Sheppard ' s Pie

Shepherd's pie is a great weeknight meal that the whole family will love.  Layers of meat, sweet corn,  cheese,  and mashed potatoes make for a hearty, complete dinner. 

• 1 lb ground beef
• 3 1/2 Tbs flour
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup of cheese (Munster, cheddar, Jack)
• 1 small bag frozen sweet corn (12 oz)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 3 cups mashed potatoes
• 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp granulated onion
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400°

Brown the ground beef until only a little pink remains. 

 Do not drain the meat. Add the flour.  Cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the wine,  cook for 2 or 3 minutes.  Add the beef broth, and using a whisk, make sure to break up the meat and flour mixture, and blend well.

Let cook on medium low, for about 10 minutes to let the gravy thicken.  Pour into a greased 8X8 glass baking dish.

Next, pour the frozen corn evenly over the meat, then add the cheese mixture. 

For the mashed potatoes, I like using the Idahoan brand, Buttery Home style (4oz). I use two packages. If you like another brand, or prefer making homemade, go ahead,  just make 3 cups worth.

Spread the mashed potatoes over the cheese.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes, then put the broiler on. Keep an eye on the potatoes,  They will brown fast. Turn the dish a quarter of the way after it starts to darken, to make sure it browns evenly.

Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. 

 

French Onion Soup

There's not much I can say about my French Onion Soup.  It's beefy, oniony,  and delicious! 

• 6 yellow onions,  sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup Sherry, or any kind of red wine
• 3 Tbs unsalted butter
• 9 beef bullion cubes (or 8 cups beef stock)
• 8 cups of water
• salt and pepper
• crusty French bread
• swiss cheese (or Gruyere, but I'm on a budget,  so swiss is what I use!)

Add the butter to a deep skillet set on medium high heat,  when melted,  add onions,  stir to coat. Sprinkle some salt over the onions. 

When the onions become opaque and slightly soft,  turn the heat to medium-low.

Let the onions cook slowly,  so they don't get crispy, you want caramelized onions.  It takes about 45 minutes,  you can leave them to cook, and stir them occasionally.  If you notice the onions are cooking too fast, turn the heat down.

Once the onions reach a nice caramelized consistency,  add the wine,  and turn the heat up to medium-high. When most of the wine is absorbed,  turn off the heat, and set aside. 

Next, if using bullion, add 8 cups of water to a pot, set to boil. When boiling,  add the bullion cubes, stir till desolved.  Add the onions,  and lower the heat to a simmer. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.  

Set oven to 400°

In the meantime,  take the French bread, and slice into 1 1/2 in peices.

Arrange bread on a foil lined baking sheet.  Cut swiss into semi- thin slices,  and arrange on top of the French bread slices. Bake in oven,  just until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Salt and pepper the soup to taste.

Serve the soup in a bowl, with the cheesy bread on top.

Brined Pork chops with Roasted Butternut Squash

These pork chops are juicy,  and delicious!  Whether you make them on the weekend,  or a weeknight, these pork chops are a pretty easy meal, with a little planning ahead! 

This recipe needs to be started at least 6 hours before you plan on eating.

For the brine,  you will need:

• 3-4 pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick
• 3 Tbs Brown sugar
• 3 Tbs salt
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1 Tbs thyme
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups ice

Put the all the spices in a glass bowl,  except the thyme.  Pour in the boiling water,  mix until desolved.  Add the ice and stir until cooled off. Add the pork chops, and the thyme.  Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hrs,  or overnight.

Roasted Butternut Squash:

• 1 large butternut squash, seeded and cut into medium-sized cubes
• 1/4 cup romano cheese
• parsley
• pepper
• tsp garlic powder
• olive oil

Place squash in a bowl, sprinkle some olive oil on,  then toss to coat.  Add a pinch of pepper,  and the garlic,  toss again.  Place squash on a baking sheet,  then put half the romano over the top of the squash,  and sprinkle some parsley over the top as well. 

Bake at 400° stir every 10 minutes until mostly golden brown. About 25-30min. Once done,  sprinkle with the remaining romano cheese, a sprinkle of parsley and some sea salt.

While the squash is cooking, remove pork from brine,  rinse each chop under cold water.  On each side,  sprinkle garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, thyme, and pepper. (Don't add salt, the brine will have salted the meat enough)

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium,  until hot.  Add a little bit of vegetable oil,  then place the pork chops in the skillet, once placed, don't move them until they are ready to be flipped.

Cook on each side for 6 minutes. 

After you flip them, and cook that side for 6 minutes,  check that the temp is at 160° (place the thermometer in the side of the meat). Remove from the skillet, and put on a plate, cover with tin foil, for about 10min.

