Caitríona Redmond: My smokey beef stew - perfect for budget winter dinners

Traditional and fresh cooked irish beef stew served on a plate with blurred table background. Close up and front view wx281023

I regularly fail at sticking to my budget. It’s important to tell you this because disasters/failures/slips happen. I am full of the best intentions not to exceed the line I’ve set for myself. I’m human.

Think of setting a grocery budget like picking chocolate to give up for Lent as a child. 

I used to count down the days to St Patrick’s Day so we could have a little break from Lenten fasting and a reprieve. 

Similarly, 9 days out of 10 I stick to the plan and then now and again I cave.

When that happens, I start again. It’s not a reset or a reorganisation of what I’m doing. I acknowledge that the budget hasn’t gone according to plan. Then, it’s a readjustment to account for whatever has thrown me off track.

I know that my tried and tested methods for feeding my family well for less work. Sometimes it can be a process that involves 4 steps forward and 2 steps back before continuing on the path I have chosen. 

Ultimately, it’s not failure that I associate with living with less disposable income, it’s success.

It’s overwhelming to look at a financial goal, be it savings, paying bills or living on less, from the top down. I make recipes one step at a time and that can be applied to living on a budget.

We all have transferrable skills that can be taken from school, work, or other activities that can be applied in the home kitchen. 

Remember studying geometry in school and thinking you may never need to apply that skill in real life? Have you ever stacked a kitchen press or organised a freezer? 

If you learned how to create and edit a spreadsheet at any point in your life you have a huge headstart to organising your household finances.

If you can organise a filing cabinet, you can organise a fridge or a cupboard. If you can submit work expense requests you can collate all your shopping receipts and track what you have spent each week. 

If you ring around suppliers in work for the best deals, you can certainly do the same at home!

Maybe it all feels a little bit too much like ‘work’ and home is a haven where you want to relax and escape from the stresses of being organised. 

I can understand that sentiment. By the time I get to the end of my work day, I just want to shut off; you are not on your own there.

Still, when I face down an unexpected bill or high cost I know it will make me feel far worse not having easy access to the funds to pay for it or having to use a credit card. 

This week it was an A&E charge for an 11-year-old who thought he was invincible. Next week it could be a repair bill for an appliance (I do hope I’m not jinxing myself now).

My worth and my assets are not financial. My skills and abilities are the most valuable tools I have to live on less. So are yours.

Home Economics

In the theme of going back to basics here are some of my top tips to save money on your grocery shopping.

Cut back on certain pre-prepared foods if you can.

The best example of this is pre-sliced ham in plastic packages. 

On a weight basis it’s at least twice the cost of buying a whole ham, cooking it at home, and then slicing it yourself. 

If ham is your sandwich of choice, you could save €5 per week for a family of 4 by changing from pre-sliced to whole hams. 

You will also cut back on the amount of single-use packaging in your home.

Yellow stickers are winning stickers.

Rather than browsing the supermarket by starting at the front and walking through the aisles to make your selections, visit the yellow sticker section first. 

Check through what is on discount because it’s close to its sell-by date. 

Adapt your shopping list accordingly, and you could save up to 80% off items with that magic yellow sticker.

Get Appy.

Use apps like TooGoodToGo and Olio to bag food that is near its shelf life at a discount. 

The availability of food on both apps can vary depending on where you live in the country. 

The closer you are to a big urban centre the better chance you have of good value.

Go Frozen.

Some fresh fruits and vegetables are pricey depending on whether they are in season or not. 

The cost of the same items from the freezer section tends to be more static and the quality can be just as good, if not better. 

For example, 450g of frozen mixed sliced peppers costs €1 in Dunnes Stores at the moment. 

To buy the equivalent amount of fresh peppers would cost far more than €1. If cooking in a soup or a stew often freezer vegetables will do grand.

This week’s main meal recipe champions frozen and store cupboard ingredients. 

Sometimes preparing fresh from scratch can be too much of a challenge when you are tired or tight on time.

Smokey Beef Stew

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

This recipe champions frozen and store cupboard ingredients - sometimes preparing fresh from scratch can be too much of a challenge when you are tired or tight on time.

Servings

5

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 6 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 6 hours 5 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 500g stewing beef

• 100g frozen chopped onions

• 200g frozen chopped carrots

• 100g frozen chopped turnip/swede

• 1 tin chickpeas, drained

• 1 tbsp dried garlic

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 150ml beef stock (made from stock cube)

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1.5 tsp smoked paprika

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker/crockpot/heavy casserole dish. Stir well so that the herbs and spices coat the meat and vegetables.

2. If cooking in the slow cooker/crockpot, put the lid on and cook on high for 6 hours.

3. If cooking in a heavy casserole dish in the oven, add a further 400ml of hot water to the pot. Put the lid on and cook at 160°C/ gas mark 3 for 3 hours.

4. The dish is ready when the meat is tender. Serve with rice or mash and eat with a spoon.

Cheat's Trifle

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

At least one drawer of my freezer is full of frozen berries but fresh ones are fine in this recipe too! This is a very handy recipe that doesn’t involve putting on the oven to bake a sponge.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 200g frozen berries

• 50ml fresh squeezed orange juice

• 1 tsp ground dried ginger

• 100g nibbed almonds

• 50g butter, melted

• 1 medium egg

• 150g ground almonds

• 1 drop of almond flavouring

• ¼ tsp baking powder

• 300ml vanilla yoghurt

Method

1. Place the berries, orange juice and ground ginger in a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer for 5 minutes and then set to one side.

2. Toast the nibbed almonds under the grill or in a dry frying pan until golden brown but not black.

3. Take a large microwave-proof dish and mix the butter, egg, ground almonds, almond flavouring and baking powder with a fork until you get a paste.

4. Microwave for 1 minute on high. Leave to stand for 3 minutes. Microwave for another minute, stand for 3 minutes and repeat one more time.

5. To assemble, take a big bowl or several small glasses. Put spoonfuls of the stewed fruit on the bottom, then top with the almond 'sponge'. It doesn't matter if it's a bit tough as it's going to soak into the fruit juices. Top with spoonfuls of fresh vanilla yoghurt and then the toasted nibbed almonds.

6. Serve the cheat's trifle on the same day as you assemble it.