Homemade steak pie (made with love)

My mum makes the best homemade meat pie, with a delicious slow-cooked steak filling, in her beautiful signature short crust pastry.  I was recently fortunate enough for her to visit with me, and, sure enough, mum made me this fabulous dish as one of my favourites.  It's a simple enough recipe, but it's the good quality ingredients and hearty nature of this meal that make it such a winner ... and it's even better when made with love 💗

1.  You'll need a kilo of diced steak for this recipe.  You can use top side or chuck steak.

2.  Toss the steak in about half a cup of plain flour.

3.  Spray the pot of the slow cooker with olive oil spray or Pure and Simple, and then add in the floured steak to the pot.

4.  Add a pack of french onion soup to the slow cooker and one large chopped onion.  Stir through evenly.

5.  Cover the meat with about an inch of water (you can add boiled water from the kettle).  As an alternative, you can add a cup of white wine and top up the rest with water.

6.  Season with pepper and salt, and put the slow cooker on high.

7.  Cook the meat for about 5-6 hours on high (and, if you can stir it mid-way through cooking, then you can check that it's mixed well).

8.  At the end of the cooking time, thicken the stewed meat with some gravy powder.

9.  Using either store-bought savoury short crust pastry, or homemade pastry, use the slow-cooked beef as the filling for a large family-sized pie, and serve it with creamy mashed potatoes, and your favourite steamed or boiled vegetables.

This will definitely become one of your favourites!