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Meals For Less

Slow cooked beef and lentil casserole

A cheaper cut of beef, slow cooked with added lentils makes for a satisfying and budget beating family meal.

Preheat oven to 160°C.
Combine the flour and barbeque spice and lightly dust the meat with it. Seal the meat in batches over high heat, in a pan with a little hot oil, until brown all over. Transfer into a casserole dish and scatter in the bacon and onions.
Combine bay leaves, hot stock and wine and pour into the casserole dish.
Bake covered for 1 ½ hours. Add any leftover seasoned flour, lentils with its liquid, as well as the sweet potato and butternut mix. Continue cooking for a further 30 minutes.
Adjust seasonings and sauce consistency if required.

It is fine to cook then chill this casserole the day before, ready to heat through briefly when needed.
When seasoning slow-cooked dishes, do so lightly at the beginning. This encourages reduction of the liquid, so the sauce can become much more concentrated and easily get too salty. Adjust the seasoning at the end of cooking.