you can't beat Aussie lamb...

this week has seen me take to my bed....
no, not in protest, but severe and debilitating flu rendered me completely useless.
it must be 8-10 years since I have been so ill! all I could do was give in, collapse in a heap and allow my body the time to heal.
the following recipe is from last thursday, just before the wall hit me (so to speak) and from vague memories, I believe it was all delicious....
i wanted to road test a some products that we sell in our shop & see if i could jazz it up a bit...




a few of the ingredients



lamb & macaroni stew

1kg lamb forequarter chops

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled & sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

400g tin crushed tomatoes

masterfoods lamb casserole base

1 tbsp honey

1/2 cup dry macaroni

1 cup chicken stock

important info::

firstly,i use an electric saucepan at our shop, so i heated it and added a little cooking spray. At home, you might use a large heavy based saucepan, or frypan, then slow cooker. most importantly, I asked the Husband to cut the lamb differently for me. i wanted the lamb to be chunky, but still contain bone for the flavour so he cut the chops double thickness and then cut them in half crossways so i ended up with nice thick chunks of meat and bone.(see below) 



browning nicely



1. brown chops well on both sides. (if using a slow cooker, transfer chops to cooker, add remaining ingredients and cook on high 4-6 hours). if using a saucepan, continue.

2. add prepared vegies and stir several minutes.

3. add tomatoes, honey,stock & casserole base. stir well and allow to come to the boil.

4. cover and simmer 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. add macaroni, stir in well and cook a further 30 minutes.



simmering away, at the 1 hour mark




nice lunch at work!



outcome?

it was really flavoursome and a delicious lunch!  the masterfoods meal base was good and did the job. i tend to think these things have way too much salt and other preservative laden things in them, but in the real world they do serve a purpose and people seem to like them. i use packet mixes occasionally and they are handy to have in the cupboard.

the addition of pasta was interesting as it soaked up most of the liquid, which was good for quick scoffing down and made it easy to eat on the run at work, but also made the meal more complete, filling and easy because it was all in one pot (i love that idea)

it certainly filled the shop with a wonderful aroma...a bit different to the usual....