spicy meat pulao

Papa had a whole load of super cheap reductions from the meat counter one evening shift at work, and so we put a load of steaks and similar in the freezer for future "pay it forward" use.

I defrosted a beautiful sirloin one day, and had intended to add it to a salad, but it turned out to be a cold and gloomy day and so I decided we needed something warmer and more comforting.

I trimmed the fat off and rendered as much as I could down in a very hot non-stick pan.  I cubed up the beef into quite small dice (1-1.5cm) and then seared them quickly in the hot fat.  

Next I added a teaspoon of ground cumin, one of onion salt and a heaped teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper. Then I added a bay leaf and once that was nice and fragrant, I put in 2 cups of washed basmati rice.

I sprinkled in some Marigold powder and stirred it around and finally added in 3 cups of boiling water.

I put the lid on and once it was boiling again, I turned the heat down to allow it to simmer and then set a timer for 13 mins.

Once the timer went off, I simply switched off the heat, and set another timer for another 5 mins.

Once THAT timer went off, I added a little grinding of salt and served it with butter.

It was delicious and an amazing way to make one steak go a LOT further.

Easy on the go breakfast cups

The quest for acceptable holiday breakfasts continues.  I've tried a few online recipes, and found many that are suitable, but the kids either get bored or find some issue with the results quite quickly.  I don't want to compromise, and I want a handful of solutions that I can put on rotation.  After a lot of trial and error, I came up with this iteration which is a mix of a couple of different recipes.

1 and a half cups of oats

2-3 tbsp of ground flax seed or similar (I used Aldi's ground linseed with raspberry and blueberry powder)

3 small brown bananas

3 tbsp smooth peanut butter (I used Whole Earth)

2tbsp coconut oil

half a cup of dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly oil 10-12 silicon muffin cases.

Mash the bananas as smoothly as you can in a small bowl.  Add the peanut butter and mix until well blended.  Now add the coconut oil.  If you've used a peanut butter that is even more natural and separated, you may not need as much or any coconut oil.

In a bigger bowl, mix the oats and the flax seed.  You could add some chia as well if you like.

Stir through the choc chips.

Add the banana peanut butter mix and combine well.  Divide between muffin cups and bake for 15 mins.

Remove when done, they should be browned and slightly crisp around the edges.  Allow to cool for a few mins and then turn carefully onto a cooling rack.  Store in an airtight container.

Serve with berries if liked.