Showing posts with label Roast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roast. Show all posts

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Easiest Roast Meat Meal, Ever... Beef or Pork Roast, Delicious and an Under $10 Meal #PulledPork #Ramen #SausageBites! #Ham



Roast Pork, Pulled Pork, Roast Beef  
You can make it all the same way, is beyond delicious!


It's soo crazy easy to make THE best Roast Pork or Beef, ever .... I just took this one out the oven, lol - 2:12am - sounds a little crazy, but I'm always up really late, and I wanted to cook the meat, tonight, so I'm freed up for tomorrow, can just relax, people can have whatever they like, no work, tomorrow (happens to be the Superbowl - lol!)...


Every so often, like today, WalMart will have a great deal on their gigantor Pork Roasts, and today they were $1.77/lb - a great price in Canada... in the States, you'll almost always get great prices like that... 

So just rinse the meat, line the pan with tin foil, for super easy cleaning, if you like, place the meat in the middle of the pan, and we love to cook potatoes around the meat - just pierce the potato skins, so easy, sprinkle on some Montreal Steak Spice and some Seasoning Salt (or whatever your favorite rub is...), I run the whole pan under the water, so, add about half an inch to an inch of water, depending on the size of the piece of meat - this one was huuge... cover with tin foil, pop in the oven for about 6 hours (again, depends on the size of the meat!), take the tin foil off for the last hour, to crisp the fat on the top - ah'yum! 

Then take two forks, and pull the meat, for Pulled Pork - so easy! 

And the potatoes are gonna be soo delicious, because they'll absorb all the flavor from the meat - so yum! 

And soo easy and delicious!


Just take two forks, remove any fat (yick!), cut the crispy fat on the top - lots of people loove that, then you just work with the forks, literally pull the meat apart - perfect for Sliders, Sandwiches, we put some in baggies, freeze it and use it in new meals... yum! So easy and practical, too! : )


This is the Easy Schmeasy Pork Roast with Potatoes - yum! 


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So, I used to teach cooking at the High School level, right, and I have a teenage son, right now, so whenever I am cooking something I want him to know how to cook for himself when he's older, I call him through to the kitchen, quickly show him how to make it, and it drives me up the wall that this kind of basic, home-style, budget-wise cooking isn't being taught to all high school kids... if they really wanted to combat obesity, and health issues in adults, they would teach all children healthy foods to cook and eat, and all within a reasonable, normal, budget.  and it doesn't matter how much money anyone has, on either side of the scale, or anywhere in between, it's important to understand that you can eat fabulous meals on any budget, and how to turn one meal into another, for the next day - a new look at leftovers, right? lol!

This Roast Pork or Roast Beef meal couldn't be any easier, and it might be a little different from your Mom's, depending on whether or not you liked your Mom's Roast Beef (I didn't, so I never made it, before I figured out my own way to cook it, so it's delicious, and not dry... ).

And this is the Roast Beef version - I just buy whatever cut of meat looks good at the store... and you don't have to go expensive, because it will all be delicious - get whichever cut you like : )

The key is to put the meat in the middle of a large pan - I use the 9" X 13" pan for the smaller cuts of meat, and the large Roasting Pan for the larger pieces... and just pop in whatever size of potatoes you like - we are very, very fond of the regular large potatoes, now, since they are insanely delicious when you make them this way, in with the meat.... but the baby potatoes are cute, and they are always welcome at the dinner table, am I right? lol! 



If I am making the meat for a Steak Pie, which we are all very fond of, and I have my own recipe for that, not the traditional British Steak Pie, which has kidneys in it (yuuuck!!  Kidneys - eeewwww! hahaha!), I just make the meat the same way, now, and I put the potatoes in this way, now, too... is so incredibly easy, and always insanely delicious.  I'll link you to my recipe for Steak Pie in a minute... on with this recipe, for now : )



So you rinse the meat and put it in the center of your pan, no need to grease the pan, or anything, just place it right in there, wash the potatoes and place them around the meat - don't worry about making too many potatoes, I have another little recipe for what to do with any extras, should you end up with any - lol!  



Sometimes I'll open and pour a little package of Onion Soup mix over the meat - I've already just popped the meat in the oven, and is too big a hassle to bring it back out to put some Rosemary over it, but if I had thought of that before starting to write this page, I totally would have added in some Rosemary - just sprinkle it on - no need to measure, you'll know when it's the right amount... just a nice little sprinkle of Rosemary, if you like.  



Then you can either pour boiling water over the meat and potatoes, or just hot water from the tap is fine - nothing too fancy, this is a very quick and easy prep for this meal... go about halfway up the pan with the water - you're going to be cooking this meal for hours - is a great meal to cook on a cold day, or a day you're going to stay in and read, binge watch your fave shows on TV, or playing games, 'n whatnot... a stay-at-home day - we happen to loove stay-at-home days - today I'm reading Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris - hilarious - he's sooo funny - love David Sedaris : )  I love David Sedaris' sister, Amy Sedaris, too - soo funny!  One of my favorite lines in the book, so far, is David Sedaris' description of his grandmother, when he says she's like the human equivalent of a storm cloud - hahahahaha!  What a great analogy, right?  How accurate is that for some people??  o you ahve anyone who immediately comes to mind? lol!  Me, too - a dew, actually - lol! Anyway, this is a fantastic meal to make while you're having a great time doing whatever it is you love to do around the house, and you're in no hurry to have your meal, right away.... this is a slow-cook meal, for sures.







