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.

Artichoke & Spinach Swirls

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. (17.3 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 pkg. (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1 can (14 ounces) artichoke heart, drained and chopped
  
  
  Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 400°F.  Stir the mayonnaise, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, spinach and artichoke hearts in a medium bowl.
  2. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Spreadhalf the spinach mixture on the pastry to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll up like a jelly roll.  Press the seam to seal.  Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet.
  3. Cut each roll into 20 (1/2-inch) slices, making 40 in all.  Place the slices, cut-side down, onto 3 baking sheets.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Remove the pastries from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

recipe and image from:

http://www.puffpastry.com/recipe/27219/artichoke-and-spinach-swirls  

                                     

Appetizer Idea

Cherry tomatoes and black olives make really cute lady birds. Base is made up of sliced bagettes, cream cheese, smoked salmon and flat leafed parsley. Sprinkle ground black pepper on tomato and using a toothpick dot some cream cheese on the olives for the eyes.

Shepherd's Pie

(Image from http://www.competitivecook.com/; recipe from Family Circle)

Serves: 6

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 13 mins

Microwave: 10 mins

Bake: 350 for 15 mins

Filling

2 tbs vegetable oil

2 pds meat

1 medium onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, diced

1 cup baby carrots, sliced

1 cup chicken/beef broth (depending on type of meat used)

2 tbs flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (or 2 tsp dried)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Topping

Mashed potatoes

2 tbs butter

2/3 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1) Heat oven to 350. For filling, heat oil in flame-proof casserole over med-high heat. Add meat and cook, stirring, 5 mins. Stir in onion, celery, and carrots. Cook 5 mins.

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

3) For topping, prepare potatoes. Carefully add in butter, milk, dill and salt. Mash until smooth. Dollop onto filling in the casserole dish, gently spread until filling is covered.

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

Per serving (for chicken):

423 cals

18 g fat

5 g fiber

Harvest Pork Roast & Vegetables

Serves: 6

Prep: 20 minutes

Marinate: overnight

Roast: 450 for 15 mins, then 400 for 55 mins

Pork Roast:

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp chopped rosemary

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 boneless center-cut pork roast (~2.5 pds)

1 tbs canola oil

Vegetables:

6 cups cauliflower florets (~1/2 large cauliflower)

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1 inch pieces (~4 cups)

2 sweet peppers, cut in 1 inch strips

1 large sweet onion, cut in wedges

Baby carrots

Potatoes

4 tbs olive oil

4 cloves garlic, smashed

Squeeze of lemon juice

Leaves of rosemary branch

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 black pepper

1) In small bowl, blend olive oil, lemon juice, zest, mustard, rosemary, garlic, salt & pepper. Rub pork with mixture. Place in a resealable plastic bag and marinade overnight in fridge.

2) Toss veggies in bowl with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and rosemary. Put in Ziploc in the fridge overnight.

3) Heat oven to 450. Brush large roasting pan with canola oil. Add pork. Arrange veggies on a second large greased baking pan and season with salt & pepper. Place both pans in oven and roast at 450 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 and continue roasting for 50-55 minutes or until pork's temp reaches 160.

4) Thinly slice pork and place on platter surrounded by veggies.

Per serving:

508 cals

28 g fat

7 g fiber

446 mg sodium

104 mg cholesterol

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Got this recipe from the Commissary coupon book of all places...

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients1 whole bulb garlic
2 2/3 cup chicken broth
5 large potatoes, cut into 1" pieces (~7.5 cups)
1 tbs chopped chives or green onions

Directions:
Cut off the top of the garlic bulb. Drizzle with 2 tbs broth. Wrap bulb in aluminum foil and bake at 350 for an hour or until its softened.

Place the broth and potatoes in a 3 qt saucepan and heat to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium.

Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Drain, reserving the broth. Mash potatoes with 1.25 cups of the broth, 2-3 cloves of roasted garlic and chives. Add broth as necessary until desired consistency is reached.

"Best-Ever" Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting

We had some leftover baby carrots, so I gave this one a whirl. I think it came out pretty good. I added the nutmeg in on a whim to the original recipe. The recipe is from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook.

The frosting seemed a little too sweet for my taste, not really cream cheesy, if that makes sense. I'm on the look out for a better recipe for that. In the meantime...

Carrot Cake

(photo courtesy of http://www.reallynicerecipes.com/)

Prep: 30 mins

Bake: 30 mins

Cool: 2 hours

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

4 beaten eggs

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups finely shredded carrots* (lightly packed)

3/4 cup cooking oil

(see recipe for frosting below)

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and flour two 9x1.5 inch round cake pans. Set pans aside. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg & baking soda.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, carrots and oil. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until combined. Pour batter into the prepared pans.

3. Bake in a 350* oven for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans (cookbook had an excellent tip to sandwich the cake to get it out of the pan smoothly). Cool thoroughly on racks.

4. Frost tops and sides with Cream Cheese Frosting. Store cake in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

5-6.25 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating well. Continue to add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

This frosting will cover tops and sides of two 8 or 9 inch layer cakes. Halve the recipe to do a 13x9x2 inch cake.

Cover and store frosted cake in the refrigerator.

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