It has been a windy, cold week in Sydney and we have had decent rain for the first time in a long while. So what does that make me feel like making for dinner tonight? A slow cooked casserole with rich and tasty sauce. So that’s what we will be having. One of the benefits of working at home is that you can decide what you want for dinner at lunchtime and start preparing the meal – even if it is a slow cook! In fact I use the slow cooker much more now than I ever did when I went out to work somewhere else!

I love how easy it is to spice up your food with Essential Oils.  Using a combination of fresh herbs and the Oils provides an authentic flavour sensation that will light up your taste buds even on the bleakest of days.

What you will need:

500 g cubed beef stew meat (browned lightly)

1 brown onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

3/4 cup red wine and 1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 jar of passatta

1 cup each of of diced carrots, zucchini and frozen peas

1 large potato, cubed

Approximately 1/4 cup of barley (You could use quinoa – the aim is to thicken the casserole without using flour.)

1 tin of red kidney beans (This is optional – you could use lentils or chick peas.)

A handful each of rosemary, thyme and parsley

1/2 teaspoon each of ground black pepper, cumin, coriander and chilli flakes

A dash of Worcestershire sauce

Essential Oils: 1 drop of Rosemary Oil and a toothpick* each of Thyme and Coriander Oils.

Method:

Chop the vegetables (not the peas!) and herbs and place on the bottom of the slow cooker.

Add the browned meat, barley, red wine, tomatoes and tomato paste.

Add the dry spices and black pepper.

Cover slow cooker and cook for 7 to 8 hours on Low or 3-4 hours on High. Add a little extra water if needed. 

Add the oils, kidney beans and frozen peas approximately 1 hour before serving and stir in well. 

If you would like some more carbs with your meal you may wish to serve the casserole with our Cheese Sauce Scones.

*Note: Some oils are quite strong so if you are not sure about how much to add to your recipe, put a drop onto a toothpick and just dip that into the food rather than adding a whole drop.

What Next?

If you are ready to enter the world of essential oils and you decide to go the doTERRA way, I would love to help you get started and support you if you want some help. Here is how you can do this: go to my doTERRA website to find out about the range of oil and oil based products available for purchase. You can also sign up to become a member on this site. Once signed up you can purchase oils for wholesale prices! But if you would like some more information click on the Contact Me on the doTERRA website and I will respond to your questions.

We hope you will join us at Helpful By Nature by subscribing to our email list. We would love to hear from you, take your questions and provide answers if we are able.

 

Until next time,

Gillian (and Andrew)