Make your meat a little tent with tin foil - make sure it's all neatly folded around the sides, so the heat won't escape.  And use your oven mitts to lift up the corner of the tin foil when it's done, 3 - 6 hours later, depending on the size of the meat (go 8 hours, if it's a large roast beef), so you don't get a steam burn - it'll be all very steamy when you first open it up.



When the meat comes out the oven, use two forks to pull it apart - pulled meat - and do that right in the pan, so all the juices will be in the meat - yum!  You're'a gonna love this, is so tasty!  And That's the Puff Pastry I serve with this meal when I'm making the Roast Beef with sausages (then I just add a large package of sausages, rinse and put right in with the roast beef, rinse a package or two of sliced mushrooms, a package, package and a half of onion soup mix, the potatoes, the water.. you get the idea - and the whole thing is pulled apart, meat-wise, not the potatoes - lol!)  I'll do a page on how to make the Puff Pastry, too...




Here it is without a lot of extra water - was good, but not as good, you know?  I like the meat better, pulled, not sliced, but make it the way you like it, best...



And here it is - this is the Beef Roast version, since the Pork Roast is still in the oven, right now - that's for dinner, tonight - lol - and then for lunch, tomorrow - yum!!  And I know what you're thinking, "Uh, Ailsa, I don't see any veggies on yer plate" (I'm sorry I have given you my younger sister's voice in that line - hahahaha!)... aren't potatoes technically a vegetable??  And isn't butter a vegetable, too? hahahah!  No, me know, and we had a quick discussion before that particular meal, and everyone was okay with skipping the veggies on that dinner - dat okay, we'll eat veggies or have some fruit, later, is no biggie.  Wait, is the Puff Pastry considered a vegetable, in some cultures?  No?  Okay.  I feel like you might be wrong on that... we'll agree to disagree, since Puff Pastry is crazy-delicious with this meal - hahaha!



These are the delicious Potato Rounds you can make, should you actually have any of the roasted potatoes left over from your Roast Meat Meal... my son, Aidan, loves those large roasted potatoes, so much, he eats the leftover ones like apples, whch is remarkable, since he never ate potatoes, any way we cooked them, before - in fact, before we discovered this delicious way of cooking potatoes, we'd only had them, I dunno, maybe once or twice a year, and now I'm more likely to pick some up once a month, or so... maybe not that often, but, you get the idea... we've added potatoes to our diet, and they're yum! lol!



Just slice the leftover roasted potatoes, pour olive oil n the cookie sheet, flip over the potatoes so they're all covered in the olive oil, sprinkle with a little seasoning salt, pop in the oven, turn over in the middle of cooking them, let them get nice and crisp on the outside - yum!  These are so good : )

Well, now I'm hungry, for God's Sake - haha!  Will go and have a wee schnack, a wee schneister, as my Dad would say : )  Maybe some Jelly Babies - they're a vegetable, right?  Yeah, I thought so, too.  Just checking... I know it's important to be factual. Okay, happy Eating!!  Oh, and if you have a lot left over, you can easily freeze this, if the meat was fresh, which is most likely would be : )

Happy Eating, Happy Cooking, Happy Life!!  Ailsa : )



Heyyoo!!  Here's a wee add-on... today I'm making a pork roast with BBQ sauce - yum, smells delicious... and I'll have it in the oven for about 7 hours, then the meat will just pull apart, will be BBQ Pulled Pork - yum!  Or, I might slice this pork roast.. will see how it looks when it comes out  Happy Eating! : )

 This is the GIANT pan - the turkey roaster - that's how much pulled pork this makes - so great! Especially if you're doing Paleo, or trying to do The Paleo Diet - or Keto - it's great to have a lot of meat on hand, so we package it up into baggies, and pop them in the freezer for another day : )

 I like to serve the Roast Pork or Roast Beef with Puff Pastry - yum! 

 See how many bags of pulled pork this roast pork made? That's soo much meat, and a whole lot of great meals! 

 Just flatten them out, pop them in the freezer. : )

 This is one of our fave meals - we really, really love it - lol! Is very simple, but sometimes simple is juuust what you're looking for, you know? 

  Boil the water, break 3 packages of Ramen (Mr. Noodles, whatever you call it - I call it Mr. Schnoodles, for fun - haha!), put the noodles in a medium bowl, put about half of the baggie of pulled pork on top of the noodles, pour the boiling water over it all , pop in the microwave for 3 minutes, take out and add 3 large teaspoons of Chicken OXO (I don't really like the flavor that comes with it, but if you do, no worries, just use that...), then I cut some Green Onions into it, and some nice parsley - yum!

