Living in the city with no local butcher nearby and a busy lifestyle,

I am guilty of getting all my meat from the supermarket. That’s why I love Macbeth’s meat box ordering system, in the below example of the meat box for 1, everything comes individually wrapped  (see my meat box above too) so no faffing about with cling film or freezer bags you can simply put the meat into the freezer until your ready to use it. Having lived in Aberdeenshire for sometime closely to the Morayshire farm, I can appreciate the local, expert knowledge of a Scottish farmer and it’s something I champion in my role as a food educator. 

You may have read in my earlier post about the quality and tastiness of Macbeth’s Ayrshire middle bacon and black pudding which I scoffed as part of a weekend Scottish fry (grill) up! Here I want to share with you some simple mid-week meals you can make in no time with some of the finest Scottish produce at reasonable prices.

I love kebabs, they are so simple to knock up and can be fun to make with your partner or the kids. You can add any veggies suitable for grilling and making a marinade is oh so simple. A good quality piece of meat is essential though. I took a dash of lemon juice, a smidgen of olive oil and some of Jamie Oliver’s meat rubs and to be honest out of the 3 I have, I keep them in wee clear jars so I just had a lucky dip choosing the one I did but I’m grateful to say that I wasn’t disappointed in the taste! My 3 ingredients were mixed together and rubbed into the leg of lamb steak from Macbeth’s and left to marinate overnight. 

My boyfriend and I took a mix of red, yellow and green bell peppers, mushrooms, red onion and cherry tomatoes and made up our kebabs together. We also had some chicken which we marinated too so we had some mixed kebabs.

Ready for the grill

After approx 10 mins under a hot grill, turning in-between times, our kebabs were ready to be munched. Served with a healthy dose of salad leaves and organic whole grain rice and a nice easy nutritious tea is ready in about half an hour, delicious!

Sausage and mash is my comfort food staple for the autumn/winter months and now that October has sprung upon us I saw it as the perfect opportunity to rustle some up.

You can’t beat a good sausage

Handmade pork sausages, before I even opened the packet I knew I was in for a treat. To get the mash underway I peeled about half a dozen multi-purpose potatoes washed them all, cut into equal sizes then boiled them in a big pan with a sprinkling of salt. After approx 25 mins you can check for readiness with a fork or knife, the biggest potato in the pot should be easy to cut through. Then drain the water, add a few teaspoons of cream, some salted butter, seasoning and mash away, I usually mix as I mash for a creamier consistency Mmmm!

I fancied some caramelised onions with my bangers and mash which is easy peasy to do, I literally sliced some white onion and added a splash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar on a low-medium heat for a carmalised sticky consistency. I washed, peeled and sliced my carrots into rough batons and steamed in a colander over the boiling potatoes. 

The sausages were grilled to my liking and then everything was brought together with some peas on the side. I normally make up some gravy but in this instance we went without, the flavours tasted so good together and the creamy mash and sticky onions ensured that the dish wasn’t dry. 

Next up its the fillet steak and venison fillet. 

I pride myself on my roast potatoes, I simply wash and peel the amount of potatoes required, cut into equal chunks and after heating some vegetable oil in the oven, add the potatoes in order to achieve a crisp coating on the outside.

I really fancied just making a classic steak dinner with all the trimmings – steamed broccoli, carrots (see before for preparation), pan fried meat with sautéed mushrooms and a creamy peppercorn sauce. In order to make the peppercorn sauce you need:

25ml Peppercorns

50g butter/oil

Half an onion (red or white)

80ml brandy

80ml beef stock

50ml double cream

Method

• Crush the peppercorns, you can do this by adding them to a plastic bag and crushing with a rolling pin, I just got a new pestle and mortar from my Spanish basque trip so I use that these days. 

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium to high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the brandy and boil for another 3 minutes. Add the beef stock and boil for another 3 minutes.

• Add the cream and reduce the heat to medium. Heat through, but don’t allow the peppercorn sauce to boil. Once the sauce is at your desired thickness, test for seasoning. Add salt if necessary, then serve.

I used a griddle pan to pan fry the meat in amongst the mushrooms and some extra chopped red onion. We were both after a medium cook but I’ll be the first to admit that my steak cooking isn’t my strong point, I remember even doing a class at Uni on how to cook steak! I used the extra juices from the meat in the peppercorn sauce.

So what are you waiting for? Get ordering your meat box today. Hopefully I have inspired you how to make some tasty tea time treats courtesy of Macbeth’s.