Once the meat has rested, serve. 

Non - Traditional Stuffed Peppers

This delicious rendition of a classic,  was inspired by my best friend,  who requested I make stuffed peppers for her.  To say I dislike stuffed peppers,  would be an understatement.  I quickly came up with an alternative made with ground pork,  and heavy cream. I have made this with three different meats (ground beef, ground pork, and bulk Italian sausage),  mainly because I use what I have on hand.  My husband's and my favorite is Italian sausage.  The ground beef is usually our last resort,  we think it has less flavor than the other two (plus, I'm not a fan of it), but in this case,  it tastes pretty delish with the spices I add.

As with a lot of these recipes,  I don't measure my spices, so I'm going to attempt to approximate how much I've used. 

You will need:

• 4 large red, yellow, or orange peppers
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 3 cups white instant rice
• 1 lb of either ground pork, ground beef, or bulk Italian sausage (mild)
• 4 Tbs Italian seasoning
• 2 Tbs Herbs de provence
• 3 Tbs Adobe seasoning (this is an all purpose seasoning made with garlic,  onion,  and turmeric)
• 2 Tbs ground fennel seed (only to be used if not using Italian sausage)
• Salt and pepper

Begin by making the rice. You will be making it differently than the directions say. Put the 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock,  and the 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream into a large saucepan.  Put to boil. When boiling,  add the rice. Cover and move off the heat.

Brown the meat in a skillet, then drain. Set the meat aside in a large bowl. Add all of the spices,  and mix together. 

Cut the tops off the peppers, and pull out the white ribs inside the pepper.  Pop the stem out of the top, set the top aside.

Next, place the peppers in a steamer for about 20 minutes,  or until tender. 

Once you have de-stemmed the tops, dice them,  and throw them in the skillet you browned the meat with, leaving the grease remnants to cook the diced peppers.

Once the peppers are soft, add them to the meat in the bowl.

When the peppers are done steaming,  place them on their side, in a greased glass baking dish. Put them in the oven on broil. When they start to blacken, carefully use tongs to rotate them until all sides have sufficiently darkened (the whole pepper doesn't have to be black, spots here and there are ok). When done, put aside.

While the peppers are cooling,  add the rice to the meat and pepper mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. 

When the peppers have cooled enough to handle, begin peeling the skin off.  (I know there is a method to get the skin off easier by placing in a paper bag and shaking,  but I wouldn't do that here,  you want to try to make sure the peppers stay intact. )

Set oven to 350°

Gently fill the peppers with the rice mixture.  The peppers should be very soft,  but once you start stuffing them,  they will hold their form. Arrange back into the greased glass dish,  and bake until the top is browned,  about 20-30 minutes. 

Cream cheese Stuffed French Toast

If you like sweet things in the morning,  then this is the breakfast for you! 

Here's what you'll need:

My family usually eats wheat bread,  and I adore real maple syrup,  but you can use whatever you have on hand, including honey instead of syrup. For this recipe, I only made one,  and after I soaked the bread,  I had only a little bit of egg mixture left,  but I used bread that is a little bigger than the standard loaf size. So,  two eggs should be enough to do two stuffed French toasts,  if using regular bread. That is 1/2 cup of milk in the picture. 

Beat the eggs, with the milk. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey), and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Whisk together. 

Spread cream cheese on both pieces of bread,  you can add more than I did,  if you wish.  

Put the two peices together,  make sure you squish them to make them sealed. 

Put a small amount of veg. oil in a skillet,  set on medium low heat. 

Next, lay the bread in the egg mixture,  for about 25-30 seconds, until a good amount is absorbed.  Then, flip it over,  and let that side soak.

When the oil is hot,  gently place the soaked bread in the skillet.  Let cook for about 6-7 minutes,  or until golden brown.  Carefully flip over,  and continue cooking for another 6-7 minutes. 

When done,  sprinkle with powdered sugar,  and serve with your favorite syrup. 

Panko Breaded Chicken Breast Stuffed With Cheddar Jack and Bacon

This crowd-pleaser, has a crunchy breading that goes great with the gooey, cheesy center.  Plus,  it has bacon in it,  you can't go wrong with bacon. 

You'll want to fry up a couple peices of bacon beforehand.  A general rule of thumb, when cooking bacon to stuff into something that will be cooked, is to make sure the bacon is slightly undercooked.  That way you won't have bacon that's overcooked, and no one wants that!  After the bacon is done,  cut into medium-sized squares. 