 Oh, and check it - I'm growing my own Green Onions - lol! You know when you open the fridge, there's an onion you had forgotten all about, and it's just packing it's bags, getting ready to leave? Ha! That joke always makes me laugh - lol! 

Anyway, if you ever have any onions or potatoes that have started to sprout some roots, or just go ahead and plant the onion, root side down, like a bulb, and it'll just start growing, then you can just trim it any time you need some nice fresh Green Onions - great idea, right? I'm so excited about that! 

And if you just leave the onion, or the potatoes, they'll just keep growing, nice vines from the potatoes, gorgeous big blossoms from the onions - is a fun thing to do with the kids, too : ) 

  See where I've cut them off for my soup? Yum! 


This is so cool - let's say you've now been binge watching your fave shows, and you STILL have 4 more seasons left of your brand new-to-you show, soo you don't want to get up off the couch, but, also, you know you should probably get you' some groceries?

Problem - Solution! lol! 

Check and see if your area is covered by either VONS or Safeway... they cover some of the same areas, and some different areas - does that make sense? lol!

I loove this Delivery Service for Groceries and whatever you might need, right to your door, just in general, but what a great idea in bad weather, no more stooopid traffic, or if you're not feeling up to going out to the store, or you just don't feeeel like going out to the store...or if you're like me, and get so caught up in whatever you're working on, and don't want to stop just 'for food' - haha! And no need for Taxis, if you need to take a cab to the grocery store...that's a huge savings, right there, right?

Wow, Grocery Delivery Service - that's fantastico!! Yippee!!  Hello, Future - you look great! : )




I think this is such an amazing new service for your groceries - and anything you ever need from the grocery store - if you've ever had a time when you had a tiny baby, or you're super-busy (same thing - hahaha! All the New Moms will be laughing, now - lol!)..but if you're busy at work, or busy at home, or traffic, or you're busy binge-watching your favorite shows - hahahahaha! This might be the new wave of the future, right? Ordering your groceries online?

And I would imagine you would save a lot of money, since you would just buy what you actually need... might really work for dieting, too, since, well, if we're in the store, and be 'we', I mean 'me'...anyway, let's say I've got my grocery list, then I'm at the store, and I think, you know what, I'll just nick down the Candy Aisle, see if Chocolate is on sale (see how much I like Sale Chocolate - hahaha! Is it tastier, or just less expensive?? We'll never know! It's all gone, now - hahaha!)

Not that you couldn't just 'browse' for that, anyway... right? Me thinkin', now, o' course, where is the Sale Chocolate, online?? hahaha! But let's say you're you, and not me, and you have a LOT more self control than maybe ME do... so you order all the things you really wanted, and not just a whole cart full o' Wunderbars, on sale... hahahaha! Wouldn't THAT be fun - just a cartful of Sale Chocolate?? haha! Okay, clearly, me needs a treat! lol! : ) #SaleChocolate! Ha!

Shop Gifts Under $10 from See's Candies!Create your own Custom Chocolate Mix at See's Candies!  Okay, this is MY kind o' Luxury Reward - me always 'reward' mah'self wit' da delicious chocolates! hahaha!  I loove Sees Candies - soo deeelish! The Walnut Squares (#43 - is it bad for me to know the number?? hahahahaha!) (I've got your number..oooh, is it #43??  I hope so! lol!) Ooh, and I see that Sees has a sale, right now, Take $4 off of $20? Yahoo! Sale Chocolate - yes, please! haha! Yum! Don't mind if ah' do...lol! : )

And now for some food for the soul! : )

Oh, and if you have been in here and have read a fair bit of my stuff, you will know that I love, love, love, Louise Hay, and can't get enough of her books - amazing, change-your-life books - Louise Hay is brilliant!  And I love her! I think you will, too : )




  And here's the book I'm reading, right now - Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris - soo funny!  I highly recommend it : )  Happy Reading, too! lol! Ailsa : )


 Wow, lookie what me juuust discovered - my son will only eat the schnausages when they're cooked in my fave Steak Pie, but I really love sausages, and we just bought the Pork Roast, too, so that was already gonna be in the oven - anyway, I thought, how could I make this sausage more kid-friendly? Lots of parents have to figure out stuff like this - what will the whole family like, right?

So, I just cut the sausages with my kitchen scissors, into bits - you know, just about every half inch, or so - just eyeball it, nothing fancy...

And put them on a cookie tray covered in tin foil, spread out pretty evenly, sprinkled a little of our favorite Montreal Steak Spice, popped them in the oven with the Roast Pork (that takes a good 6 hours, then it'll just fall apart, then we'll have a little bit for fun, freeze the rest in little baggies, perfect for adding to other pasta meals, or our fave soups...)

So we just took the little schnausages out the oven, and omg, they are beyond delicious!

They would make a fantastic snack for Game Day, any party, or just for having handy in the freezer, fully cooked, that way, you can just take some out as you need them.

