Fulling Mill Cottage and recipes...........

is a house forgotten in time and is such an interesting story.  Fulling Mill Cottage lies in the picturesque village of Fittleworth, three miles West of Pulborough, in West Sussex. The cottage, along with it's cats, was bequeathed to Cat Welfare Sussex by it's last owner, Fred Saigeman upon his death in 2010. Fred had been a staunch supporter of our charity for many, many years. It was his greatest wish that we could restore his family home, and after careful thought the trustees have decided to restore Fulling Mill Cottage to her former Glory.


Here is what it looked like many years ago:

To read more about it and see photos of it, please click on this link

On the weekend I purchased 3lbs of ground/minced beef as it was on sale.  On Monday I made some meals with it all.  Which included shepherd's pie, a lasagna and the cowboy casserole that I mentioned yesterday:

The Cowboy Casserole is a keeper, but of course I changed the recipe slightly:

1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil  (Did not use as I browned meat, onions and garlic together)



1 onion, chopped


2 cloves garlic, minced


1 lb (500 g) Extra Lean or Lean Ground Beef Sirloin*


1- 2 tbsp (15- 30 mL) chili powder  (I omitted this)


1 can (28 oz/796 mL) no-salt added diced tomatoes


1 cup (250 mL) sodium-reduced chicken broth


1 can (14 oz/398 mL) HEINZ® Deep-Browned® Beans in Tomato Sauce (I used original)


2 cups (500 mL) frozen mixed vegetables


2 cups (500 mL) dried wagon wheel or penne pasta  (I used whole wheat rigatoni)

2 tbsp of tomato paste/puree


Heat oil over medium-high heat in large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven; add onions and garlic, and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute.

Add beef, breaking up with wooden spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Drain, if desired.

Stir in chili powder, tomatoes, broth, canned beans and frozen veggies; bring to boil.

Stir in pasta; reduce heat, cover and simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

* Other options: Lean/ Extra Lean Ground Round,


Lean Ground Chuck, Extra Lean/ Lean Ground Round or


Lean/ Extra Lean Ground Beef

I think it would also be good with ground chicken/turkey

This feeds 4 comfortably, possibly stretching to 6.

The lasagna recipe is super simple:

Easy Lasagna:

1lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can of your favourite pasta sauce
1 500g container cottage cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
9 lasanga sheets/noodles, cooked according to package directions
1/4 cup Parmesan grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 oF.  Grease a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.

In a large non stick frying pan, cook beef and onion over medium high heat for 10 minutes, stirring to break up meat, or until browned.  Drain fat from pan.  Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, stir together cottage and cheddar cheeses,

Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce over bottom of prepared baking dish.  Top with 3 noodles, then 1/2 of cheese mixture and 1/3 of meat sauce.  Repeat noodle, cheese, sauce layers.  Top with last 3 noodles and remaining meat sauce and Parmesan cheese.  Cover pan with foil.

Bake in centre of oven for 30 minutes.  Remove foil.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is browned and lasagna is heated through.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

This is such a basic recipe that you can add your own touch too which includes seasonings.  Also 8 servings is really pushing it.  I would say 4 servings, if that is all you have.  Will stretch to six with a salad and maybe 8 with a salad and say garlic bread.

Now I have put mine in the freezer as we are having it on Sunday lunch.  I have never frozen it before so I will let you know on Monday how it went and what cooking times etc.

I don't have an exact recipe for shepherd's pie.  I brown ground beef and an onion, add beef stock and cook it for a while.  Thicken it with corn starch/flour and Bisto, add Worcestershire Sauce when cooking a seasonings.  Cook for 20 minutes while I am cooking the potatoes.

When cooked add frozen veggies place in a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes.  At this point when cool you can freeze it, or pop it in a 350 oF oven until cooked through and top of mashed potatoes is crispy.

The two I made, the smaller one I gave to my neighbour as he helps out in winter with the driveway.  The big one went in the freezer for next week when I'll pull it out for supper one night.

It took me a couple of hours to make all that and clean up with a telephone call with dd in between hands.