Beef and Lentil casserole

 Autumn is settling in and so is the cold weather. Lately I've been making a lot of slow cooked meals, which are easy to put together a little time in advance. It only takes about 10 minutes of prep and you're not caught trying to whip something up last minute when you're hungry and grumpy and tired. Slow cookers seem to be popular at the moment, and seem for a lot of people to be a really good investment. Personally I don't have a slow cooker - but find that the oven works fine for us. There is something really simplistic about throwing a bunch of ingredients in a crock pot and opening the oven 2-3 hours later to find an amazing cooked meal. It just gives you a very warm and cozy feeling. The aroma of something delicious cooking is always very welcoming too.

Here's an easy recipe for a beef and lentil stew which serves about 3-4 people. Beef is the cheapest option, but could easily be substituted for cubed lamb or even lamb shanks. Some people seemed to be deterred by lentils - don't let them put you off. They have a very mild flavour and add a nice texture to the dish.

 In a casserole dish, place 1 cup of orange lentils, 2 chopped carrots, 2 stalks chopped celery, and 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic.

 Dot over about 400g cubed stewing beef or lamb. Add two cans of chopped tomatoes, and 1 chopped onion. Sprinkle over some thyme and parsley, and press in a bay leaf for flavour if you have one (just remove it at the end.)

This is essentially a layered dish, so it doesn't have to be mixed together unless you want to.
Cover casserole dish with a lid, or tin foil tightly wrapped over the top to create a nice seal.
Place in the oven at 150.Celcius for 2.5 to 3 hours depending on how tender the meat is.

This could also be made without meat as a vegetarian dish, cooked for only 2 hours. Either way, it is amazing served with buttered bread, and like all stews, tends to taste even better the next day.

Waxeyes

 Unfortunately we were so busy over the last month, we missed the opportunity to harvest the apples and pears on the trees where we live.. the waxeyes and other birds really enjoyed them though! Our cats love these trees and often sit underneath, gazing wishfully up at the birds coming and going. Luckily they are too slow to catch any and we've only come across one unfortunate blackbird in the time we've been here.

 I love sitting outside at this time of year when the weather's mild, watching the leaves fall from the trees. There are so many golden trees at the moment, we are still having days of sunshine and relatively warm weather, and I really just want it to last at least a few more weeks.