- 2 1/2 pounds (1kg) beef brisket, trimmed and cut into large cubes (about 2 -3 inches square)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS tomato paste (tomato puree)
- 1 1/4 cup (300ml) red wine
- 1 1/2 cup (360ml) beef stock
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TBS good balsamic vinegar
Red Wine Braised Brisket
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds (1kg) beef brisket, trimmed and cut into large cubes (about 2 -3 inches square)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS tomato paste (tomato puree)
- 1 1/4 cup (300ml) red wine
- 1 1/2 cup (360ml) beef stock
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TBS good balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- You will need an oven-proof Dutch oven. Preheat your oven to 325*F/165*C/gas mark 3.
- Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Season the pieces of brisket all over with salt and black pepper. Sear on both sides in the Dutch oven. Remove to a plate.
- Add the vegetables to the pan. Sauté over medium low, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften. Add the minced garlic and the tomato paste. Cook for several minutes longer.
- Pour in the red wine. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the beef stock, herbs, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce, combining everything well together.
- Return the pieces of beef to the pan, along with their juices, nestling them down into the liquid. Cover tightly.
- Oven braise, covered for 2 hours. Uncover and braise for an additional half hour until the meat is tender and the juices have reduced.
- Skim any fat from the pan and discard.
- Serve the meat with that delicious sauce spooned over top.
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.jpg "Meals of the Week, January 26th - February 1st, 2025")
Hello everyone and welcome to my Sunday Meals of the Week Post. This is the day that I share all of the deliciousness that was my main meals over the past seven days with you. That's seven days of tasty main meals along with recipes and menu suggestions.
This is one of my favorite posts to write each week, and by all counts, it is also one of your favorite posts to read.
As a single person on a senior's budget cooking delicious and nutritious means presents a particular challenge. I don't like to waste food, but neither do I want to end up eating the same thing for days and days on end. I also don't ever want to resort to eating takeaways, frozen dinners or ultra processed foods. They are usually loaded with fat, salt and sugar. Not to mention preservatives.
I also happen to enjoy cooking and so each week I try to cook myself a variety of nutritious meals that fall within my budget so that they are also fairly economical. I have always been a happy meal planner.
This is only my main meals. I do have a healthy breakfast, usually a protein shake I make myself or sometimes oatmeal or granola (homemade.) I will have my main meal in the early afternoon most of the time and then at supper time I will have something light like a salad, or sandwich, fruit, toast, etc. Sometimes I do enjoy a cheeky bowl of cereal, especially when I am feeling rather lazy or nostalgic. Cereal in the evening was a real treat for us when we were growing up.
This week was particularly challenging as we have had a week of nasty weather and lots of snow, so I haven't been able to get out to the shops, not at all. Usually, I will have Sunday dinner at my sister's and a meal out with dad. I did not get to my sister's this week, but we did have a meal out together on Thursday with dad.
And so without waffling on any further, here were my meals of the week for the past seven days. I hope there is something here that will inspire you to want to cook for yourself!
SUNDAY, January 26th - Crock Pot Ham, Beans & Potatoes
Usually on Sundays I will go to my sister's for supper, however the weather was very bad this week and so I stayed home. I had a chunk of ham frozen in the freezer and so I took it out and threw it into the crock pot with some potatoes and green beans to make myself this delicious, really comforting crock pot supper. It wasn't the largest piece of ham, but it was enough for me to enjoy on the day and then have some leftover ham for a couple of days later.
This tasty dinner is such a simple thing and yet so incredibly delicious. I highly recommend! I wish we had ham hocks here where I live, but alas we do not so I just used what I had to hand.
MONDAY, January 27th -Mary Berry's Fast Quiche
This was something which I had been keen to try for a while. I love all of Mary Berry's recipes and it promised to be very simple to make. There is no conventional crust needed in this quiche. Just a large flour tortilla. It is used to line an 8-inch cake tin and then I took the opportunity to crisp it up a bit in the oven before filling it.
A mix of onions and mushrooms goes on the bottom, along with some cheese and then a cheesy egg custard is poured over top. The whole thing gets baked to perfection. This may be the easiest quiche you ever make. It certainly was delicious. I enjoyed with a salad on the side and shared it with my next-door neighbor.
.JPG "Ham & Cheese Bow Ties")
TUESDAY, January 28th - Ham and Cheese Bow Ties
I used up the leftover ham that I had from Sunday and made Ham and Cheese Bow Ties. This is a small batch recipe, but can easily be doubled. With diced ham and bow tie pasta (you could use any pasta) In a creamy garlicky cheese sauce. This is delicious. There are no two ways about it.
I like to use the pasta with the extra fiber added, and I enjoyed with some steamed vegetables. I also had a cheeky piece of bread and butter on the side.
.jpg "5 Minute Stir Fry Sauce")
WEDNESDAY, January 29th - Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice
Due to inclement weather continuing, I was not able to go on my usual Wednesday night supper with Dad. I was also not able to get to the shops so I made a simple 5 Minute 5 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce. I took a small piece of steak from the freezer and cut it into strips and marinated it in some of the sauce for about half an hour and then I quickly stir fried the steak along with some bagged stir fry veggies I had in the refrigerator, adding more of the sauce at the end and heating it all through.
This made a quick and delicious supper which I enjoyed along with some steamed rice. I shared this with my next-door neighbor as well. She was most appreciative. Because of the bad weather nobody had been able to get into see her. I also had some chocolate chip cookies I had baked which I took over to her.
