I use casseroles and soups to use up bits of wizened vegetables and odd bits of cooked meat. It is also a way of using small quantities of uncooked meat that would not be enough to make a meal on their own. An example is that today I had 2 sausages but made a meal that will feed 4 people. I usually make a casserole in the slow cooker on days when I know I will be busy and require a quick meal when I get back. When I don’t have enough fresh vegetables I add frozen vegetables saved from my freezer. This is a healthy meal that tastes lovely. We sometimes make dumplings to go with it or eat it with some homemade bread.
Recipe
1 onion
Any vegetables you have. I use fresh and from the freezer.
4 sausages (I only had 2 today)
1 tin of beans (I used gumbo beans as I had got them for 19p a tin but any beans will do, even baked beans at a push)
4 table spoons of tomato puree
A dollop of tomato sauce or tsp sugar
2 stock cubes
Spaghetti (optional)
1.5 tsp mixed herbs or smoked paprika (depending on the taste you want)
Salt and pepper.
Method
1. Brown the sausages in a pan. Slice the sausages and place in the slow cooker.
2. Chop the onion and the vegetables and added to the pot with the tin of beans
3. Make up enough stock to cover your vegetables and meat. We used about 1.5 pints. I always add the tomato puree to my stock as it mixes into the stew more evenly.
4. Add tomato sauce (and puree if not already added) and the mixed herbs or paprika, and stir. Add salt and pepper
5. Cook on low for 6 or 7 hours.
6. Check the sauce part way through cooking and if it is too thin add some more tomato puree. I also add some broken pieces of spaghetti as this also bulks out the meal and thickens the sauce.
This feeds 4
