Really just another version of Basic Casserole, this one has no tomatoes and is low in amines, glutamates and salicylates. Added flavour comes from using homemade chicken stock instead of water.

Ingredients:
150g beef or lamb stewing meat per person (the rest of the ingredients are suitable to go with 600-1000g meat)
2 rashers bacon, chopped (optional)
1-2 onions, diced (or 1 stalk leek, diced)
3-4 celery stalks, diced
2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
2-3 large garlic cloves, minced (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried or 1 TBSP fresh herbs. Rosemary is an excellent choice, but chives or parsley are lower in salicylates
600 ml homemade chickens stock (simply boil a chicken carcass in water with a little salt for 2 hours, then strain)

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180C/350F
2) Dice meat into cubes, and place in large oven proof, lidded casserole dish with all other ingredients.
3) Mix
4) Bake for 1 1/2 hours, stirring twice during cooking
5) Prior to serving, thicken if desired by mixing 3 heaped TBSP rice flour with enough water to make a slurry, then stire into casserole and bake a further 10-15 mins.

I saw a recipe for a one-dish Mediterranean lamb chop dinner. It had ingredients we couldn't eat or didn't like, so I used the concept and created my own versions - one low salicylate, one low amine/glutamate, and one for everyone else. It was really good!

Ingredients: (for six people, I've divided it into 3 versions - the ingredients marked * are only used in alternate dishes )
6 TBSP oil
Dried chives
3 TBSP lemon or lime* juice
6 small garlic cloves, minced
18 small lamb loin chops
1200g pumpkin and/or kumara, cut into chunks
3 onions, chopped
1 leek*, chopped
Sea salt to taste
¾ cup crumbled feta
Cream cheese*
3 cups rocket or spinach leaves
1 zucchini*
4 brussel sprouts*

A simple but tasty meatloaf free of salicylates, amines (assuming mince is fresh) and glutamates. For those without intolerances, it can be served with a tomato sauce, such as my sugar-free Garden Sauce.

"Failsafe" refers to foods that have no additives and are low in amines, glutamates and salicylates. This meat loaf recipe can be easily adapted by adding other foods to it if you don't have intolerance issues.

Ingredients:
1 kg beef mince
1/2 cup rolled oats (chopped not whole)
Piece of white leek stem, sufficient to be equivalent to 1 onion, finely chopped
2 tsp dried chives
2-3 TBSP finely chopped fresh parsley (or 1 TBSP dried)
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180C/350 F and grease a loaf tin
2) Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly, using your hands at the last to ensure thoroughly "gooshed" together
3) Press mixture evenly into loaf tin
4) Bake for 1 hour, until well cooked
5) Pour off excess fat if desired - I pour it into a bowl and leave it to set, then feed it to the chooks or dogs
6) Turn out onto chopping board and slice.

Serve with mashed potatoes & suitable vegetables, or rice and vegetables, depending on your tolerances.

Notes:
*Onions and garlic contain low levels of amines and moderate salicylates, unsuitable for a sensitive person or during elimination. Leeks are much lower in both, and are a good substitute for onions in most recipes. The white stalk can be used instead of onion, and the green leaves can be used as a vegetable, or instead of spring onions.
* Parsley and chives contain the lowest salicylate and amine levels of all tested herbs, and are considered safe for most people
* Rolled oats are a substitute for breadcrumbs - they have no amines or salicylates and do not contain gluten. Celiacs should use specifically gluten-free ones, if tolerated. Other options include breadcrumbs (we don't use them as we're wheat and gluten free, and the gluten-free breadcrumbs usually contain rice and/or corn which are high in amines and/or salicylates), almond meal (salicylates) or steamed cauliflower that has been chopped to crumbs in a food processor (amines and salicylates)
* Those without any sensitivities could add spices such as curry powder (1/4 tsp), and other herbs such as oregano and thyme (1-2 tsp each) and serve with a tomato sauce.
* For the mince to be safely low in amines, it needs to be preferably less than 2 weeks from slaughter, bought and used the same day or frozen for less than 4 weeks. (Amines increase as proteins age). Most cheaper mince in the supermarkets were vacuum packed, and could be sold "fresh" up to 3 months old. These must be assumed to be very high in amines. Find a butcher who makes his own the day the carcass comes in, and buy from him on that day. Mad Butcher is often a good source.

Wanting a good substitute for our old favourite crumbed, fried schnitzel, I played with some ideas, and came up with this recipe, which worked very well. The result was a healthy, tasty crumb mix that stuck to the meat very well.

Prepare the crumbs earlier in the day, in case you need to dry them out in the oven, and prep the meat early enough to allow it to sit in the fridge for 3 hours before cooking.
Crumb mixture:
Place in food processor 1 1/2 cups ground almonds, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/4 red onion, finely diced, 1-2 TBSP dried oregano and a little salt. Process until finely crumbled. If the mixture is too wet, as mine was because I went a bit overboard with the onion, spread over a shallow oven dish, and bake on fan-bake at about 120C, stirring from time to time until dried out. Pop back in the clean, dry food processor with some extra almond meal and process again to break up any clumps.

To crumb meat:
Line up three bowls, one containing brown rice flour, one with beaten eggs, and one with the crumb mix. Dip pieces of meat first into flour, then in egg, then in crumbs. Lay in a tray, separating layers with baking paper, and refrigerate about 3 hours. This will help the crumbs to stick to the meat, though you can fry it straight away if needed.
Cooking: heat some oil of your choice in a large frying pan, and cook crumbed meat on each side until cooked - the time depends on the cut of meat, but for schnitzel it's about 2-3 mins per side.

