Beef Mince with Snake Beans

This is actually a winner!  Tried this a couple of weeks back after a rave from Sarah and Phil.   Fast and yummy!  And you can use it with pretty much anything on hand...beans, brocoli, zuchnini.....

300g prime beef mince

1 tsp chicken stock powder

1 tsp cornflour

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

600g snake beans (or french beans) trimmed into 3cm pieces

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 tsp ginger finely grated

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

Place beef in small bowl with stock and cornflour and combine. Set aside. Heat half of oil and sizzle half garlic until fragrant.  Add beans and stir fry for 1-2 mins until just cooked.  Remove and set aside.

Heat remaining dollop of oil. Add remaining garlic, onion and ginger. Stir fry over high heat until fragrant.  Add mince nd cook for 2-3 mins until browned.  Add sauces and cook 1-2 mins. Return beans and cook for another 1 minute.  Serve with steamed rice. Let me know what you think!

Taco Soup and Corn Bread

I added an old favourite to the mix this week. My husband had been craving Taco Soup (a recipe given to me by my auntie) which I've enjoyed many times but never actually cooked myself.

Verdict: SO EASY (didn't realize quite how easy--a zillion cans of things mixed together an heated, really) and a bit of an all-round winter winner. Yum.

Husband's craving: satisfied.

I thought I'd combine it with a corn bread recipe I added to my scrap book a year or so ago. I'd been reading a book set in Georgia at the time, full of descriptions of southern food. The book made me hunt this recipe down. It's a bit of a winner also.

Taco Soup

750g mince

2 red onions, chopped

2 tin corn in brine

2 tins whole tomatoes

2 tins kidney beans

1 large tin tomato puree

1 packet taco soup seasoning (I used chilli con carne)

Brown mince and onions. Add remaining ingredients and cook slowly for approx 1.5hrs. Serve with sour cream, corn bread and green beans.

Corn Bread

2 cups cornmeal (strangely, the only place I can find it in Auckland is Countdown Greenlane)

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp sugar

1tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbsp butter
2 cups corn kernels
1/4 oil for the pan/skillet

Preheat oven to very hot, pour oil on to skillet and allow it to heat up in oven, remove and pour off the oil. Mix dry ingredients then stir in wet. Mix in corn kernels. Reduce oven temp slightly and bake until golden.