Oh, and here's a little trick I just figured out (maybe the rest of the world already knew this, but is new-to-me - lol!) - anyway, I put the fully cooked Taco Meat in a giant baggie, then after about half an hour, or so, I squished the meat all around in the bag, to loosen it, and then prolly did that one more time, until it was completely frozen, then we were able to take out even little bits of meat at a time, fully cooked - was soo functional, and really easy : )

Ooh, did you see Chef Adam Perry Lang, on Jimmy Kimmel Live, making that massive roast? It was a'huuuge! But I've never seen anyone brush on a mix of Mustard and Worcestershire Sauce (I had to google that spelling, rather than stand up and go look at the bottle in the fridge - bah'hahaha! Whatevs! Me a li'l lazy, sometimes! haha!)  anyway, i'm definitely gonna try that, with the next giant Ham that I make...

Meanwhile, here's how I normally make a giant ham, and my favorite Ham is the Old Fashioned Ham with the bone in - it's harder to find, these days, for some reason, but, by far, my favorite meat - Yum! Perfect, every time!

Let me go grab the pics for you... be right back (BRB! lol!)

How lovely and colorful is this meal? Yum, was soo deeelish, to - super easy, you'd be surprised how easy most meals are - it's just knowing a few little kitchen tricks, and you can cook anything to perfection - or, so it's just delicious - perfection is a li'l annoying - haha!


Oh, and, yes, I do use a knife, as well - haha! Reminds me of Mr. Fox - and dat make'a me laugh - Google it, watch it, you'll laugh, too! : )

See the mac 'n cheese with the broccoli? That's craaazy easy... just a box of off brand macaroni and cheese (Kraft Dinner and anything from the Walmart brands don't seem to work, but the macaroni and cheese from Shopper's Drug Mart (in Canada), or the Superstore, they work perfectly (dammit, there's that word, again...)

So you just follow the directions on the box to microwave the macaroni and cheese, but place the broccoli florets on top of the water and pasta, cover and cook for 7 minutes, add the butter or margarine (I use butter) and a little bit of milk, mix in the powdered cheese ("Cheese" haha!), and, voila, everybody loves it, especially with the ham, since ham and cheese always go so nicely, together #BFFs lol!

 For the record, this is a GIANT plate - from Costco - where else - lol! ; )

It's a million times easier to just pull the meat with two forks, rather than slicing the meat - any roast, your turkey, anything at all - and, frankly, I like the meat better, this way - is way easier to bag it up and pop it in the freezer for new-to-you meals, later, and everyone just loves it, sooo,why hassle with the slicing, right? Try it, see how you like it, too : )

 Can you see the Peach Juice in the picture? Hello, Professional Quality - haha! Whatevs, it's the point that's the most important - hopefully! : ) 

Normally, I would've used Pineapple Juice, and placed the Pineapple Rings all over the ham, but, they didn't have any tinned pineapple at the first store we went to, and, frankly (have I already said that, too?? Wordsmith, ovah' here... haha!), I completely forgot about the pineapple in the next store, because I was so excited about getting their Nanaimo Bars - yum! A li'l Canadian delicacy! I'll figure out the easiest way to make Nanaimo Bars, and post the recipe - will have to think about that one!


So you're just gonna rinse the meat, of course, I line the inside of the pan, as well, for much easier clean up... place the ham in the pan, pour over the juice, sprinkle with Montreal Steak Spice, put some potatoes all around the meat - whatever will fit, add some water to the pan - about one inch 1"

Make your ham a little tin foil tent, pop in the oven for about 6 hours, done! Yum! 



But now that I see Jimmy Kimmel brushing the Mustard and Worcestershire Sauce over the meat, I wanna try that, too! That looked delicious, and who doesn't love a little mustard on their ham sammich, eh? Well now I'm hungry! lol! 


Oh, and see the smashed potato? Omg, we're all in love with these crazy little potatoes... just wash them, pierce the skin, put them all around whatever roast meat yo're making, you smash them (gently) right on the plate, add butter or gravy - whatever you like, is healthy because you're eating the potato peel, and super easy to make, because, no peeling the potatoes! Yay! And, Yum!! 

Bon Apetit!! 

Ailsa : )

Ooh, is almost Black Friday, then Cyber Monday, and then the Holidays! Yippee! Great deals for you!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Scottish Steak Pie/Pulled Meat in a Slow Cooker Crock Pot #Twirlies! #SlowCookerMeals #PulledMeat #PuffPastry #ParchmentPaper #Hogmanay!

Scottish Steak Pie - Sorta! So Delicious! 
Holiday Shopping! Yippee! 
Happy Hogmanay!! : )
(Tha's Scottish New Year! lol!)

This is my own version of the Traditional Scottish Steak Pie. In the Traditional Steak Pie (Steak and Kidney Pie), it's full of Steak and Kidneys, which I do not like -- not at all! But I love, love, love Steak Pie, so I adapted it to a more 'North American' taste, taking out the yucky Kidneys, and replacing the kidneys with sausages (yum!).


Shredded Steak  (this time I used a pot roast).  Sooo good!

