Thanks to Vee for this one. Casseroles may have a long cooking time, but they're not difficult to make. The big plus is they freeze well, so you can cook up a big casserole on the weekend, have some for dinner, and store the rest in snack-sized portions to eat throughout the week. When you get peckish, just pop a portion in the microwave and eat as a mini-meal with some wholemeal bread, or wrap it up to munch on the go.

Serves 4
per serving 2058kj (492 cal)
14.3 grams total fat (6.2g saturated fat)
26.7 cards 3.7g fibre- low GI

2 teaspoons low fat dairy spread
1.5kg lean beef chuck steak cut into 3cm pieces
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 fresh small red thai chillies, sliced thinly
2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
1 large brown onion (200g) sliced thickly
2 medium tomatoes (380g) chopped coarsely
410g can tomato puree
3/4 (180ml) cup dry red wine
1.2 cup (125ml) beef stock
1.125 liters of water ( 4.5 cups)
1 cup (170g) Polenta
1/4 cup (20g) finely grated parmesan
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Melt spread in large saucepan: cook beef in batches until browned all over. Cook garlic, chilli, mustard and onion in the same pan, stirring until onion softens. Return beef to pan with tomato: cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

2. Add puree, wine stock and 1/2 cup of the water to pan: bring to boil. Simmer, covered about 1.5 hours or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally.

3.Bring remaining water to boil in medium saucepan. Add polenta: cook stirring over medium heat about 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir cheese into polenta.

4. Stir parsley into casserole just before serving with polenta.