Are you serious? Making lamb kebabs is SO EASY! We did these in the slow cooker and had a huge feast out of it, plus heaps left for lunches during the week.
Ingredients
- 1 kg lamb mince
- 2 teaspoons mixed herbs
- 3 teaspoons onion salt
- 3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Directions
- Mix lamb mince and all herbs and spices very very well until it’s a sticky consistency (I mean really well – you don’t want a mouthful of salt!)
- Form into a loaf shape
- Layer 1 piece of baking paper over tin foil
- wrap the mince loaf firmly, tucking the baking paper around the loaf to keep the juices in and to help keep it’s form
- place directly into the slow cooker – no water required (weird, I know)
- Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or LOW for 6-8
- Remove from heat and let rest for 30 minutes before slicing
Sit loaf on baking paper 
wrap tightly 
place in bottom of slow cooker
To serve – slice thinly. Serve on Turkish bread or pocket wraps with lettuce, cheese, tomato, hummus, red onion, chilli sauce, etc.
My Ultimate Tips on Storing Mince – You’re Welcome!!
There’s nothing worse than taking mince out of the freezer for a meal you want to start preparing in like 10 minutes, only to find that the
So, what is the best way to store mince? Nobody likes leaving it out on the kitchen bench to defrost, and even when you put it in the fridge to slowly defrost it seems like it takes forever – plus – we all know that
I had a good think about it, and here are my best tips for buying and freezing mince:
- I always buy in bulk and always when its on special.
- Check the use by dates if the mince is pre-packaged
- Divide it up – for 3 adult size meals (man-sized!) we portion it into 250g lots – this is enough for spaghetti, nachos, etc for all of us and there’s usually some left over
- Get a vacuum sealer machine – if you don’t want to go to the expense (it’s worth it!) then there is a trick you can use with an iron (but hey, who enjoys ironing right??). If you want the easiest option – go the zip lock freezer bags.
- Place your mince portions into your storage choice. Using a rolling pin (or large glass) roll the mince out to about 2-3mm thick, spreading the mince into the corners of the bag to eliminate the air.
- Seal the bag.
- Freeze! Make sure that it’s stored flat in the freezer! This will save you space. If you are using just freezer bags, place some paper towel or newspaper between each layer of mince to stop it all sticking together – this only seems to happen with the thinner plastic bags.
- To defrost, either take out a few hours before you need it and defrost in the fridge; or if you are in a hurry, put the frozen mince (still inside the bag) in the sink with some cold (NOT hot) water while you prep the rest of your meal.
As I said earlier, mince is one of those foods where safe food handling is really important. Do NOT refreeze raw mince – for example, don’t freeze your mince, then decide to make sausage rolls and then freeze your uncooked sausage rolls. You can defrost your mince, and then cook it in say spaghetti sauce, and then freeze the sauce again without a problem.
Buy in bulk 
Roll out your portion 
Extract all air 
Ready to freeze
Sausage Rolls – Easy Homemade Bulk Version – Ready to Freeze
My boys always loved home made sausage rolls – we knew what went into them – and they would eat them in no time – this recipe is perfect to freeze and keep for a quick meal later – no need to defrost, just straight into the oven – you’ll know when they are cooked – they will be golden and just begging to be devoured.
There are lots of variations to making sausage rolls – change the spices to whatever flavours you like – another variation which we have made (and loved) have been with pork, apple and sage (my favourites to date!).
You will need:-
- 1kg beef mince
- 500g pork mince
- 12 sheets puff pastry
- 1 cup chopped corriander
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup Kepap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce
Separate your sheets of puff pastry and spread out so they can defrost – use a knife to gently separate the sheets. Do not remove the plastic divider sheets, you will need these later.
Place all ingredients (except for the puff pastry of course) in a bowl.
Mix well by hand. I grab and squeeze to mix this – I’ve found its easier and quicker – just dip your hands into it, grab and handful, lift and squeeze – repeat.
You want it to be mixed to a consistency of rissoles – firm but not dry.
Divide the mixture up into 12 even quantities.
Take one of the mince balls, and spread it out over half of one of the puff pastry sheets. Repeat for each ball to a sheet of pastry.
Start to roll up the pastry, leaving the plastic behind.
Continue to roll up the pastry to the end of the plastic.
Then roll the plastic back around the newly formed sausage roll.
Next, cut the roll in half – you now have 2 sausage rolls with the plastic wrapped around the outside of the sausage roll (you don’t want it rolled inside the roll – yuck!)
To cook: heat oven to about 200ºc and place sausage rolls on lined tray – make sure that the edge of the roll is on the underside of the sausage roll to prevent it unravelling when it cooks.
Cook until golden. Depending on your oven, you may need to rotate the tray part way through cooking to ensure even cooking. If they explode a little (like mine) its because the mince could probably have been spread a little further before rolling it up.
The rest of them? Place them in a plastic container in the freezer – the sheets of plastic will stop them sticking together in the freezer. To cook, just put on a lined tray (no need to defrost) in oven at 200ºc until golden.
Hot tip:- where the seal for the edge of the sausage roll is, make sure that you have it on the underside of the sausage roll when you freeze it – this way it stops the sausage roll unravelling when its cooking.
I thought for this one, I would do up a quick pricing, just to show how great these are for value for money along with a little effort.
Let’s pretend that you don’t have any of the ingredients in your pantry – I am going to use no-name brands where possible so that we can try and make it as cheap as – prices are as at today (May 17, 2015) and priced via online shopping prices through Coles – prices will vary, depending on your location of course, so this is only a rough guide.
- 1kg beef mince $7.00
- 500g pork mince $5.50
- 12 sheets puff pastry $5.40
- bunch fresh coriander $2.98
- 12 eggs $2.99
- 500g breadcrumbs $1.71
- 240ml Kepap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) $5.72
- 500ml sweet chilli sauce $2.00
Total amount to spend on initial spend: $33.30
Cost per sausage roll: $1.39
Now, just remember, this is for a full carton of eggs, a full bottle of sauce, etc and that you can use these ingredients in other things too – keep the coriander for the Sticky Asian Lamb dish. So let’s break it down a little further:
- 1kg beef mince $7.00
- 500g pork mince $5.50
- 12 sheets puff pastry $5.40
- 1 cup chopped corriander $1.50
- 2 eggs $0.50
- 1 cup breadcrumbs $0.80
- 1/2 cup Kepap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) $1.00
- 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce $0.50
Outlay: $22.20
Cost: $0.92 cents per sausage roll
See how you can save? Add a mashed potato and some vegetables and you have a meal for under $2.00 (if you only eat one sausage roll of course!)