Now I just pop the meat right in the oven - use about an inch of water in the pan, with a package of Onion soup Mix, cover with foil, let it cook at 350 for 6 hours, or so... you want it to flake, then do the pulled meat with 2 forks : ) 
Put the meat in the crock pot, cover with boiling water and one package of Onion Soup mix and whatever spices you like... I love Montreal Steak Spice : )
(The other night, I made just the steak in the Crock Pot Slow Cooker, but I used a roast beef, instead of the usual steak, covered the meat with boiling water with one package of Onion Soup Mix and my favorite Montreal Steak Spice, cooked it on High for 6 hours, Low for anther 6 hours... was incredible! Just pulled apart like pulled pork... pulled meat, if you will (insert joke here... lol!).  This slow cooking makes the meat so tender and delicious.  I just put it on a big plate, and we had it on Nachos with steak and cheese -- yum! And Cara had the pulled steak in toasted sandwiches, and I liked it just on it's own, as a little snack whenever I walked by the fridge! lol! This makes very lean meat, which is an excellent snack, for sures! So something to try, see if you'd like to add this to your regular fave meals!)

Ingredients:

1 Pound Beef Cubes or Steak (well, I just look for a nice piece of meat - like you're at the bar, in the 1970's - hahaha!) - a roast beef, or round steak with a very small amount of fat, or Angus Steaks - whatever looks good to you, and now I think I use a lot more meat, too.. do what's right for you : )

1 Pound Sausage (I like large English Sausage or Mild Italian Sausage)

Onion Soup Mix (1 Package - sometimes a wee bit more - you don't want it to be too salty... or 6 Tablespoons of the Onion Soup Mix from the Bulk Package -- from Costco!)

1 Package of Sliced Mushrooms (If Whole, just Quarter the Mushrooms)

1 Tablespoon Montreal Steak Spice (or Whatever Steak Spice you use -- 1 tsp if it's too salty)

4 Cups of Water (or whatever it takes to come halfway up the pan, if it's in the oven)

Bisto, Flour or Corn Starch for the Gravy.

Puff Pastry (Just buy the Package at your Local Grocers in the Frozen Pastry Section -- usually over by the Fozen Fruit.)

1 Egg (optional)

Salt

Directions:
I use a Large Electric Wok to make the Meat, since it's huge and holds a nice steady heat. I've made it in a Crock Pot, before (pop the meat in before you go out to work...). You can use a Big Skillet, too.

You know what?  If I'm home during the day, on the weekend, I just pop it all in the oven, cover it well with tin foil, it's good for 6 - 8 hours, whammo, all done, delicious!! Just pull the meat apart with two forks, cut the sausages into little pieces - yum and done! lol!) 

Brown the Sausages. Remove from the Pan and slice. (If you have a George Foreman Grill, or the like, that's even better to remove the ft from the sausages... then brown the steak right after the sausages are done. Mnnn, lovely!)

In the same pan, brown the Meat.

Toss the Mushrooms in on top of the Meat. Cover and simmer a wee bit. (about 5-10 minutes)

Add the Sliced Sausages

Add the Water. Stir in the Onion Soup mix and the Spices.

Turn the Heat down to Simmer.

Cover and leave it for hours and hours. Literally. The longer this cooks, the tastier it is, so if you put it on in the morning, the steak will be sooo tender by the evening. Yum. (Do I sound hungry??)

(Now I just put it all in a giant pan, cover well with foil, pop in the oven for 6 - 8 hours - done!  so easy, you don't need any fancy equipment : )

 Pull the potatoes out, when it's all done, but let the potatoes cook all day, too - scrub and pierce the potatoes - they'll be delicious and nutritious : )


When the Steak is cooked nicely (it'll shred easily), remove all fat from the meat and pull apart with a fork. It's easy if you just remove it onto a separate plate. Return Shredded Steak If you have a wee dog, they will love you even more if you share a wee bit with them!

Using a Slotted Spoon, remove all the Meat and Mushrooms from the Pan and place in a Deep Pie Dish. I usually double the batch so I can make enough for Two Big Steak Pies, since that'll make it much easier the next time we have it -- I just put the extra Meat in another Pie Dish and freeze it -- no Pastry on the Frozen Pie.


This is my new favorite thing to do with the Puff Pastry - just roll it out, cut into pieces, put on Parchment Paper, brush with egg, salt them, pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes - until they're lovely and puffed up, a yummy golden color - soo good! Just serve the Puff Pastry on the side, that way, everyone can take as many as they'd like (a lot, so, I make the whole batch, but, if I DO have any Puff Pastry left, I'll roll it out, cut in 4 squares, fruit filling on one half, fold over and press the ends together - Voila, you're very own Turnovers - ah'yum!)

Make the Gravy. The easiest way to make a nice smooth Gravy is to put a Couple of Tablespoons of Corn Starch and a pinch of Salt into a Tea Cup. Stir the Corn Starch and Salt to make it smooth. Then add 1 to 2 Tablespoons of the Liquid (see in the picture?) to the Tea Cup. Stir into the Corn Starch until completely smooth. Add in a bit more at a time until you have about a half-cup of the 'Pre-Gravy' mix. Turn the heat up on the Liquid, then quickly stir in the 'Pre-Gravy' mix. The Gravy will thicken up and be delicious in no time. (Seconds, really...)