(This time around, I did my best to measure out my spices,  and I think it came out as it was supposed to)

One more thing,  before I list the official ingredients,  is why I chose Panko over regular breadcrumbs.  Panko is a much larger,  but light-weight crumb.  When baked,  panko has a very nice crunch, compared to regular breadcrumbs,  where you'd have to fry it,  to get that sort of texture. 

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg
• Splash of milk
• 2 tsp herbs de provence
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/8 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• a sprinkle of: granulated garlic,  granulated onion, paprika, pepper
• salt
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/4 cup shredded monterey jack
• 4 peices of bacon,  cooked and chopped into medium cubes

I usually only make one chicken breast for my family,  due to the chicken we bought being pretty large. So,  I cut the one peice in half. I realize most people usually do at least two, so I adjusted the recipe to suit two whole peices. 

Trim the chicken as needed. Then,  using a sharp knife,  cut a slit on the side of the chicken,  being careful to stay in the middle. Use the tip of the knife to widen the slit until it's large enough to become a pocket. Try not to go too close to the edges on the inside,  or you'll poke holes through,  and the filling will leak out.

Mix up the cheeses with the bacon.  Stuff the mixture inside the chicken breast. Once filled,  use a few toothpicks to seal the chicken together. 

Preheat oven to 350°

Next, you will need to assemble your breading station. In one bowl, add the flour, with a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Mix well. In another bowl,  add the panko, herbs de provence, oregano, thyme,  celery salt, and a sprinkle each of paprika, garlic, onion, and pepper. Mix. In the last bowl, add the egg, and splash of milk,  beat together. 

Take the chicken, and dredge first in the flour, making sure everything is covered.  The egg wash is next, with the seasoned panko being last.

Place the chicken in a Pyrex baking dish,  sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for about 45 minutes,  or until a thermometer reads 165° when stuck inside the chicken,  not through the filling. 

Pepperoni and Cheese Stuffed Cresent Rolls with Marinara

I wanted to make an easy meal,  and this was just the thing. Flakey,  buttery, cresent rolls, with a gooey, cheesy, pepperoni studded filling.  Oh yes! 

You will need:

• Can of tomato sauce
• 1 package of your favorite type of crescent rolls (I used the butter flake, 8 ct)
• mini pepperoni
• mozzarella, shredded about 1/4 cup
• monterrey jack, shredded about 1/4 cup
• Munster cheese, shredded about 1/4 cup
• Italian seasoning
• Oregano
• thyme
• Granulated garlic 
• Granulated onion 
• basil
• parsley
• sugar

After looking through the recipe list, I'm sure you're wondering where the measurements for the spices are. If it's a recipe I created myself, I always season to taste,  so I will have pictures lower down demonstrating how much I added. As for the Italian seasoning, it does have all the other spices I listed,  as well as some others (bay leaf, dried bell pepper, fennel, etc.), I like having more of those certain spices in my sauce, so I added more. I used Del Alpe brand Italian seasoning,  and it's kind of hard to find,  unless you happen have an Italian market nearby.  That being said,  use whatever Italian seasoning you can find,  or prefer. 

To begin, put the tomato sauce in a small saucepan,  on medium heat. Add the spices.

 Oregano

 Granulated garlic

 Basil

 Thyme

 Granulated onion

 Parsley

Italian seasoning

I always add about a teaspoon of sugar as well, it helps with the slightly bitter tang that tomato sauce can have. 

Let the sauce simmer while you assemble the cresent rolls.

Preheat the oven to 350°

Unroll the cresent rolls, and place on a cutting board so it will be easier to assemble. 

Next, mix up your cheeses (if you prefer,  you can just use 3/4 cup of mozzarella,  instead of mixing cheeses)

 Put a little bit of pepperoni on the cresent dough, like so,

 Then, a pinch of cheese, with more strategically placed pepperoni on top.

 Now, take the two corners,  and fold them onto the cheese, like it's hugging it.

If you've ever seen a burrito being rolled, like Chipotle does, you can guess what to do next.  Otherwise,  stuff as much cheese back into the little pocket as you can,  while rolling the dough over itself. 

 After completely rolling, pinch the two open ends together so as much cheese as possible stays inside. 

Place on a foil lined baking sheet,  sprayed with cooking spray. (Or if you have one,  a Silpat. It's by far, my favorite baking accessory. If you don't have one,  get one. It's about $25 at Bed Bath and Beyond, and nothing sticks to it,  not even burnt sugar, or in this case,  melted cheese. Well worth the price!)

I know,  I know.  They look terrible,  but hey,  I can promise they taste delicious! 

Bake for about 12 minutes,  or until golden brown. 

 Serve with the marinara on the side,  for all your dipping pleasure!