Cajun Beef Casserole

A very hearty, wholesome meal which all family members can enjoy! This recipe is very high in iron with the inclusion of beef, chickpeas, some green leafy vegetables. I discuss more about the importance of iron for all family members over on my next blog. A casserole is a true classic and this version has a real taste kick with the Cajun spices, red onion and capsicum, without it being super hot (though you can add a chili if you really like!). For those with babies just blitz up a small portion of the vegetables, meat, chickpeas and juice into a blender for easy homemade baby food.

Ingredients:

800g casserole meat (I recommend Quality Mark)

Extra virgin olive oil (to fry)

2 Tb crushed garlic

30g Cajun seasoning

1 cup of chopped leek

2 potatoes diced

1 capsicum sliced

2 red onions sliced

1 tin (or 400g) chickpeas

2 cups of beef stock

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees and prepare the beef.

2. Heat a medium sized fry pan, add oil and when hot quickly add the beef, garlic and cajun seasoning all together. We like a lot of spice so I use the whole 30g, do not be shy with this! If however you will be making for a baby, maybe just add a little less the first time they have this. Brown the meat well on all sides.



3. Once browned, place the meat and all meat juices into a casserole dish. Add the vegetables, chickpeas and beef stock.



5. Cover and oven cook for two hours (or until beef is tender).



7. Remove and serve!



You can check out the vlog for this recipe on you-tube here and for more family friendly high iron recipes be sure to check out my blog, like my Beef and Liver Parcels or Vegetarian Lasagna! Plus I have tagged high-iron recipes in my cook book Healthy Easy Dinners for Busy Mums!

xxx Dr Julie Bhosale