Pour the Gravy over the Meat in the Pie Dish.

 haha! Li'l groovy gravy joke for ye', there - hahaha!


Puff Pastry: Oh, I love Puff Pastry! Follow the Package Instructions and take it out of the Freezer well in advance. Remove one 'Square' of the Pastry and roll it out on some Parchment Paper (if you have it) with lots of Flour on the Rolling Surface so it won't stick. Put plenty of flour on the rolling pin, too. Roll it to fit the Pie Plate -- about 1/8th of an inch thick.

Really, this is sooo much easier and faster - and it's time to move ahead with everything, including our favorite food and recipes, so, give this a wee try, you'll love it, your family will love it, and if they're all mad, they don't get to come over, any more - hahaha! Jus' kidding - you'll prolly still have to have them over, but you should not have to put up with complaining, if you've made a lovely meal, soooo... well.. Good Luck with that! 

And remember that if you make the Puff Pastry on a cookie sheet like this, it'll only take about 15 minutes to bake, so keep a wee eye on it : )


Okay, now who forgot the veggies?? hahaha! Potatoes are veggies, right? Okay, for a minute, there, I was a li'l worried - and, frankly, I love our Steak Pie, or Pulled Roast Beef with Puff Pastry and potatoes, with green beans, not with peas - I'm flyin' in the face o' tradition - hahaha! 


 And you can just roast yer potatoes, too... see all the options? Yum! Slice, a little Olive Oil and salt, bake for ages - so good! 


If you are making the Traditional Steak Pie, which is very, very, nice to look at... Place the Pastry on top of the Meat, and trim around the edges. Make little 'slot marks' in the center of the Steak Pie with a sharp knife. If you're feeling creative, shape the extra pieces of Pastry into Leaves and 'glue them' onto the Pie Crust with a wee bit of Egg.

Beat One Egg. Using a Pastry Brush, very lightly 'paint' the egg on the Pastry. (If you are allergic to Eggs, just skip this part and use milk.) Sprinkle a wee bit of Salt on the Pastry with a normal Salt Shaker.

Pop in the Oven for about 45 minutes, to cook the Puff Pastry. Check back at 20 minutes to see how it's doing, and to turn the Pie if you need to. The Finished Steak Pie should be a lovely Golden Brown.
Serve with Mashed Potatoes and Peas. (That's the Traditional Meal -- usually served at Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year.) I make it year-round, because it's delicious and everybody loves it. And now that I've just written all about it, I'm desperate for a wee bit of it, now, so I think I'll make it this week!
I must have some photos of the finished Product, so I'll go through my old Photos to see where it is!

Happy Eating! Ailsa!

Look who's tried this Recipe:

Hi, Ailsa. I found your web site when looking for a recipe for Steak Pie. My husband loves to get it when we go to a little pub in Napanee. There it is Steak and Kidney, but like yourself, I am not a fan of Kidney. I tried your recipe today-I was afraid of the Puff pastry, as I had never used it before, but it all turned out very well, and my husband loved it.

Where were you born in Scotland? I am origionally from Dundee, but have been in Canada for 40 years.
I don't know where you get the time for all the STUFF for your web site. It is fun reading it.

Best Wishes ...........Helen

Hello, Helen! That's one of my favorite names! Oh, I love Napanee -- so pretty. I think I know the Pub... is it on the Main Street? I'm glad you liked the Steak Pie -- delicious, isn't it? Did you happen to make Apple or Cherry Turnovers with the extra Puff Pastry? I always do that, and everyone loves them. Good for your Figure, too, as far as I'm willing to understand how Puff Pastry fits into a Diet! ha,ha!

I was born in Glasgow, Scotland (Cumbernauld), and we all moved to Canada when I was 2 and a half, so I've been here for 40 years, too. Except for a few lucky years in my Twenties when I got to live in California... We have many friends from Dundee, so I have to assume that you have a great sense of humour, since I think that's a given if you're from Dundee or the surrounding area, am I right??

I love that you found my little website -- well, not so wee, anymore! I started it with a baby on my lap, and now he's in Grade One (and Cara was in Grade 8, and I had to wait for her to come home from school so she could turn the computer on for me, because I couldn't seem to remember how to do that, so it was quite a feat for me to become a successful website owner... and now Cara has finished High School and is heading to Scotland to visit my Mum & Dad this Spring -- lucky girl!), so it's a long, slow process... and a whole lot of fun. I don't know anyone who is only interested in one thing, so that's my theory behind adding in whatever happens to appeal to me on the site. Plus, who's gonna stop me? ha,ha,ha!

Thanks for Writing! I love to hear from my Readers! Ailsa : )




Hello, again!  Here's a wee update from me, Ailsa... now I have an even EASIER way to make the Steak Pie - we do love it, year round - why save something delicious for just one night a year - dat crazy!  You don't have to do that - do anything you want, right?  Right! lol!  


Soo, this is how I do the Puff Pastry, now - you don't have to make it look like a very pretty pie, although that's a lovely way to make your Steak Pie, but this is waaay easier, much faster, and I just serve the Puff Pastry along with the meat - then you can get as much as you'd like, in each serving...






