Nacho nacho man

superduper lots of nacho mix for when you're feeling tired and in need of irons.

bits:
* 500g of beef mince (or more if your'e feeling particularly meaty - just use less vegetable or elseyou'll have nachos for a month)
* one small zucchini (or half a big one)
* one small - medium sized capsicum (doesn't matter what colour)
* one onion
* two or three tomatoes or one tin of diced tomatos
* one or two tins of three or four bean mix, depending on just how big and beany you want it
* some tomato paste
* quarter teaspoon ground cinnamon
* half teaspoon ground nutmeg
* tablespoon of cumin powder (i think...you need a fair bit of cumin power)
* quarter - half a teaspoon of paprika
* as much cayenne pepper and/or chili as you're into
* half a teaspoon of dried oregano is also nice sometimes
* quite a bit of parsley - helps mute the digestory effects of the onion and beans, and it won't alter the taste too much
* bit of oil
* condiments - salsa, jalapenos, sour cream, cheese, refried beans, whatever

rules:
1. cut up the onion into smallish pieces - pretty much however big you want the onion to be when you find it in the final product.
2. start sweating the onions in a little oil in a big pot (soup pot or the like). when about half done, chuck in the mince and turn the burner down to medium low so that you can go off and do other things and it doesn't burn. stir it around a bit to loosen the mince up.
3. dice one tomato into quite small bits and stir it into the onion meat mix. by now, there should be a bit of juice happening in the pot.
4. start putting the spices in. you can alter the amounts, cuz it'll start smelling super good right about now, so you'll know when you've hit the right combination. be very sparing with the cinnamon though, otherwise it turns into nacho doughnuts.
5. cut up the res tof the tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum, mushrooms, and any other vegetables you've decided to add. cut 'em up pretty small.
6. when you can't see any pink in the meat, you can start adding more stuff. add the tomato paste (like, a table spoon and a half? one or two scoops, anyway) and remaining tomatoes, then add the zucchini first, then the capsicum. hold off on the mushrooms for now.
7. drain and wash the beans. add them around the same time as the zucchini and capsicum. stir it all about, cuz it's getting to the stage where it'll start wanting to catch on the bottom.
8. turn the heat up as far as you can handle it. if you're going to wander off and do other things, keep it down to simmer by itself. if you're going to stare at it and stir it, you can turn it right up. just make sure it's not burning on the bottom.
9. when it's looking just about ready, chuck the mushrooms in (and chopped parsley, if you're using fresh rather than dried parsley). keep cooking and stirring until the mushrooms are done enough for you.
10. serve with corn chips, cheese, salsa, jalapeno chilis, and sour cream. good with beer and british comedy.

swedish meatballs with cream sauce

meaty stuff:

bits:

* 500g beef/pork/whatever mince
* 1 medium onion
* 1 cup of mashed potatoes
* 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs or plain flour
* 200ml soda water
* 1 or 2 eggs depending on size
* parsley, salt to taste
* butter or (rice bran) oil for frying

vague order:

1. wash and peel the potatoes, microwave or boil them until they are soft, mash them up and leave them to cool.
2. cut the onion into little pieces (superlittle pieces worked better than little pieces) and saute in some butter (or oil) until soft, transparent, and a bit browny.
3. mix the egg, soda water, breadcrumbs/flour, parsley, salt, and meat together in a big bowl.
4. add the onion and the potato and mix well. i used my hands, because it's easy to tell when it's mixed well enough by the temperature of the mixture.
5. start heating the oil (or butter) in a frying pan (medium to low heat), and start shaping the mixture into small balls. you can shape the balls and place on a plate until you're ready to cook them (might need a little flour to keep them from sticking).
6. fry the meat balls in the oil, turning occassionally to fry all sides. they're done when all sides are brown and delicious-looking, and you can't see any pink bits. the lowish heat should ensure that they're cooked in the middle. smaller sized balls will cook more thoroughly more quickly.
7. place the cooked meatballs on a plate covered in paper towel or paper serviettes to drain excess oil.
8. make some sauce! then serve with salad! you will want salad! i promise you!

saucey stuff:

bits:

* cream
* beef stock
* plain white flour
* parsley, salt, white pepper, paprika to taste

vague order:

1. mix one part cream to two parts stock in a saucepan (or adjust depending on how meaty or how creamy you want it). add one or two tablespoons of plain flour (or more if you want it hella creamy or are doing huge quantities) and mix well. no lumps, please.
2. add any extra stuff you want, like salt or paprika (very small amount!), whatever.
3. cook over a low to medium heat, stirring continuously. the mixture should start to thicken up just before it boils.
4. nomnomnom!

so, 500g of meat is plenty. i used a bit more, and there are absolutely heaps of the little guys. i also put a little cayenne pepper in the meat mixture, but you can't really taste it. if you're putting the shaped meat balls on a floured surface before cooking them, make sure there's not too much flour, or your oil will go black faster. also, most recipes call for cream in the meatballs, not soda water, but it tasted really good, so i'll do what i want. also, i recommend using as little flour as possible in the sauce, otherwise you can totally taste it.