There is a tale behind this simple dinner. We had about 250g of raw mince Beef in the freezer from a previous meal and thought a simple Cottage Pie would be good. So I fished the mince out and popped it on the hub top to the thaw. Nothing too strange so far. But….. We’ve cleaned the cooker so many time over the last couple of years than the hob symbols have disappeared. Sue has a mental plan for which knob turns on which ring, but it won’t stick in my head. So when I’d pealed the Potatoes and cut them ready to boil I turned the ring on as Sue was chopping Onions etc. on the other work surface. I set about washing up the bits and bobs we had used so far. Strange Plastic smell – Argghhh!!! I’d turned the back ring on and melted the Plastic tub the mince was in!!!!
Off to the local convenience store for more not Plastic infused mince I trundled! It was good in the end…..
Ingredients:-
500g of minced Pork
2 large Onions, finely chopped
Soy Sauce (GF if required)
Tomato Puree
2 Carrots, finely chopped
Potatoes, boiled and mashed
Gravy Granules (Bisto Best are GF)
Cheese, grated to top
Oil
Vegetables of your choice
Method:-
(1) Heat a little oil in a large pan. Add the mince and fry to brown all over, stirring to break up any large chunks. Set aside.
(2) Add a splash more oil to the pan, Carrot and Onion and fry until the Onion is softened.
(3) Mix the Gravy Granules with boiling water to make sufficient to moisten the mince in a casserole dish.
(4) Preheat the oven to 180c.
(5) Add the mince to the Onions and Carrot and stir in the gravy, a good dash of Soy Sauce and a squeeze of Tomato Puree..
(6) Transfer to a large casserole dish and add the mashed Potato to the top to cover.
(7) Place the casserole in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes or until the Potato has a golden brown top.
(8) Sprinkle with grated Cheese and place back in the oven until the Cheese has melted and crisped a little.
We enjoyed ours with Corn on the Cob and Fried Kale.
Why Cane Toad? Well they are pretty big and so is this monster! You can buy a Yorkshire pudding mix from most supermarkets for less than 50p and all you need to do is add a couple of eggs and water. Just make sure your oil is smoking hot! Sue's Gluten Free batter mix is below.
Ingredients:-
6 Pork and Leak sausages (GF versions are available and no more expensive)
Oil
For the GF batter mix:-
140g of GF plain flour
50g of Cornflour
140ml of semi skimmed Milk
3 Eggs
A dash of cold water
Sat & Pepper
Vegetable oil
Method:-
(1) In a frying pan fry your sausages.
(2) Preheat the oven to 220C.
(3) Place vegetable oil in a baking tray and heat until smoking hot.
(4) Add the Eggs to the Milk and whisk.
(5) Mix the GF Flour and Cornflour and season with Salt and Pepper.
(6) Add the Flour mix a little at a time to the Egg and Milk mix whisking it as you go.
(7) You should aim for a smooth runny texture.
(8) Add straight to the hot Oil and add your fried sausages hot to the batter.
(9) Place on the top shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes. Until the Yorkshire Pudding has risen and golden brown.
We like this with Mustard mashed Potato, Cabbage, batoned Carrots and Onion gravy, but the vegetables are entirely up to you.