Every now and then in my household we have a pyjama day. We stay at home all day watching movies, eating, playing games and taking it slow. There is nowhere to be. The only time we get out of our pyjamas is to go to bed in clean pyjamas! 

On these days I enjoy being in my kitchen preparing meals from my freezer, fridge and pantry, nourishing our insides while we rest up our bodies. As we are at home all day it’s a good time to make something that gently simmers on the stove, or slowly cooks away in the oven or slow cooker. On this pyjama day I made a beef casserole- perfect cold weather food that feels like a nice warm hug on the inside while you eat it. In our busy lives being slow, using wholefoods and taking the time to nourish and rest ourselves is a loving, easy thing to do. A casserole uses what you have and need not be elaborate. We ate this with mashed potato but you could just as easily serve it with soft polenta, pasta or whatever side you have and enjoy eating. The next night’s dinner was leftover casserole in a pie dish, with puff pastry on top, a quick and easy beef pie.

Take the time to slow down and enjoy some loving, easy food.

BEEF CASSEROLE

1kg gravy beef cubed

3Tbsp plain flour

1Tbsp dried oregano leaves

1tsp salt

3Tbsp olive oil

2 bay leaves

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

300g button mushrooms, left whole if they are small, or cut in half if they are large

1 tin diced tomatoes

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1Tbsp vegetable stock paste in 2 cups water

1 cup red wine
In a freezer bag place the flour, oregano and salt. Add the beef to the bag and coat the pieces in the flour

Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan and fry the beef pieces in batches until browned. Set aside

Add the onion, carrot and celery in to the saucepan and fry with the bay leaves. I like the carrot and celery slices to be quite large as they will be cooking for quite a while

Add the meat back to the saucepan

Add the tomato paste, tin of tomatoes, stock and wine to the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer

Let this cook for two hours

Once two hours is done, add the mushrooms and cook for another 15 minutes

Serve with mash potato or whatever side you like. A sprinkle of chopped parsley on top also goes nicely