Shepherds Pie

So Nichole used to make this for me and I loved it.  Now I make my own version for my boyfriend.  It's fairly easy to make and adjustable to suit what you like.  The way I make it is as follow, Nichole feel free to add anything I missed.  Brown some ground beef with some seasoning.  I use garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cumin.  While that is cooking make some mashed potatoes (if you cheat like me and use instant, if you are talented you can make real mashed potatoes ahead of time).  In a bowl mix the mashed potatoes with some kind of veggie.  I usually use spinach though sometimes if I forget to thaw it I use green beans also.  You can add pretty much whatever you like.  In a square baking pan put the meat on the bottom, then put the potato mixture on top of that.  Add cheese to the top and bake in a 350 oven until cheese is melted.  Serve and enjoy.  Now that's the easy, fast, I just got home from work version.  Enjoy!

Potato Soup

I'm particularly proud of this recipe, since I made it up on my own.  One day when we were in China, I just randomly decided I wanted potato soup and threw stuff together.  This recipe is the result, and it's one of Sam's favorites.

6-8 medium/large potatoes
1 yellow/white onion, chopped
1 Bell pepper (any color, I usually use green), chopped
Half pound of ham, chopped
1 clove garlic (optional)
Half tablespoon Italian seasoning
Teaspoon paprika

Half cup milk

1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Clean potatoes (peel if desired)  and chop  into 1-2 inch chunks.  Place in large pot and just cover with water.  Boil until potatoes are tender, but not disintegrating.  Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, and spices; reduce heat to medium/low and simmer 10-15 minutes.  Add ham, simmer 5-10 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, add milk and cheese, stir until cheese has melted.  Add salt/pepper to taste.  Serves 6-8.

Spinach Mushroom No Pan Pie

So tonight for dinner I made something new (be amazed!)  It wasn't for me, but for my boyfriend, as I don't like mushrooms at all!  But if you do, here is how to make it and how it went for me.

You start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees.  You will need a Pillsbury pie crust, fresh spinach, and sliced mushrooms.  Also 1 tablespoon of oil.  Cut up the mushrooms (unless you were smart, unlike me, and bought the pre-sliced ones.)  My fresh spinach had stems so I cut those off.  It calls for 2 cups of sliced mushrooms and 6 ounces of spinach.  Heat the oil in a pan over medium to high heat.  Cook the mushrooms and spinach for about 5-7 minutes until done.  Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, I'd recommend just a big enough space to put the pie crust.  Have the pie crust thawed (it recommends 15 minutes at room temp so I took it out before I started cutting and cooking.  It was good when I was ready.)  I sprayed the whole cookie sheet, which then started to burn off in the oven.  As the mushrooms and spinach are cooking, roll the pie crust out on the cookie sheet.  When the mushrooms and spinach are done, pour them onto the pie crust, leaving a little bit around the sides empty.  Then fold the pie crust edges up over the mixture, about 2 inches at a time.  After that put it in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.  After that enjoy!  The boyfriend said it was really good, I just didn't use enough spinach and he also said it needed some kind of dipping sauce.  Though we aren't really sure what we should use.  I've included pictures below of my process.  Also will include a link to the original recipe I got from Pillsbury's web page.

Enjoy!

Pillsbury Spinach Mushroom No Pan Pie Recipe

Updated, I made it again, this time throwing on some sliced black olives right before baking.  In addition to using much more spinach.  Also served it with an alfredo sauce.  Boyfriend said it was much better this time around.

Most recent attempt.  Much better than original attempt!

Stew Tip

Ever make a soup or stew that wasn't quite as thick as you wanted it to be?  If you try to add flour or corn starch you run the risk of getting lumps.  My favorite trick is to add mashed potato flakes.  They make the stew nice and thick, and don't tend to form lumps.  You may need to add extra salt or other seasonings since the potatoes will absorb a lot.

Caramel Apple Pie With Crumb Topping

This recipe is cobbled together from 2-3 different recipes.  And the end result is glorious.

1 9-inch pie crust (I used a pillsbury crust)
 Filling
6 apples (I used granny smith)
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon ginger
pinch salt
other spices to taste (I used a touch of nutmeg, cloves, and allspice)
Sauce
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
I also added a sprinkle of cinnamon and ginger

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put crust in pie pan, poke with fork a few times, bake until slightly golden.  Set crust aside on a cooling rack.  Mix the dry filling ingredients in a large bowl or zipper bag.  Peel and thinly slice apples, toss in dry ingredients until coated.  Put filling in crust.  Make sauce in a medium sized pot.  Melt butter, then add flour and stir to form a paste.  Add sugars, water, and vanilla.  Bring to a boil, then simmer about 5 minutes.  Allow sauce to cool slightly, then pour evenly over filling.  Put topping ingredients into a large bowl.  Cut together using a pastry cutter or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Top the pie evenly.  Cover loosely with aluminum foil (you may want to put a sheet of foil under the pie pan also to avoid drippings in the bottom of your oven).  Bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and cook for another 25-30 minutes until topping is golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

Spritz Cookies

Growing up I used to love making Spritz Cookies.  They were easy and fun.  But I haven't had a cookie press in a long time.  So I put one on my wishlist and lo and behold my grandma got it for me!  Ironically it was part of my boyfriend's birthday presents since I said it was to make him cookies.  So today on my day off I made some.  They are really easy to make.

