Mongolian beef

Talk about an explosion of flavour in your mouth! The recipe asks for 1 cup of light Soy sauce. Make sure you use light, as the light is less salty.

- vegetable oil

- 1 teaspoon ginger

- 2 tablespoons garlic

- 1 cup light soy sauce 

- 1 cup water

- 4/3 cup brown sugar

- 1 kg steak, sliced

- 1/2 cup cornflour

- 6 shallots, green part only

1. Heat the vegetable oil and add the garlic and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the Soy sauce and water. 

2. Stir in the sugar and bring to the boil for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

3. Coat the meat in the cornflour, shake off the excess, and let sit for 10 minutes. 

4. Sauté the meat for 2 minutes.

5. Add the ginger and garlic sauce from step 1 and add the shallots. 

Sweet and sour meatballs

This recipe didn't ask for any salt, and as you use a packet of French onion soup (which is normally quite salty), I didn't. However, test your meatballs. You might need some salt. I did. 

- 1 kg mince

- 1 packet French onion soup

- 425g can pineapple pieces, drained, juice reserved

- 1 small capsicum, chopped

- 1 carrot, chopped

- 1/2 cup peas

- 1 Apple, peeled and sliced thin

- 1 teaspoon mustard powder

- 1 tablespoon cornflour 

- 1 tablespoon vinegar

1. Mix the mince and soup mixture together. Roll into small balls and fry until brown. Remove to a casserole dish. 

2. To the same pan, add the pineapple, capsicum, carrot, peas, and apple. Pour over the pineapple juice (which is made up to 1 1/2 cups with water). Cook for a few minutes until tender.

3. Mix the mustard and cornflour into a thin paste with the vinegar. Stir through mixture. 

4. Add to the meatballs and heat through at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. 

Busy day casserole

If you're short of time but still want a delicious meal, then this is the one for you. I started by putting my pasta on to cook while I prepared the rest of the recipe, and the whole meal took me no more than 20 minutes.

- 250g mince

- 125g bacon

- 1/2 onion

- 250g pasta

- 210g can creamed corn

- 1/4 cup grated tasty cheese

- salt and pepper

- 210g can tomato soup

- 1/2 tablespoon curry powder

1. Prepare the pasta according to the packet. 

2. Brown the mince, onion, and bacon together 

3. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a jug.

4. Add the cooked pasta to the mince mixture and add the sauce mixture from the jug.