Easy peasy recipes - please share yours.

[ecomama]

Hello BBers

Please share an easy recipe you love. If you have a story of where your recipe(s) came from, chat away. Feel free to write your recipe in any format you like! I can't wait to try Mara's specialty Rocky Road..... like yesterday.

Here's mine. A perfect 'day off' meal and absolutely wonderful for Winter. You can prep in the morning and put it together at lunchtime for dinner. I made up the recipe after a few dismal failures lol. I have ideas for any leftover cooked stock mixture later...

Beef brisket - the BB easy peasy way.
You'll need:
1 beef brisket that fits into your baking tray with some room.
1L beef stock. 2L if the brisket is BIG.
Worcestershire sauce.
2 onions sliced anyway you like.
Mushrooms sliced thickly - as many as you like.
Oil - any type.
Salt.
Pepper.
A baking tray... the best tasting one I've made was cooked in a cast iron, enameled baking tray but any will do.
Aluminium foil to cover the baking tray.
A frying pan / skillet.
Utensils for pan and tray.
Oven gloves.
Oven & stove top.

To cook:
Pour cold stock & 2 tblsp W sauce into baking tray.
Saute onions in oil in pan & add to baking tray.
Brown mushies as above & add to baking tray.
Sprinkle salt / pepper over brisket.
Brown both sides of brisket in pan then add to baking tray.
Cover whole tray with foil & scrunch under edges.
Spoon stock mixture over brisket to coat.
NB: The stock mixture needs to come up to around half way on side of brisket. Add more stock if needed.
Slow cook in warm oven c110C for about 2h.
Check.
Turn brisket.
Repeat.
Taste to see if more W sauce is needed.
Rest meat for 15 mins.
Slice and serve.

Note: IF you want a pulled beef effect then you can cook longer until beef is falling apart. Add to sliders, Turkish bread.

If this isn't easy for you, sorry! I have a great Boscaiola coming up later that is super easy, promise.

EM

[Matchy69]

Hi Grandy I come from a home where my mother was a professional cook at one stage of her life with the American consulate back in the 60s and use to cook for dinner parties and had to do a wake for JFK.She had me and my brother cooking as soon as she could and having her tell her stories how the Americans liked what we were cooking and how she cooked a lot of it.Mum also worked a convent but never heard any stories about that.

[Guest_1643]

Hey Mark if you have a nice cafe you enjoy check out if they make a good chai

Best with soy and added honey 🙂 i hope u love it.

[Matchy69]

Sleepy when I go for a motorbike rides I usually call in at a cafe.I might try one then.I like the idea as I use honey a lot.I even put it on my cereal and in my spaghetti Bolognese

[ecomama]

WOW guys!

What an awesome array of recipes you've posted!

AWE-SOME!! and moresome lol.

Mark thankyou for your beautiful recipes straight from the heart and soul of your family!
WE ARE HONOURED that you're sharing these precious scripts with US!!

I absolutely LOVE them.

Sleepy gorgeous girl, beautiful recipe for Chai! Yummo!
Please Mark YOU MUST TRY A CHAI! Grandy is on the trail of trying new things so heck yeah GO FOR IT!

I agree Sleepy, it's pretty special when you make it at home. The fragrant smells wafting through the home is something to behold. You're doing GREAT!

When visiting my friend's farm about 10y ago she would make me make Chai from scratch with her, grating ingredients straight into the pot on the stove and seeping it for ages.
Adding LOTS soy milk and honey because 1 cup each was NEVER enough lol!!

You can actually FEEL the ingredients doing you good hey guys?

The Cafe a short walk from my home sells a superb Chai mix, it's not cheap lol! But so worth it to make it at home without all the fuss. (About half the price from a take away Chai though).
I actually bought a little gravy pot this year to heat my Chai up on the stove.

GRANDY! You joined us yay! YOU ARE SO WELCOME!

Look at you girlfriend! Trying ALL those different foods! What a JOY!

Aha I absolutely "get it" not being "allowed" to cook stuff besides the autocrat's demands. I wasn't allowed to give my children cold water, I was accused of trying to harm them. AND THE REST. What a nutbag lol.

Speaking of nutbags lol Nutella yay! My kids like it in all ways. I made home made chocolates for Easter once with Nutella inside them. Pretty yummy!

My fiancee grew up right near the border of Mexico in Rancho Santa Fe, California, so now I know you're happy to try Tacos etc, WATCH OUT! hahaha.... he actually taught me how to DEEP FRY TACOS. They're FANCY lol.
This is the authentic way of cooking them.
REALLY MESSY but omg so fun!

