Monday Meal

Hello everyone! I am sure you have all been waiting for my first 'Monday Meal' post, and here it is!

I made this meal for last night's dinner. My family all enjoyed this unusual meal and were very accommodating!

It was a two course meal and everything was made from scratch, so I happily spent almost the whole day in the kitchen!!!

I made Tortilla Beef Pies as the main meal, with carrots and green beans as a side dish. I made Chocolate Pudding as dessert with custard! It was very rich!



























Shopping!


















Rebekah trying to get my camera in the mall!

Here are the recipes:

Tortilla Beef Pies:

Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes (if you are making your own tortillas, it takes longer!)
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
















4 tortillas ( recipe below)
15ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
400g beef mince
5ml cinnamon
2ml chilli powder
15ml coriander
200ml water
400g baked beans
1 egg, beaten
125ml chedder cheese, grated
salsa and sour cream to serve














1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease 4 shallow ovenproof dishes. Brush the tortillas with Olive oil and press them into the dishes to form baskets. Bake for 10 minutes until crisp.














2. Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan and saute onions until soft. Add the beef mince and cook until browned. Season with spices and salt and pepper. Add water and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in the baked beans and beaten egg, then scoop into the tortilla nests. Sprinkle over cheese and bake for 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the mince heated through.









































4. Turn out onto plates and serve with salsa and sour cream.















5. Eat and enjoy with side dish of your choice!!


















For the Tortillas:














2 cups flour (all-purpose or bread flour, cake flour should be avoided)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup warm water
11/2 tsp salt

1. Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, then turn the dough out onto the counter and knead the dough for about a minute. This isn't like making bread and a minute of kneading is plenty.














2. Divide the dough into eight rounded balls.

3. Heat up a heavy frying pan over medium heat. The heavier the pan the easier they are. If you have a cast iron fry pan it is ideal for making tortillas.

4. Sprinkle some flour onto the counter and roll out each ball of dough into a flat circle about 6 inches in diameter. If the dough is sticking to the table, just add more flour. Rotating the circle around as you're rolling it out can help you get that nice circular shape, but it really just takes practice; and they'll taste great even if they're not perfectly circular

5. Take a clean cloth and dust off any flour that's adhered to the tortilla, and place it onto the frying pan. You don't need to add any oil to the pan, they won't stick.
When you see bubbles popping up all over the top of the tortilla, it's done.
Take it off the heat and wrap in a clean dishtowel as you repeat the process.

You don't need to cook the tortillas on both sides as they're so thin they'll cook through from the bottom. Cooking on only one side will make a better tortilla.

Don't get discouraged if you're tortillas look funny, by the second or third batch you do you'll be a seasoned pro; and the whole process won't take more than about 20 minutes.

Okay...now for the dessert! Be warned, this is rich, and don't think you may need to make a double batch for your family, a little goes a long way especially after a big meal like tortillas!!

Chocolate Pudding:

Serves 6 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes














120g (250ml) cake flour
5ml baking powder
185g (230ml) brown sugar
25g (60ml) cocoa
125ml milk
30g butter, melted or very soft
160g (200ml) brown sugar, extra
25g (60ml cocoa, extra
300ml hot water

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Gradually stir in the milk and butter.














2. Spread the mixture evenly into a greased 11/2 litre ovenproof pudding dish. In a jug combine the sugar and extra cocoa. Gradually add the hot water, stir till smooth, then gently pour over the pudding.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pudding has risen and is firm to the touch. Serve with cream, creme, ice-cream, or custard.









































4. Enjoy!!

































Gabrielle sure enjoyed hers, you can see by the chocolate on her mouth and her, what she calls 'wide eyes'!

My mom enjoyed the fact that she now has one night a week where she doesn't have to cook. Although I help her with meals during the week, she doesn't do anything on a Monday, unless I am stuck with something! She's a real help anyway!

One thing I did learn yesterday: read the recipe thoroughly before you start cooking! It really helps, trust me!

Blessings,
Kelly-Anne