Super Easy Beef Casserole aka The Reason I Failed Masterchef.

Am I the only person in Australia that finds the reality TV show Masterchef slightly annoying?  Actually to be honest maybe a bit more than slightly annoying.

There is something about it that I just don't quite connect with.  I think it is something to do with how ridiculously stressed the contestants get and how they create drama for drama's sake (but then that is what TV shows do).  Or maybe just that I get enough of real life every day and prefer a bit of escapism on the telly.  Who knows?  Given that the Masterchef creators are laughing all the way to the bank, I don't think they will be too worried about my opinion.  Someone who throws tins of soup into recipes with as much relish as I do, would not be an ideal contestant anyway.

I was thinking about this while I made my very favourite, easy beef casserole.  Mainly because it breaks lots of rules of casserole creating.  So yummy though. My lovely Mum has made it for years and years.  The Farmer can also remember his grandmother making it when he was young, so I think it is an old country recipe that has done the rounds. It freezes well, everyone eats it and the ingredients are available easily.  Ticks all the boxes (that one was for you Pilbara Chick).

It looks like this when it's done.

Masterchef Eat Your Heart Out

The ingredients are simple.

• 700g stewing steak cut into stewing size chunks (tell me you know what I mean)
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 1 onion cut into rings
• 250g of prunes
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of fruit chutney

Ingredients Photos Make Me Feel Organised

Place the stewed meat in a bag with the flour, salt, pepper and brown sugar.  Shake it until the meat is well coated.

See.

Meat - Well Coated!

Then mix the coated meat, prunes and onion in a casserole which has a lid.

Mixed Up

Combine the water, vinegar, soy and chutney in a jug and pour over the top.  (I didn't put up a photo for this bit because a. I think you can work it out and b. the photo I took looked just like the above only wetter).

Pop the lid on the casserole dish and place in a 150 degree celsius oven for 1.5 to 2 hours.

This makes a very yummy family meal - I would normally serve it with rice or couscous.  Kind of vaguely Moroccan in a retro 70s kind of way.

(Quick question - do people find my recipes useful? or do they bore the pants off you? I am thinking about the general direction my blog is going in as it is all quite random at present.  Knowing me though it will stay random...)