THURSDAY, January 30th - Dinner out with Dad
It stopped snowing long enough and the roads were cleared enough that my sister and I were able to go out to dinner with our father. This time we went to Angie's which is just around the corner from where I live. We all had fish. I had the whole piece of fish with some chips and coleslaw. Dad and Cindy had the Haddie Bits and Chips, which are like chunks of haddock battered and fried, also served with coleslaw.
The photo above is of some fish and chips I had down in Eastbourne in the U.K. at Harry Ramsden's. It was okay. Mushy peas are the best. As is a chip butty. (A slice of buttered white bread wrapped around hot chips.)
In it's place I am sharing my recipe for Beer Battered Cod and Chips. My recipe is so good that the Canadian version of Hello Magazine featured it in an article on British Food a few years back.
FRIDAY, January 31st - Simple Scottish Tattie Soup
Back to snow, rain and cold temperatures on Friday. It was a bit of a nasty day. I decided to enjoy some soup for my supper. Simple Scottish Tattie Soup. This has become a real favorite around here. It is heart warmingly delicious and perfect for a cold winter's day! Potatoes, onions, carrots and leek in a simple broth. Tasty, tasty!
I accompanied it with some Rustic Bread that I had made in my bread machine, spread with lots of butter. This is one of my favorite loaves to make. I had made myself a Tortilla omelet earlier in the day for a bit of a heartier breakfast/brunch, so I didn't really feel the need for a huge supper.
SATURDAY, February 1st - Beans on Toast
Another snowy but very busy day here around the house. I just made myself a simple supper of beans on toast. A nice, toasted slice of my bread machine bread topped with some tasty Sprague Baked Beans, and a handful of good cheddar cheese grated.
I love Beans on Toast. It's one of my favorite quick fix suppers. I don't always have cheese on top, but I had some cheese which needed using up and thought why not! If you have never tried scattering grated cheese on top of your beans, you really need to try it. It's fabulous!
All of this snow is getting a bit tiresome now. I am going stir crazy. My sister and I both have mammograms set for Wednesday in Kentville (an hour away) and guess what? It's supposed to snow. These have been standing appointments we have had for over six months now. We can't afford to give them up. It could be another six months before we can get one. I am hoping the snow won't be so bad so that we can get to Kentville and back safely.
And there you have it. My meals of the week for the past seven days. Things were quite limited due to the nasty weather and mostly of a store cupboard nature, but it's that time of year innit! I think I did really well considering!
I always like to have a bit of cake in the cake tin for the weekend. You never know when someone is going to stop by and usually at the weekend I like to enjoy a little bit of a treat.
This tray bake is one which I have been making for many years. It is actually a moist and buttery golden snack cake, loaded with several kinds of chocolate chips, candy coated chocolate buttons and broken cookies.
The original recipe made quite a large tray. Today I cut the recipe in half to make a much smaller bake.
I often iced it with a chocolate butter cream frosting for my children. You can make your own or use the one that comes in a tub. I also used to sprinkle more of the candy coated chocolate buttons on top. Nobody complained.
I have no children in my house now to please, just an aging woman with a slight sweet tooth, and so I leave off the extra frosting and candies these days. It suits me just as is, with either a glass of cold milk if I am feeling a bit indulgent, or a hot drink. It all depends on my mood.
Enjoy!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP TRY BAKE (SMALL BATCH)
Just a few store cupboard ingredients. This is also a great way to get rid of the last of your chocolate chips or small Christmas candies, and or cookies.
- 1/2 cup (125g) of butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup +1 tsp (125g) of granulated sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla essence
- 1 cup (125g) of self-raising flour (see notes)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup (38g) of chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (38g) of white chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (50g) of candy-coated chocolate drops (ie smarties, M&M's etc.,)
- 4 biscuits, crushed (digestives, malted milk, Oreo's, etc. whatever you want to use)
Notes
You can very easily make your own self-raising flour. For each cup needed (125g), sift together with 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
This is a really delicious cake type of a tray bake. Moist and buttery, it's filled with lovely nuggets of white and semisweet chocolate, not to mention the chocolate candies. I used mini-M&M's as that is what I had in the house. I sometimes used to frost this, which the children loved. On this day I left it plain.
Totally delicious with a hot drink, or an ice-cold glass of milk! This is a simple, yet very tasty treat!
Chocolate Chip Tray Bake (small batch)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (125g) of butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup +1 tsp (125g) of granulated sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla essence
- 1 cup (125g) of self-raising flour (see notes)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup (38g) of chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (38g) of white chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (50g) of candy-coated chocolate drops (ie smarties, M&M's etc.,)
- 4 biscuits, crushed (digestives, malted milk, Oreo's, etc. whatever you want to use)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and line the bottom of an 8-inch baking tin. Set aside.
- Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Cream in the sugar, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Measure out your flour and toss 1 TBS of it together with the candy pieces, chips and cookie crumbs.
- Sift the remaining flour and baking powder together and then gently fold into the creamed mixture, taking care not to over work it.
- Stir in the remaining (floured) ingredients. Spread into the prepared tin, leveling off the surface.
- Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tray. Cut into squares to serve, with or without a dusting of icing sugar.
Notes
You can very easily make your own self-raising flour. For each cup needed (125g), sift together with 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
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