The Tenderflake Puff Pastry is the best one in North America - and Target has the best prices, usually $3 a box, and you get 2 'pieces' of Puff Pastry per box.  You'll just need to thaw it out, use a cutting board and some flour, roll it out 'til it'' pretty thin... don't worry about measuring it, or anything - it'll be delicious, one way or another, and once you've used it once, you'll be your own expert at how you like it - lol!





See the Puff Pastry dough all rolled out?  That's just the one piece - that's usually enough for one meal, but if you and your company looove Puff Pastry, go ahead and make both pieces of the dough.  

Oh, and here's a wee trick, in case you've forgotten to thaw out the Puff Pastry Dough - you can simply slice it down from the side - you'll see ridges on the side of the dough, just slice it thinly, like you would slice cheese, then put those in the oven - with the egg and lightly salt them - yum!  You can also pop the Puff Pastry in the microwave to thaw it - I'd say, maybe 30 seconds... do a wee bit at a time, so the dough is easily manageable : )




I always use Parchment Paper - I love it!  Is fantastic, and I didn't discover Parchment Paper until I was in my 30's - but it is fantastic for cookies - I always use it for my Shortbread, to - ooh, reminds me, I still have some rounds of Shortbread in my fridge from Christmas... will pop some in the oven for New Years, too - yum!  That's a lot of delicious food!  And all Scottish - well, my version of Scottish! lol! 

So, Do you see the wee bowl of 1 egg, mixed?  I do not like the 'beaten with a fork' - seems so mean, right? lol!  Anyway, give the egg a good mix with your fork (hopefully, you have more than one fork : ) then brush each piece of the pastry with a wee bit of egg (skip this, obviously, if you either don't like eggs, or are allergic to them, but, well, that seems like it goes without saying, right? haha!  But, you know, just for clarity sake - lol!).  Then I lightly salt each one - gives the puff pastry a savoury taste - soo good, you'll go crazy for it... we all love it, soo much!  I always make extra, since it's great to have with the leftover meat, that everyone loves to have the following day... 



Well, here it is with no veggies, on a regular night - none of us even wanted the veggies, so then I declared the potatoes to be the veggies - and now, I just do the whole thing in the oven - you put the steak or roast down on the bottom of a very big pan, then add the sausages (I use the Medium Spiced Italian Sausage from the butcher's section), the sliced mushrooms, then sprinkle on the Onion Soup Mix, then pour about 4 cups of boiling water over all of that, cover well with tin foil, pop in the oven for about 6 - 8 hours - is a great meal on a cold day, or a day you know you'll be staying in - we call these, lovingly, 'reading days', which we love : )  I still use my crock pot, but not as much - seems like a lot of work getting it out, and waiting for it to heat up, when I can just pop the whole thing in the oven... and then I 'pull the meat apart' - as in all 'pulled meat', which we also love (admittedly, we love a lot of things - lol!), and cut the sausages - no need to do any of that at the beginning - oh, and I just remembered my new thing - I place potatoes all around the outside edge of the pan, before the water goes on... these will be THE BEST smashed potatoes, ever - and if you have extra, you can turn them into these....





Just Olive Oil in the cookie tray, cut the potatoes - they don't already have to be cooked, but this is a great way to 'use up' your potatoes from the Steak Pie Dinner, the night before... and a wee bit of Seasoning Salt  -  move the potato slices about in the olive oil, so they're all coated lightly, bake for about 45 minutes, I think.. maybe a bit longer - we love them all crispy - yum! 



And here they are, all done!  Yum! Oven Roasted (and Toasted??) Potato Slices : ) 

Enjoy!!  You can pop any leftovers in the Freezer, will be delicious another day! Ailsa : )

Here's my guess... if you love your Bacon (with a Capital 'B' - haha!), you might also like to give yourself a really super-extra-special treat, say, once a month....! Ha! Is my Dream Gift!! lol!


Omg, can you imagine getting a fancy gift, every month?? Best Gift, Evah'!! 
Get $10 off any 12 month prepaid order for any of our six gourmet clubs! Code: GMC$10

AND.... in case you're Canadian, too - do all Canadians love Bacon?  and Beer? hahahaha!

We Ship to Canada: Summer Sale: Get $15 off at The Premier Cigar of the Month Club

Grocery Delivery!! 

This is so cool - let's say you've now been binge watching your fave shows, and you STILL have 4 more seasons left of your brand new-to-you show, soo you don't want to get up off the couch, but, also, you know you should probably get you' some groceries?

Problem - Solution! lol! 

Check and see if your area is covered by either VONS or Safeway... they cover some of the same areas, and some different areas - does that make sense? lol!

I loove this Delivery Service for Groceries and whatever you might need, right to your door, just in general, but what a great idea in bad weather, no more stooopid traffic, or if you're not feeling up to going out to the store, or you just don't feeeel like going out to the store...or if you're like me, and get so caught up in whatever you're working on, and don't want to stop just 'for food' - haha! And no need for Taxis, if you need to take a cab to the grocery store...that's a huge savings, right there, right?