Ingredients

1         cup butter, softened

1/2      cup sugar

2 1/4   cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1/4      teaspoon salt

1          egg

1/4       teaspoon almond extract or vanilla

 

Directions

• Heat oven to 400ºF. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, salt, egg, almond extract.
• Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

For decoration I take confectioners sugar mixed with a little bit of water and food coloring and dip the cookie in that.  The recipe as it stands makes roughly 70-80 cookies.  

This is my new cookie press and the disc I chose

The batter is very dry so I highly recommend using a mixer

The cookies after baking

My icing

The finished cookies

Witch Hat Cookies

So for Halloween this year I decided to bring my co-workers cookies and brownies.  The brownies were going to be cut out into shapes and decorated.  But I discovered when laying out the cookie cutter over the brownies that I would waste a lot and not get many brownies out of the batch so decided against that.  However the cookies are easy and fun to make!  Simply take Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies, flip them to the back side (completely covered in chocolate).  Then buy some orange icing (which I must say was kind of difficult to find).  I settled on Wilsons Cookie Icing.  It says to microwave it, however this makes it like water and for what we're doing that's not good!  So I then put it in the fridge for a while and left it at room temp after that and it made it more manageable.  Also you will need some Hershey's Kisses.  I used the plain milk chocolate, but I'm sure most any kind will work.  So you lay out the cookies upside down.  I found the easiest way, after trying several different ways, is to lay out all the cookies then just drizzle a little icing around the center ring.  Put a kiss on that spot, then drizzle a ring of icing around the kiss.  The end result looks like a hat with an orange band around it.  It's very cute!  And like I said easy to make.  With this icing I suggest using wax paper.  And letting it set over night, or putting it in the fridge if you need to serve soon.  This will allow the icing to harden further.  I've included a couple of pictures to show the process and end result.  My last batch of brownies are in the oven soon to come out, then it's let them cool and deliver!  Hope you all have a great Halloween!  Enjoy!

Rolled Sugar Cookies

Next weekend we are celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with my Dad before he leaves for Texas for the winter. Normally I make anything and everything for the holidays, except cookies because I suck at making and baking them. While I was cruising around the internet, I found a recipe for Best Rolled Sugar Cookies and it looked pretty simple to make and the reviews were all positive, so I have decided to give it a try! It is chilling in the fridge as we speak! Woot! I plan on baking them in the morning! I feel pretty confident that they will turn out for me! I'll let you know how they turn out! Wish me luck!

• 1 1/2 Cups soften butter
• 2 Cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 5 Cups flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Bacon Pineapple Fried Rice

I randomly decided I wanted to try to make fried rice for the first time.  I read a bunch of different recipes, looked to see what I had on hand, and threw something together.  This is another one of those recipes where my measurements weren't precise.

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion
1 can of pineapple chunks
3 eggs
6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped up
1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice ahead of time and refrigerate until needed.  Heat oil in a large skillet or wok, add onions and pineapple and cook on high until they start to brown around the edges.  Whisk eggs, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Add eggs to pan, stir until eggs are completely cooked.  Add bacon, peas, and rice.  Break up any clumps of rice.  Stir frequently until everything is hot.  Adjust seasonings and eat!

Pot Roast

So my boyfriend requested a pot roast for dinner.  I have a bad track record with those, even when I cooked it in the crock pot with water it came out dry and nasty.  So I consulted Nichole (who consulted her husband) as well as my co-workers, and the nice guy behind the meat counter at my local grocery store.  I picked out a boneless chuckeye roast that just happened to be on sale (yay sale!).  I also found this mix of stuff while looking at the seasoning packets.  It's made by Kraft called Recipe Makers New England Pot Roast.  It comes with 2 things a simmer sauce and a finishing sauce.  So I this morning I put the roast in the crock pot, along with a whole lot of potatoes, carrots, celery, and half a sweet onion.  I added the simmer sauce as well as a little bit of water.  The simmer sauce didn't look like it would be enough.  It comes in a bottle so I just added water to the bottle, about half a bottles worth, and put that in.  Then put the lid on it, set it for low for 8 hours and left it alone.  The Kraft mix calls for you to add the finishing sauce about 15 minutes before you are done, so at 7 I put it on and turned the crock to high.  When all was said and done, the veggies were yummy, the meat was literally falling apart, and the flavor was wonderful!  I can't believe how well it turned out!  So I will definitely be buying that again.  I also made some crescent rolls to go with it.  Over all a very good meal tonight!  Thanks to all who made it happen!  I included pictures of the box from Kraft as well as the finished product.  Highly recommend the Recipe Maker. 

