Beef stew & dumplings

This is the time of year when the hearty, warming recipes start coming to the fore. This is a regular favorite for the cooler evenings.

Fry a large chopped onion, steak cut into cubes, and a handful of button mushrooms quartered. When the steak is nicely browned, decant into a covered roasting dish along with some chopped carrots and a drained can of Romano or white kidney beans. Pour over some beef stock with a spoonful of gravy browning mixed in. You don't want it swimming, but the liquid should more-or-less come to the top of the other ingredients.

Pop in the oven for at least an hour. How long overall depends on the cut of meat, cheaper cuts need longer cooking.

For the dumplings, mix together flour and suet in 2 to 1 proportions (my rule of thumb is 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 of suet per person) with a generous spoonful of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix in cold water until you have a sticky dough. Spoon over the top of the stew and return to the oven until the dumplings have fluffed up and gone crispy golden on top - about 1/2 hour.

Thai chicken wraps

This is a quick and simple meal, something we made up, with no pretense at any cultural origins. In fact, it's a bit of a hodge-podge of influences :)

Breadcrumb (either fresh or Panko) some chicken pieces and fry until crisp and cooked through. We usually use boneless thighs rather than breast, because they have more flavor and moisture. If cooking whole, slice thinly once cooked.

Serve on flour tortillas with mayonnaise or sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and a good dash of Thai sweet chili sauce.

Chana Saag

A chick pea curry, one of our favorite side dishes.

Fry a chopped onion until golden. Add spices (curry paste, cumin, coriander) then a couple of chopped tomatoes and a drained can of chick peas. Cover and simmer on a very low heat for at least an hour. Stir occasionally - the tomatoes should provide enough liquid for the dish, but it can catch on the pan if you're not careful.

Once the tomatoes have mashed down, add a generous squirt of tomato ketchup for a bit of sweetness. Near the end, stir in a good handful of spinach leaves.

Shrimp salad

After enjoying this light and easy meal while we were away camping this summer, we had it again tonight. Just because ...  :)

Mix a good portion of cooked and peeled shrimp into a Marie Rose sauce (equal dollops of mayonnaise and tomato ketchup mixed together.

Serve with a generous mixed salad, and fries or buttered new potatoes.

For a fresher and lighter taste, serve the shrimp without the sauce on top of a mixed or Caesar salad.

Lamb in redcurrant sauce

This used to be a regular favorite, until we found we could no longer find anywhere nearby that stocks jars of redcurrant sauce (the sauce, not the jelly). Oh well, trying this evening with red pepper sauce instead, and cherry sauce also works quite well.

Fry a sliced onion, then brown your lamb - chops, steaks, shanks, whatever takes your fancy. Add a measure of stock and a jar of sauce and simmer long and slow until the meat is tender.

Finish off by thickening the remaining sauce (it will probably have reduced during cooking) with a spoonful of corn starch.

Serve with potatoes and veggies of choice.

Orange chicken

This is another from a group of crockpot Chinese recipes, which we tried with great success.

The full recipe is here, but is very simple.

Blend 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 3 of tomato ketchup, 6 oz of frozen orange juice concentrate, a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt in the crockpot. Flour and fry chicken pieces and mix them into the sauce. Cook on low for about 6 hours. Serve with rice.