Wow, Grocery Delivery Service - that's fantastico!! Yippee!!  Hello, Future - you look great! : )




I think this is such an amazing new service for your groceries - and anything you ever need from the grocery store - if you've ever had a time when you had a tiny baby, or you're super-busy (same thing - hahaha! All the New Moms will be laughing, now - lol!)..but if you're busy at work, or busy at home, or traffic, or you're busy binge-watching your favorite shows - hahahahaha! This might be the new wave of the future, right? Ordering your groceries online?

And I would imagine you would save a lot of money, since you would just buy what you actually need... might really work for dieting, too, since, well, if we're in the store, and be 'we', I mean 'me'...anyway, let's say I've got my grocery list, then I'm at the store, and I think, you know what, I'll just nick down the Candy Aisle, see if Chocolate is on sale (see how much I like Sale Chocolate - hahaha! Is it tastier, or just less expensive?? We'll never know! It's all gone, now - hahaha!)

Not that you couldn't just 'browse' for that, anyway... right? Me thinkin', now, o' course, where is the Sale Chocolate, online?? hahaha! But let's say you're you, and not me, and you have a LOT more self control than maybe ME do... so you order all the things you really wanted, and not just a whole cart full o' Wunderbars, on sale... hahahaha! Wouldn't THAT be fun - just a cartful of Sale Chocolate?? haha! Okay, clearly, me needs a treat! lol! : ) #SaleChocolate! Ha!

Shop Gifts Under $10 from See's Candies!Create your own Custom Chocolate Mix at See's Candies!  Okay, this is MY kind o' Luxury Reward - me always 'reward' mah'self wit' da delicious chocolates! hahaha!  I loove Sees Candies - soo deeelish! The Walnut Squares (#43 - is it bad for me to know the number?? hahahahaha!) (I've got your number..oooh, is it #43??  I hope so! lol!) Ooh, and I see that Sees has a sale, right now, Take $4 off of $20? Yahoo! Sale Chocolate - yes, please! haha! Yum! Don't mind if ah' do...lol! : )

Parchment Paper, and why I love it so much! lol! : )

 I really, really want to encourage you to become Best Friends with Parchment Paper (it never talks back, and your food will always be perfect! lol! 

Anything you might think has to be fried, can be popped in the oven on a piece of Parchment Paper on a cookie tray - easy schmeasy!

Often, I'll put a little variety of things from the freezer, on the Parchment Paper, on the cookie sheet - lol! Pop whatever it is you're making, in the oven at 350 degrees, for a lot longer than they suggest on the package - 10 minutes, 18 minutes - that's never enough to get the crisp factor you're probably looking for - the crispier it is, the more it tastes like it's fried, and think of all the fat you'll save - for later, for, maybe, some treats fo' you? haha! No, that's how I think, but, you might think like that, to - lol! 

Any way you can 'health-up' your life, and the lives of your children, the better, right? 

Health It Up! : )


And then just heat up some fancy sauces - my new favorite is a combo of Sweet Thai Chili Sauce and Plum Sauce - omg, I loove that, makes a delicious dip for chicken or meatballs - and then BBQ Sauce is always delicious as a dip, or you can just throw your meatballs right in the microwave, cover them with BBQ sauce, microwave for 10 minutes, done! 

Oh, I've got loooots of delicious things you can eat, in very little time, it's all delicious, you're family will love them - and you will, too - and so will your waist, baby! Yippee!! : )

Twirlies!! Omg, these are beyond delicious - super easy to make, delicious any time, for a wee snack, or some nice appetizers... you'll love them, they're amazing! Yay!! Another easy recipe that tastes great! Yippee!!









Spread butter on a sheet of thawed Puff Pastry - just take it out the freezer, usually the night before, will be very easy to work with, since now your Puff Pastry comes in sheets, and a package of 2 - yahoo! Ah'Yum!

Savory: Butter
Parmesan Cheese, sprinkled on the pastry
Havarti Cheese Slices - or, any cheese you have on hand : )

Just roll that up, slice in little pieces, place on a fresh piece of Parchment Paper, lightly salt, pop in the oven at 350, for about 15 - 20 minutes, until a lovely golden color, and the cheese will bubble up to the top, will be so delicious!


I divided the Puff Pastry in 2 - 1/2 for savory, the other half sweet - yum!

Sweet: Butter
Sprinkle with Brown Sugar
Sprinkle with Cinnamon
Carefully roll it up, lengthways if you want them little, the other way if you want them huge, I guess - lol!
Slice and put on a fresh piece of Parchment Paper (the one that comes with the Puff Pastry is questionable, use it in a pinch, but I hope you've gone mad and gotten a thing of Parchment Paper, and now it's your favorite thing to bake with - lol!
Bake at 350 for about 10 - 15 minutes - watch this one, it's better to take it out before you think the Puff Pastry is as cooked as you think it should be, because you don't want the brown sugar to burn...
Flip them over when they come out the oven - divine! So good! : )




Enjoy! Oh, man, these are all so delicious - you'll love them, your family will love them - if you have any left, your friends will love them - so, safe to say, they're deeeelish! ; )

Your little cooking pal, Ailsa! xoxo!!