Shepherds Pie

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs minced lamb
1 tablespoon flour
1 red onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato puree
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 stem of rosemary
1/2 cup frozen peas
olive oil
salt and pepper
5 potatoes, peeled
200 ml milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated


To make meat...
Preheat oven to 375F. Heat olive oil in a large pot, add the lamb and flour, season with salt and pepper, then break up meat into chunks with the back of a wooden spoon until the meat is nice and browned. Push meat to one side of the pot then add the mushroom and cook for about a minute until mushrooms are slightly browned, add the rest of the chopped vegetables and stir everything together to combine. Add Worcestershire sauce and season to taste, then add tomatoes and tomato puree and stir in stock. Add rosemary stem and bring mixture to a boil. Cover pot with lid then place in preheated oven to cook for 1 hour. 


To make mash...
Boil potatoes in a pot of salted water until cooked through. Drain the potatoes then mash with a potato masher. Mash in milk, butter, and parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.


Remove pot from the oven, and increase temperature to 400F. Stir peas into the pot then poor the meat mixture into a baking dish and top with scoops of mash potato. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until the top is nice and golden colored. 
Serves 4

My Mac&Cheese

Ingredients
2 cups macaroni pasta
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
2 cups grated cheddar 
1 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper
3 slices sour dough bread, torn into pieces
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 garlic clove, crushed


To make mac...
Preheat oven to 400F. Boil a large saucepan of salted water and cook mac for 10-12 minutes or until al dente. Drain mac and return to saucepan. Add milk, cream, cheddar, parmesan, salt and pepper and stir over low heat until well combined. Poor mac&cheese into baking dish or individual oven proof dishes. 


To make topping...
In a large bowl toss together torn bread pieces, melted butter, and crushed garlic clove. Top the mac&cheese with bread pieces then sprinkle over some extra parmesan. 
Bake mac&cheese in oven for 12 minutes or until tops are nice and golden brown. 
serves 4

Arborio Rice and Chicken

Ingredients
1/2 onion
1 carrot
2 celery stalks
2 garlic cloves
olive oil
1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken stock, hot
1 cup arborio rice
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon butter, cut in pieces
1/2 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper


To make rice...
In a food processor pulse together onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until it is finely chopped, like a paste. Heat olive oil in a heavy based pot over medium high heat and cook vegetables for about 5 minutes or until they start to slightly stick to the bottom of the pot, season with salt and pepper. Add chicken pieces and cook for about 5 minutes or until chicken is nicely browned all over. Increase heat then add wine, continuously stir, scraping all the browned bits of the bottom of the pot. Simmer over high until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add chicken stock, then all the rice and bay leaf, stir to combine and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover, cook for 15 minutes, or until rice is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove lid and stir through butter until fully amalgamated. Stir through parmesan cheese then serve! Serves 3

Beer Braised Beef Stew

Ingredients
1/2 onion, chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
olive oil
2 lbs stewing beef, cubed
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups of small potatoes
1 bay leaf
small bunch of thyme
1 can of Guinness
1 tin of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper


To make stew...
Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly coat all the pieces of beef with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium high in a large pot add beef pieces in one layer and brown all sides. Once beef is nicely browned move pieces to one side of the pot then add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes until onion is softened. Stir beef and vegetables together and season with salt and pepper. Poor in Guinness, tomatoes, and chicken stock and stir to combine. Add potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme, season, then bring to a boil. Cover pot and place in oven, turn oven temperature down to 325F and cook for 2 hours 45 minutes. Remove from oven and place on stove top. Uncover and simmer on low until sauce reduces and stew thickens about 1 hour. Serve stew over white rice and ENJOY!