Shepherd's Pie

I'm finally posting again...and it's for shepherd's pie.  My teenage self would find that comical as I loathed Shepherds Pie growing up.  I like it more now (acquired taste?), and as a mom I also like that it recycles leftover mashed potatoes and is made with things I typically keep on hand.

This recipe and photo are from About.com and can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/lhgg4yb

Both the image and (most) of the text will be borrowed from there.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic

1 tsp. dried marjoram leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups refrigerated mashed potatoes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In heavy skillet cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown and onion is tender, stirring to break up meat, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Stir in vegetables and soup and cook until hot, about 4 minutes, then add marjoram and salt and pepper to taste.
Place in 9 inch pie plate. Spoon mashed potatoes over hot meat mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and pie is bubbling.

Stir-Fried Chinese Egg Noodles

(Photo Credit: www.myrecipes.com)

Hands On Time: 27 min

Total Time: 27 min

Serves 4 (1 cup)

Ingredients:

8 oz fresh or frozen Chinese egg noodles, thawed

1 tbsp canola oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms (recipe suggests cremini)

5 garlic cloves, minced

3 green onions, diagonally sliced

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1.5 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp dark sesame oil

2 large eggs

2 cups spinach, trimmed

Directions

1) Cook the noodles per package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Set aside.

2) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add mushrooms and saute 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and green onions. Saute for 1 minute. Combine soy sauce and next four ingredients, stirring well. Stir soy sauce mixture into the mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil.

3) Add noodles to pan, toss to coat. Add eggs, cook 2 minutes or until eggs are set, tossing well. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach.

Calories: 104

Fat: 10.3g

Fiber: 2.3g

Sodium: 662mg

Shepherds Pie

Photo from www.familycircle.com. Recipe adapted from Family Circle too.

Makes: 6 servings

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 13 mins

Bake: 350 for 15 mins

Filling

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 pds boneless, skinless chicken cut into bite size pieces (can also use ground beef)

1 med onion, chopped

2 pieces celery, diced

1 cup baby carrots, sliced

1 cup chicken broth (or beef, if using ground beef)

2 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or 2 tsp dried)

1 cup frozen peas

Topping

Leftover mashed potatoes

1) Heat oven to 350. Cook meat over med-high heat in frying pan on stove top. Once meat is browned, stir in onion, celery and carrots. Cook 5 minutes.

2) In a small bowl, whisk broth, flour salt and pepper. Pour into pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer 1-2 mins, until thickened. Stir in dill and peas, cook 1 more minute.

3) Place mixture into the casserole dish. Dollop leftover potatoes on top and gently spread evenly.

4) Bake at 350 for 15 mins or until bubbly. Cool slightly before serving.

Per Serving:
423 cals

18 g fat

5 g fiber

160 mg cholesterol

915 mg sodium

Baked Ziti

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Feeds 10

Ingredients:
1 pd dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pd lean ground beef (ok if a little less or to sub in a little sausage)
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 cup sour cream
6 oz mozzerella, shredded
2 tbsp grated parmesean cheese

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (about 8 minutes). Drain.

2. In a large skillet, brown meat over medium heat. Brown onions too. Add sauce and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Preheat over to 350. Butter a 9x13 pan. Mix ziti, sour cream and a little shredded cheese. Pour into baking pan. Top with rest of cheese.

4. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 mins or until cheese is melted. Remove foil for last 5 minutes.

Steak with Potato Salad and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Total Time: 30 mins

Serves 4

1 pd small red potatoes (about 12)

Kosher salt & black pepper

1/4 cup plus 1 TBSP olive oil

4 small steaks (i.e. Newport, flat iron or top round), 1.5 pounds total

2 TBSP white wine vinegar

1 small head Boston lettuce, torn (about 4 cups)

Place potatoes in a large pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and add 2 tsp salt. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, ~15 mins. Drain. Run under cold water to cool. Using for or fingers, break potatoes in half.

Meanwhile, heat 1 TBSP oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season the steaks with 1 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp pepper and cook until done to taste.

In a large bowl, combine the blue cheese, vinegar, remaining 1/4 cup of oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add lettuce and potatoes and toss to coat. Serve with steaks.

New York Strip Steak with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

New York Strip Steak with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

2 steaks, 1 1/2 - 2" thick
Salt and pepper
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion
1/2 cup mushrooms
1 T butter
1/4 cup red wine

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a large, oven safe skillet over medium-high heat until nice and hot. Rub steaks lightly with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. When pan is hot, add steaks. Do not move the steaks. Cook about 4 minutes on the first side until a nice crust develops, turn once. Cook an additional 4 minutes. Immediately transfer pan to the oven. Cook an additional 5-8 minutes to desired done-ness. (Mine took about 6 minutes to get to medium, pull it out just before its done as it will continue to cook a little as it rests.)

Transfer steaks to a plate and cover with foil. In the same pan over medium low heat, add butter, onions, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and add red wine to deglaze the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up some of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Once the liquid is reduced and the onions are browned and softened, about 5 minutes, turn off the heat and pour over steaks.

This works best in a stainless steel or cast iron pan (not non-stick) and make sure the pan can go in the oven at a high temperature. You can use a grill pan if you want the grill marks but a regular pan works just as well and is much easier to clean up.

This method is not limited to just steak... it works well for many types of meat, especially thick cuts. I used a strip steak but use whatever you like best. I also added some caramelized onions and mushrooms to finish this off.

Make sure you let your steak sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking it so you are not putting cold meat into the hot pan which will make it tougher.

Smoky Mountain Chili

Smoky Mountain Chili

2 lbs ground beef
1/2 lb chorizo
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz dark beer
1 green pepper, diced
3 jalapenos, finely diced
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn kernels (frozen)
1 T ancho chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp ground cumin

Brown meat in a large dutch oven or skillet over medium high heat, crumbling with a wooden spatula. Drain off grease and transfer meat to a bowl. Return pan to heat and add onions and garlic. Cook about 2 minutes and add beer to deglaze the pan, scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan and let the majority of the beer cook off. Transfer to a crockpot if desired. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans and stir to combine. Add corn, peppers and spices and cook for at least 60 minutes covered on the stove, stirring occasionally or 3-4 hours on low in the crockpot. Stir in tomato paste as necessary to thicken to desired consistency.

Top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, Fritos, etc. as desired.

*I made this in April 2010. Two thumbs up. I used sweet sausage and really liked that part of it. Also added mushrooms since I had some handy. Good stuff.