OK, I admit it, I am completely dis-organised when it comes to having dinner ready. I mean, let’s face it, most of us are in the same boat. We are working mothers (and fathers). By the time we’ve cooked breakfast, cleaned up, made school lunches, done a few loads of washing, hung the washing out, gone to work, cleaned up, brought in the washing, ironing, answered 5000 questions from the 5 year old, coached the touch team, done the shopping, bathed the kids……and now it’s DINNER TIME?!!
We live in a house of 9 – and the 2 eldest eat like there’s no tomorrow. I can tell you, I’m glad we grow our own meat, otherwise I would be flat broke.
My greatest companion in the kitchen is my slow cooker …….and my daughter Maggie (who does have a sweet tooth, and makes a mean brownie). There are many times when I grab a frozen blade roast, (or corned meat, or brisket – you get the drift) out of the freezer, stick it in the slow cooker with some vegies and fire it up (this is best done by about 10am, otherwise you will run out of cooking time.)
When dinner time rolls around and the locals are starting to get hungry, I am pretty pleased that I’m not thinking, “What am I going to cook tonight?” All I do is throw on some spuds and everything else has already been done.
Did you know that about 80% of a beef animal is not a “tender cut?” That is eye fillet, rib fillet, scotch fillet. Most of the animal has connective tissue running through it, which is what can cause ‘toughness’ or ‘stringyness’. This meat is minced or made into sausages, or roasted or corned, or stripped.
The less desired cuts are my absolute favourite part of the animal. I prefer a slow cooked piece of beef over an eye fillet any day of the week. It’s always tender, it’s always tasty and I don’t have to stand there and watch it cook.
But what about during summer, when it’s 40 outside you say? I say, it still works a treat. What about some pulled beef and coleslaw on a hot summers night? AMAZING say my kids and leave me with no left overs for lunch tomorrow! And you don’t even need to put the vegies in.
This is my recipe for the best pulled beef ever……
You must put this on in the morning (especially if using frozen meat)
1 x roast (blade, brisket, rump, rolled)
1litre stock (I boil up an organic chook every Sunday and keep the meat for lunches, and use the stock for cooking)
Salt and pepper
Method: Place all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for 8 hours.
Pull meat off with two forks and serve with freshly made coleslaw. (Yes, you can get that vitamin C into your children without them knowing it!) Voila! Done! Dinner over, and if it’s anything like my house, you get to listen to the children arguing about who’s doing the dishes afterwards.
That’s it! Enjoy and don’t forget that when it comes to eating good food, quality beats quantity every day of the week. Get to know your local farmer.
Happy Meal Planning!
Veronica
by 
