After her time on MasterChef Australia, Steph de Sousa is a household name when it comes to easy recipes. Known for her bubbly personality and infectious energy, Steph is on a mission to inspire people with the joy of home cooking.

With three delicious recipes from Steph's latest book, ‘No Stress Recipe Queen’, both friends and family will love digging into these hearty dishes.

Beef Stroganoff

Serves: 4, with leftovers

Ingredients

• 1kg diced beef chuck steak
• 2 diced onions
• 400g halved mushrooms
• ¼ cup of tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• ¼ cup of water
• ½ cup of sour cream
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• Mash or pasta to serve

Method

1. Pop 1kg diced beef chuck steak, 2 diced onions, 400g halved mushrooms, ¼cup tomato paste, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp paprika and 1 tbsp crushed garlic into a large zip-lock bag.
2. Zip, squish, flatten, label and freeze for up to 1 month to cook later.
3. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then dump into your slow cooker.
4. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Mix 1 tbsp cornflour with ¼ cup water and stir it into the cooker.
5. Cook, uncovered on HIGH for 15minutes to thicken. Stir through ½ cup sour cream and ½ cup chopped parsley.
6. Serve with mash or pasta and dive in.

Buttered-up Prawns & Chorizo

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 500g frozen peeled green prawns (optional: leave tails intact)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 125g salted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 cured chorizo, thinly sliced
  To serve: Crusty bread, lemon and parsley

Method

1. Pop your prawns into a colander and rinse under cold water to thaw.
2. Pat the prawns dry with a paper towel so when they cook, they go golden, not soggy.
3. Remove the bottom tray of your air fryer – we’re going to cook the prawns in the base among the saucy goodness.
4. Pour in the olive oil and melted butter, then stir in your garlic and spices. Add the prawns and sliced chorizo.
5. Give everything a good toss to coat in the buttery, garlicky spice mix.
6. Set the temperature to 200°C and the timer for 7 minutes, turning the prawns halfway through. You’ll know they’re done when your prawns are a lovely pink colour and the chorizo is crisp and golden.
7. Scoop it all into bowls and serve with crusty bread, lemon and parsley. So yum.

STEPH SAYS:

No air fryer? No worries! Just bake everything in the oven for 15–20 minutes.

Chewy Choccy Cookie Bars

Serves: Makes 18 bars

Ingredients

• 200g butter, chopped
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2½ cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 250g dark or milk chocolate chips
• 2 tsp salt flakes (optional)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C.
2. Melt your butter in a large microwave-safe bowl on LOW in 10-second bursts. Add both sugars and whisk until smooth and glossy.
3. Crack in the eggs, then add the vanilla. Give it another good whisk to combine.
4. Now, add the flour and baking powder and stir until almost combined.
5. Then, scatter over the choccy chips and stir until you’ve got a thick, cookie dough party going on.
6. Line a 20cm x 30cm slice pan with baking paper, extending the paper 5cm over edges. Press your dough in smoothly and evenly.
7. Sprinkle with salt flakes if you’re feeling fancy.
8. Bake the slab for 25 minutes or until it’s golden and smells like heaven.
9. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes (if you can wait that long!), then slice into 18 chunky slabs.

STEPH SAYS:

Eat warm with ice-cream or straight-up using your hands –no judgement here!