House full of blokes

I tried a product sample at the supermarket of a Spanish spicy bean soup.  I liked it so I bought a pouch to feed 2-4 people for lunch. The senior bloke at my house polished it off all by himself and I felt a little ripped off.  I looked at a couple of recipes on line and thought about the flavour profile and decided I could do it better myself.  This is the result.  I've made this soup about 4 times now and the family love it.  The recipe can be tinkered with a bit by omitting the chorizo or by including red capsicum with the other vegetables (expensive here in the winter). This is a rich, spicy, delicious soup. The beans and vegies make it a hearty meal. I love it with the addition of chorizo - but it's great as a vegetarian meal too. Ingredients 2 sticks celery chopped into small dice Medium red onion finely chopped 2 carrots chopped into small dice   200 grams chorizo chopped into small pieces (optional) 1-2 cloves garlic crushed ...

This dish has a rich, tasty sauce. The shanks are browned and then cooked in the sauce until the meat is very tender. This can be done in the oven, crockpot, stove top or in a deep electric frypan. Best served with mashed potato sweetened with carrot, kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin or parsnip.  Ingredients Lamb shanks - 1 per person 1/4 cup black bean sauce 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce 1 1/2 cups water 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic - crushed Method In an electric frypan Heat the pan on the highest setting place the shanks (no oil needed) in the pan, pop the lid on and brown on all sides - this will take 15-20 minutes.  Turn pan down to a simmer setting combine all the other ingredients and pour over the shanks. Place the lid back on and leave to simmer until meat is very tender approx 1 1/2 hours. Turn the shanks from time to time to make sure they are coated in the sauce. Keep an eye on the sauce and add more water if needed....