Cooking Fresh Food - breaking the jar/can/bottle habit...

[alioops]

Netix - Cornflour is good for thickening sauces, try that

I use heaps of mince too, I often make them into hamburgers and bolognese is a staple food here - we eat it at least twice a week

[Netix]

I'll try the cornflour... Thanks.

I don't think I have ever thought of using mince in stir fry.. I make a pretty good stir fry, but it just seems so different to 'chow mein'. Maybe its just me...

Something else I'm going to have to get out of using from a jar, is mayonnaise. Since the Man is now taking his sandwiches to work, we use it a lot more than we used to, so at least homemade stuff without all the preservatives of the bought stuff won't go off before I get the chance to use it. Pretty sure I have a recipe for that, or at least I have seen on BB too.

[KatieRabbit]

Kylie Kwong has a recipe for mince in a stirfry. It is called Mongolian beef and I made it a week ago. Very yummy and actually easy if you have the ingredients ready:

For the marinade –
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon ginger, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
? teaspoon sesame oil

600g good quality beef mince

1 head Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
2 teaspoons sea salt

50 mls vegetable oil
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
1 teaspoon malt vinegar
? teaspoon Sesame oil
1 small carrot, peeled and finely sliced
1 small red pepper, finely sliced
1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced

To serve -
Steamed rice
Sliced red chilies

METHOD:
Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
Add in the beef and leave to marinate in fridge for 30 minutes.

Put the cabbage and salt into another bowl and mix well to combine.
Leave to stand for 15 minutes then rinse under cold water and drain.
Squeeze out any excess liquid with your hands.

Meanwhile steam the rice.

Now when you are ready
Heat 2 tbs of the oil in a wok until the surface starts to shimmer slightly.
Add half of the marinated beef and stir fry for 30 seconds, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon.
Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and set to one side.
Add the remaining oil to the wok and cook the remaining beef for 30 seconds before returning the reserved beef to the pan.

Add in the rice wine, hoisin and oyster sauce, vinegar and sesame oil and
cook for a further 30 seconds.
Toss in the cabbage, carrot and pepper and stir-fry for a further minute.
Stir through the spring onions, reserving a few for garnish and remove from the heat.

[Sair]

I was doing so well making everything from scratch until about a month ago, I am just so exhausted that I don't have the energy to do it all any more. I said to Juz this week that carcinogens are back on the menu until this pregnancy is over. He was happy with that as now he can help make dinner on occasion without poisoning us Hmmm that didn't make much sense did it?

[Rouge]

I made Jamie Olivers Mince Wellington last week, it was a great success, if anyone is interested in the recipe let me know, it also uses mince.

LOL Sarah, don't fret hon sometimes you do need to take the easier root. What sort of things have you been cooking? There might be corners you can cut whilst still being able to eat from scratch. I cut lots of corners at times but still don't cook from jar or packet.

[Netix]

Sorry LMS, but your post was funny....

carcinogens are back on the menu until this pregnancy is over

It all made perfect sense to me, don't worry about that.


carcinogens....

I know that's not really funny, but ya gotta laugh at something!

Oh yeah, what's the mince wellington Cai?

[Sair]

Hmmm what did I make prior to getting to tired? My own pasta, bread, sauces, the whole lot really. I was doing really well when I got going. I am still making my own pasta (tomato) sauce but not the pasta, I have started buying some of my bread but still make my own french baguettes to make garlic bread. We bought heaps of pasta packets and 2 minute noodles and frozen chips, packaged soups etc just to make some quick convenience dinners. I will still make my own nuggets and schnitzels because that isn't too hard to whip up. I just wish I had made a bunch to freeze before I wore myself out. I stocked up on tomatoes in tins so I might make a big batch of pasta sauce and one of chilli, easy enough to pop in the slow cooker then package to freeze.

Glad you liked the carcinogens comment Netix. They taste oh so good but I have had a comeback of headaches and funnily enough Noah started throwing more tanties.

[Netix]

How long does home-made mayonnaise keep?

[Sair]

I would say as long as the egg is meant to last :s I know the mayo I buy only lasts a few months which is short term for a store bought item.

[Amie]

Am loving this thread. My DP and I were talking about this not too long ago, and both saying that we need to make more effort in the kitchen. Will contribute with more posts when I can

[M22]

yes please cai,

katie rabbit great recipe thanks!!

[Netix]

Thanks, , a jar of the store bought stuff only lasts me a couple of weeks (maybe three?) because we just use so much of it. Economics wise, store bought is probably cheaper though. Hopefully not, and I can work it out!

[Rouge]

I promise I'll post the wellington recipe soon! I thought I already did but I must have been dreaming LOL!

[Sair]

Eeeks, just googled the mayo thing and it said a week! That is a mega short time, just buy Miracle Whip, it is oh so yummy

ETA, it is up to a week but found this as well...

After making the mayonnaise, stir some whey into the it and let it sit out overnight. The whey ferments the mixture, which means it will keep much longer. I do this with all of my homemade mayo, so that I don’t have to worry about consuming it within a limited time frame.

[Netix]

Eeek, yes! So far I have just been buying Praise traditional (that's what the Man bought to start with) and refilling the squeezy bottle (after giving it a wash so that it doesn't turn feral!). I think its between about $3 or $4 a jar. Must get some tomorrow!

Thanks Cai, I thought maybe you had forgotten!

[christy]

[christy]

Soooo how is everyone going with this? Anyone start this year with breaking the jar habit?

[alioops]

We are doing OK with it. Some nights I really cant be bothered, but other nights I really enjoy it. While DH is away it is harder to spend the time in the kitchen, but we have been eating fairly well. The dog doesnt get packet crap so why should we?