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

I was going to make twice baked potatoes for dinner tonight.  Then I discovered that my potatoes were getting a bit too green to eat the skins.  So I made something up.  Thus the loaded baked potato casserole was born.

4 medium to large potatoes, sliced thin
1 small to medium onion, chopped
6 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped up
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter (yes, butter not cooking spray) a 9 x 9 casserole dish.  Put potatoes, onion, and bacon in dish.  You can layer or mix as you prefer.  Add salt and pepper.  Cut butter into small chunks and distribute evenly.  Top with cheese.  Bake, covered, for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Serve, top with a dollop of sour cream, and enjoy!

The real beauty of this recipe is its flexibility.  Anything you like on a baked potato can be thrown into the dish.  I think next time I'll add broccoli.

BBC Soup

Two soups commonly seen here in the midwest are broccoli and cheese, and beer and cheese.  My brother, Gary, had the bright idea to combine the two into Broccoli, Beer & Cheese (or BBC) soup!  This is my version.  It's tasty by itself, and makes the best tater tot casserole base!  It also freezes and reheats well.

Note:  All amounts are approximate, this is one of those recipes that I dump stuff in until it looks/tastes right!

 1/4 cup butter
1 small/medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 bottle beer
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup chopped carrot
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
2 cups half & half
2 cups cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large stock pot.  Add onions and cook until transparent/slightly caramelized.  Whisk in flour.  Add beer, stock and carrots; simmer 15-20 minutes, until carrots are cooked but not soggy.  Add half & half and broccoli, simmer another 5-10 minutes until broccoli is tender.  Add salt, pepper, and cheese; stir until cheese is melted.

Chili Max

Hi, I'm one of the suckers er...contributors Nichole got to help her here.  My name is Theresa.  Nichole and I have been best friends for so long I've lost track (though she'll be quick to point out how long so that I'll feel old!)  Today has been rainy and cold all day so I decided tonight's dinner of choice will be my mom's Chili Max.  It's a good heat you up kind of dinner.  Start with a pound of ground beef, cook it with some seasonings.  I use some onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, and cayenne powder.  Once that's cooked I add a half a can of petite diced tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce, a can of dark kidney beans, a cup of elbow macaroni, and a half cup of water.  Bring it to a boil, then put a lid on it and simmer til the pasta is done.  You can top with Mexican cheese, or if you like really spicy sliced Jalapenos as my boyfriend does.  It's pretty easy and very good on a cold icky winter (or fall) day! 

Tonight's Dinner

Coconut chicken, rice, and sweet peas.

This chicken recipe is fantastic and rich.  It's good with the apricot sauce (in the recipe), or on its own.  Because the chicken is so rich, I like to pair it with simple sides.  So tonight, we had rice and sweet peas, both topped with a little butter, salt, and pepper.

Granny's Chocolate Pudding

This was my great grandmother's recipe (with slight modifications), and I frequently get asked for it.  I usually make it as just pudding or as pie with a graham cracker crust.  Granny usually made it in a traditional pie crust with meringue.

1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons corn starch
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
pinch salt
2 eggs
2 cups milk (2% or whole)
4 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients in a heavy saucepan.  Mix in eggs and gradually whisk in milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Once pudding thickens, remove from heat.  Stir in butter and vanilla.  Pour into your choice of receptacle.  Chill, eat, and enjoy!

Candied Bacon Bits

Candied bacon bits are a wonderful thing.  They're delicious on a salad, or even (if you like that sort of thing, and I do) on top of ice cream!

You will need:

1 pack of medium quality bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar, divided
Large cookie sheet (the type with raised edges)
Parchment paper
Cooling rack
Tongs
Zipper storage bag
flour

Preheat oven to 375.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Lay bacon out.  A little overlap is ok, but you want most of the surface exposed.  Coat bacon with 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Put in oven for approximately 15 minutes (bacon should appear mostly cooked, but not yet crispy).  Use tongs to flip bacon over, then coat with the remaining sugar.  Cook for another 10 minutes until crispy (bacon may appear slightly burnt around the edges, that's ok).  Immediately use tongs to put bacon on the cooling rack.  Once the bacon is cool to the touch, flip so it doesn't stick to the rack.  When the bacon is completely cool, chop to desired size and put in zipper bag with flour.  Close bag and shake until all bits are coated, this keeps them from sticking to each other.  2-3 tablespoons of flour should be enough to coat one batch.  Store in fridge or freezer.