seasonings.

1 kg beef mince
4 slices salami
3 hard boiled eggs
shredded cheese (I used colby as that is what I had, although I'd prefer mozzarella)
basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, to taste (I used dried but will be using fresh in the future when I start my herb garden, and may add rosemary as well, but didn't have any)
packet french onion soup mix
bbq sauce

Mix beef mince with seasonings (including onion soup mix), in a large bowl. (You can add breadcrumbs and an egg if you have less meat, or simply prefer it this way. Some ground pepper probably wouldn't go amiss either, but you definitely don't need salt.) Spread meat flat on counter or wax paper and place slices of salami, overlapping, in the middle. Top salami with some shredded cheese. Cut eggs in half lengthwise and place on top of cheese, then roll up the meatloaf. Cover meatloaf in a decent layer of bbq sauce, then bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, on 180C.

Old-Time Beef Stew

This is one of my favs that my mom makes, and it is pretty much straight out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, which come to think of it, I have to, so I didn't need to get her to email it to me...oops;)

2 pounds diced beef
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion, sliced
1 or 2 bay leaves
Ground sea salt & pepper
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp paprika
Dash ground allspice or cloves
6 carrots, chopped
4 potatoes, chopped
1 pound small white onions (optional)

Flour, salt & pepper diced beef. Saute onion il oil. Thoroughly brown meat in 2 tablespoons hot shortening or oil. Add 2 cups hot water and rest of ingredients, minus veg. Cover, simmer 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Remove bay leaves and garlic. Add vegetables. Cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Serves 6 to 8.

Personal Note: Mom likes to mix up some biscuits and drop on top of stew for the last 10 mins or so to serve along with the stew.

Japanese Curry

Yet another recipe hoisted from Closet Cooking, but oh so good...too good, in fact, not to share. It's like a stew/curry that is slightly spicey as well as slightly sweet.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 pound (1/2 kg) diced beef
2 onions (chopped)
1 sweet potato (grated, in food processor preferably)
water
carrots (cut up)
2 potatoes (cut up)
1 sweet apple (grated)
1 tablespoon honey
1 box Japanese curry roux

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large pot.
2. Brown beef on all sides.
3. Set beef aside.
4. Add onions and saute until soft.
5. Add the beef and cover in water.
6. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the beef is fall apart tender, about 1 hour.
7. Add carrots, potatoes, apple, honey and curry roux.
8. Cover in water.
9. Stir until the curry roux is fully dissolved.
10. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Serve over rice

Italian Sausage & Pepper Sandwiches

This is a basic recipe and I normally don't like it very much but I've found that I much prefer the style of Italian sausages at the Aussie butcher than back home..less fat and just a better consistency. You'll need:

Italian Sausages
Red Pepper/Capsicum, sliced up
Onions, sliced up
Seasoning (for Aussies, bolognese seasoning will do, for Yanks I'd suggest oregano, rosemary, thyme)
Buns
Mustard (yes, as blasphemous as using ketchup on hot dogs, but it adds something)

Saute pepper and onions until very soft. Add in seasonings at end. In the meantime, place sausages under the broiler until nice and crispy. Toast buns and made yr sandwich;)

Duncan's Special Sausages

Well, Clare will have to correct me if I get this one wrong, but it came to mind when having a look back at another good bbq-type recipe, Windsong's ribs.

Very easy...slice some 'snags' (preferably beef) down the middle, stuff with fig or dates, and wrap in bacon...then bbq! Gorgeous...

Corned Silverside

For those of you in the US, this is corned beef. I've never made it before so thought it would be worth giving a go. Hint: next time I'd put more of the seasonings in.

1 corned silverside (mine was 1.5 kg and I cut it in half to fit in the pot and simmered it for an hour and a half)
1 large onion, sliced
6 whole cloves
1 tbsp raw sugar
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp peppercorns

Rinse meat. Cover with cold water, bring to boil, then pour out water and add fresh water to cover again. Add all other ingredients to pot and bring to boil, then simmer 1 hour per kilo or until tender. Serve with boiled potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Wholegrain mustard is also nice on the side.

Nachos (or Taco Pie)

I was going to make this into a taco pie, but ended up being lazy about making the pastry (see a theme going?), so just turned it into nachos.

500g mince or ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cans spicy chili beans
2 cans diced tomatoes w/chillis
1 small can tomato paste
cumin
red or cayenne pepper to taste
jalapenos
chillis
nacho chips
cheese
sour cream
avocado

Brown the onion and mince. Mix in the beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, spices, and chillis and cook for 30 minutes or so. Spoon onto nachos then top with cheese, avocados, jalapenos and sour cream.

Kielbasa or Bratwurst in Beer & Onions

This is one of my absolute favourites and another I often make substitutions on, varying the types of sausages and beers.

4 tablespoons butter
3-4 small onions
1-2 lbs. kielbasa, bratwurst or other sausage
1 12 oz. bottle dark beer
Dijon mustard

In heavy saucepan, melt butter & sauté onions until translucent over medium heat. Add sausage to pan & brown 3-4 minutes on each side. Pour beer over sausage & onion; bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 25 minutes. Remove kielbasa & onions from pan, place on dish and put in warm oven (approx. 150). Reduce beer over high heat to about ½ cup (about 4 mins). Pour over sausage and serve.

*Suggestion for sides: homemade potato pancakes and spinach
*Serve with dijon or other spicy mustard
*Feel free to experiment with different beers, sausages, and even try adding fruit such as apples with the onions.

Saucy Burgers (aka sloppy joes)

Honestly, I've made this so many times this year I'm a bit sick of it, but it is a classic and it tends to go over well (and it's super easy!)

2 tbs. oil
½ c. finely chopped onion
1 lb. ground beef/mince (ground sirloin is best)
1 c. chili sauce (ex. Bennets or Uncle Ben's)
1 c. ketchup
¾ c. chopped celery
¾ c. chopped green pepper
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Heat oil in skillet. Add onion and cook over medium hat until transparent, stirring occasionally. Add ground beef and cook until lightly browned. Remove from heat; add and blend in chili sauce, ketchup, celery, green pepper and seasonings. Simmer, uncovered, about 25 minutes. Stir frequently. Serve over buttered, toasted hamburger buns.

*Optional: add some cooked, diced potatoes and/or corn and kidney beans