Back a few pages is my Beef Brisket recipe and you can use leftover brisket for the meat inside Tacos and Enchiladas. I just pop the leftover meat in a Crock Pot with beef stock and onion then drain it for those dishes.

In Tacorias there, they serve LOTS of delectable vege mixes on the side. I wonder if he knows some of those recipes... hmm... I must ask him.
Enchiladas his mom's way is one of my kid's favourites now.

Thanks for joining us and I LOVE your recipe!

Hugs to everyone but not near the stove lol.
EMxxxx

[blondguy]

Hey Hey EM
I am newbie here yet this is a crackerjack thread 😀

Hey Mark...thankyou heaps for the relish and jam recipes for my green tomatoes. You are a gem 🎉

Paul

[ecomama]

Hey hey blondguy Paul!

You're so welcome and Mark's recipes are pretty special!!

Everyone has put up some pretty cool recipes, thankyou Mark and everyone.

I hope you get some joy from your tomato plants after all.

Happy cooking 😁

EMxxxx

[Ggrand]

Hello ecomamma..

I have heard of enchiladas before, but never seen them,,I just googled them and they look yummy..are they the same as the flat bread or wraps?...I think I would enjoy a mixed bean wrap with chilli tomato sauce....I’m a big fan of chilli..I am trying to grow my own..so far so good...

I might try the green tomato relish..All the ingredients sounds familiar to me..um is green tomatoes just unripened tomatoes?...,

Sorry if my questions are silly..I really really haven’t tried much at all through my life...and I think I would like to try different things...

Thank you so much for your kindness..

Grandy..

[ecomama]

Dearest Grandy you are more than welcome here!

and there's no such a thing as a silly question on our threads, so ask away!!!

Mark can give his answer to your question... I'll ask my fiancee because recipes like "Friend Green Tomatoes" etc originated over there and his answers are esp specific lol! (Meaning he doesn't like it TOO much when I just slap meals together by intuition, he prefers a RECIPE in all it's details. He'll have his own opinion about Green Tomatoes for sure lol).

And on that note I just use any fresh wraps for Enchiladas. You can buy a pack of small ones too now, use half for Enchiladas and the rest for lunches if you like. I've found they don't freeze well!

BUT my fiancee ONLY uses corn based wraps, he calls them something else, IDK atm.

I've loved the routine of slow cooking a Brisket, eating what we like and then putting it in the crock pot as above and pulling it apart for Enchiladas. This is a variation of "Pulled Beef".

OH YEAH Bean Enchiladas are very nice too!
You can get a can of "Refried Beans" in the Mexican section of the supermarket, then add whatever you like to that in a frying pan and fill the wraps, roll them up, cover in cheese and bake.
Again fiancee would prefer some liquid in the bottom of the baking dish - we differ in our tastes here. I just add vegemite (lol) to some beef stock and use that.
He has a whole other recipe for that liquid.

You could bake them dry or try the liquid, whatever you like!

I add the following to the refried beans when cooking for vegetarians... cooked beans of any type, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, shallots for some green (I even grate a carrot and put some thinly sliced celery in it but that's just me lol).

Love EM

[Matchy69]

Hi Grandy yes green tomatoes are just unripe tomatoes.An idea of picking them green before the pest sting them and lay their lava in them when they just start changing colour.A couple of recipes to use them when green so you don't waste them.

[ecomama]

Thanks for the info, and recipes, Mark!

Here's one of my favourite dishes that I was busting to make these holidays.
It's simple and very tasty. It goes nicely with steak, sausages or as a salad dressing to give it a zing!
It also stores for ages in a jar in the fridge.

I just intuit the recipe as I go but took notice today so I could write it here for you.
Adjust as you wish!

Balsamic Onions
Ingredients
1kg RED onions cut into slices across the grain
1/2 - 1 cup Olive oil
1 bottle of Balsamic vinegar - you may or may not need the whole bottle but best to have this much.
Salt & pepper to taste.

Method
Put Olive oil in a heavy based pot on the stove and turn to 3/4 heat for your stove.
When oil is hot add ALL sliced onions, stirring quickly to coat them all.

Maintaining heat, add 1 cup of vinegar and keep stirring onion mix especially off the bottom of the pot and all sides (I use a silicone scraper to scrape down the sides).

The mixture will become thicker and the onions will reduce in bulk.
What you're aiming for is to see the onions go really floppy & stringy like well cooked spaghetti pasta.

Add more vinegar to the mix and keep reducing.
Stop adding vinegar when you see a good balance happening.

I cook the mix until the liquid becomes very thick like Golden Syrup.
But you can stop cooking at any time!

This whole process took about 1 hour.

Enjoy!
EMxxxx