Talk about healthy! This delicious meal includes steak, sweet potatoes plus 5 other veges! Once the veges are prepared, the meal is very quick to cook, so you could do most of the chopping and prepping in advance, then pull everything out the fridge and cook this lovely, colourful and healthy meal in 20 mins flat.

There are three parts to this meal - the steak, the kumara noodles, and the vege stirfry. Have the ingredients for each part prepared before you slide the kumara in the oven and start cooking.

Preparation for meal for 6:
1) You will need 150g of steak suitable for frying per person (900g for 6 people), preferably at room temp, so if frozen, put it in the fridge the night before, then get out early enough to reach room temp shortly before you want to start cooking.
2) Preheat oven to 180C (350F) and line two large oven trays with baking paper - set aside.
3) Finely slice 2-3 red onions
4) Crush and mince 3-4 cloves garlic, and place them aside in a bowl with the onion
5) Prep the following veges and pile into a large bowl: 24 brussel sprouts, base removed and cut in half, 3 cups finely sliced red or green cabbage, 10 large leaves of kale or silverbeet, chopped. (Note: alternatives to brussel sprouts are more cabbage, or roughly chopped broccoli or cauliflower  - 3 cups). Try to have a mix of colours - I had green cabbage, so used mostly red silverbeet leaves. Rainbow chard are many-coloured silverbeet plants, very easy to grow.
6) Melt 4-5 TBSP coconut oil in a small pot
7) Peel 2 very large or 4 medium orange kumara, wash and pat dry. Now use a peeler to cut the kumara into ribbons - do this over a large bowl or pot. The bulk of the ribbons may surprise you, but it will reduce down considerably upon cooking.
8) Make sure you have on hand - 2 lemons, salt, butter, coconut oil

Cooking:
Kumara Noodles: Toss the kumara ribbons with the melted coconut oil. Spread out onto oven trays, and bake approximately 20 mins, rotating the trays a few times, or using fan bake, until the noodles are golden and crunchy
Steak: Season the steak on both sides with salt (and pepper if desired). Heat 3 TBSP coconut oil in a frying pan. Add steaks when the oil is hot, and cook on both sides until done - 2-3 mins for medium rare, a bit longer for well done. Remove streak from pan and place on a plate, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes while you cook the veges.
Vegetable Stirfry: In a clean frying pan, melt 3 TBSP butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is softened. Add the other veges, stir, pour over 3/4 cup water, and cover pan, cooking veges for 3-4 mins until brussel sprouts softened and other veges wilted. Season with salt, and squeeze over the juice of 1-2 lemons.
Serve: Place a piece of steak, and a portion of the noodle and veges side by side on 6 plates. Admire the lovely colours. Eat and enjoy! :-)

A hearty, meaty soup perfect for cold winter's nights, and is very quick to make. Left-overs can be frozen and used on days you don't feel like cooking. The seasonings are mostly optional/flexible - use to taste or change for what you have on hand.

Ingredients (to serve about 8 as a main meal):
2 TBSP coconut oil
900-1000g beef mince (prime or premium is best. If using standard mince, drain fat after browning)
2 medium onions, diced
1/2 cabbage, chopped
500g fresh or frozen green beans
1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
2 good handfuls of chopped parsley
2 jars/cans diced tomatoes (or 10 oz tomato paste for a stronger tomato flavour and colour)
1 TBSP nutritional yeast
3 TBSP tamari sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp onion flakes
salt to taste
Kettle full of boiling water

Method:
Melt oil in very large pot. Brown mince, and drain fat if excessive. Add onions, cabbage, beans and parsley. Add enough boiling water to cook veges - they don't need to be covered as they will wilt down. Add rest of ingredients, pouring in enough extra water to make desired soupy consistency (can be as thick as you like). Cook for a few minutes, then taste fluid, and adjust seasonings as needed. Simmer until veges are soft and flavours melded, about 10-15 mins. 

This basic casserole or stew recipe is a modified version of the one I've used for the past 26 years. It can be made with any meat, from beef or lamb to chicken, rabbit, deer, duck or other game. It can be cooked on the stove, in the oven, or in a slow cooker, and most of the ingredients can be varied to suit. Once you understand the method and basic ingredients, the rest is up to you!

Basic Ingredients:
1 kg of meat - use anything you like - excellent for cheap cuts of stewing meat - diced
2 onions, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and finely diced
Vegetables - 2-3 sliced or diced carrots and 2-3 stalks diced celery, or other
1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 TBSP fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce (optional)
1 jar or 400g can of diced tomatoes
300 ml home made stock or water
Rice or corn flour to thicken

Method:
Oven - place all ingredients except in large oven-proof casserole dish with a well-fitting lid. Don't worry if it seems like there isn't a lot of liquid - as the casserole begins to cook, more fluid will come from the meat and veges. Bake at 180C (350F) for 1.5-2 hours, stirring once or twice during cooking.
Stove-top - (least recommended) - heat a little oil in a pot, add garlic and onions and cook until softened. Add meat and brown, then add remaining ingredients except flour. Cover and simmer for 1 - 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more liquid if needed.
Slow cooker - place all ingredients except flour in slow cooker and cook on low all day, or high for 5-6 hours
ALL: near the end of cooking, mix approx. 3 TBSP flour with enough water to make a runny mix, and stir into casserole. Cook a little longer to thicken.

Variations:
* If you don't have any stock available, add 2-3 TBSP tomato paste for extra flavour
* If using a gamey meat such as venison, wild pork or duck, add 2 TBSP vinegar to the mix - this tenderises the meat and removes the gamey flavour but isn't noticeable in the finished casserole
* Chunks of potato or kumera may also be added. The potato soaks up stock and tastes great.
* Vary herbs and seasonings to suit
* Use beef stock with red meats, and chickens stock with whiter meats