Shepherd's Pie

For those of you who read this, I'll share a secret with you. I publish my cookbook here so I can have recipes when I travel. This one has been a favorite lately and we are going to be on the road soon. So, voila!, you benefit. I started out with a pretty bland recipe I found on the Internet then doctored it until I got this. Another secret: My English friend tells me this is actually cottage pie. Shepherd's pie has lamb instead of beef, which makes sense it you think about it. I have made a healthier version with ground turkey. (We called that woodland pie.) The secret to any one of them seems to be plenty of onions and the sauce in step 4 so, however you  modify it, don't scrimp on those. 

Ingredients

1.) 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tsp. salt 

1/2 tsp. pepper

2.) 2 cups frozen peas

salt, pepper, and butter to taste

3.) 5 carrots, roughly chopped

salt, pepper, and butter to taste

4.) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 onions, chopped

2 pound lean ground beef

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup ketchup

2 cups beef broth

2 tsp. Worcestershire

5.) 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. Mix in butter, milk, finely chopped onion and 1/4 cup shredded cheese, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

2. Boil or steam peas. Add salt, pepper, and butter to taste. Set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and butter to taste. Drain, mash and set aside. 

4. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onions and cook until clear. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup, beef broth, and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Make these layers in a 2 quart casserole dish: beef on bottom, carrots, peas, potatoes, cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Chicken Curry

You would think that with Indian food being my very most favorite food in the world, I would have a lot more of those recipes on this blog. The fact is, I love to eat it but have never been great at making it. All that has changed since I have been on a quest for good and reasonably easy-to-follow recipes. This one is definitely a keeper. I cannot take credit for this photo--I usually photograph my own food--because I borrowed it from the Internet. One of these days I may make that right but for now, this is actually very much what it looks like, sans the naan (Indian bread) because I haven't mastered that yet. Parathas are much easier (basically whole wheat flour and water made into thick tortillas and fried in a pan).

Are you surprised to not see curry as one of the ingredients? That's because you're kind of making your own when you mix all these spices together.

My husband says, "Mmm, I love this food." See if yours does too.

4 TBS cooking oil

2 lb. chicken breast, cubed

2 large onions, chopped

2 large tomatoes, diced

2 TBS garlic paste

1 TBS ginger paste

3 TBS tomato paste

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

2 tsp garam masala powder

Chopped cilantro to garnish

In a large saucepan, heat half the oil and brown the chicken. Remove and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil and cook the onions until golden brown. In a food processor, blend the cooked onions, tomatoes, garlic paste, and ginger paste until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan.

Heat the mixture and add the tomato paste and all the spices. Mix well.

Add the chicken to the sauce and cook on medium heat until cooked through, about ten minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with hot Indian bread and rice.

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

This is truly delicious. Don't forget to make up the rice so it's hot and ready to serve when the chicken is done. Steamed carrots with a little brown sugar glaze and a simple salad make this a beautiful meal.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

2 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 cup chopped onion

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped

1 TBS. olive oil

1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

1 TBS cornstarch

3 TBS snipped fresh basil

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

3 cups hot cooked rice

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place chicken in a medium bowl. In a small bowl stir together the curry powder, salt, black pepper, and chili powder. Sprinkle spice mixture over chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours to allow spices to penetrate meat.

In a large nonstick wok or skillet cook and stir onion, garlic, and jalapeño peppers in hot oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Remove onion mixture from wok. Add half of the chicken to wok. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from wok. If necessary, add additional oil. Cook remaining chicken as above; remove from wok.

Combine coconut milk and cornstarch. Carefully add to wok. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken and onion mixture to wok. Stir in basil and ginger. Cook and stir about 2 minutes more or until heated through. Serve over hot rice.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Thanks, Benay, for this addition to my cookbook. I use it all the time. These are perfect for a party. Kids love them too if you don't mention the onions. One of our pint-sized guests last night said, "These are great! Can you teach us how to make them?" Here you go:

1 ½ lb. thinly sliced ham

1 lb. sliced Swiss cheese

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 stick soft butter

3 Tbs. poppy seeds

3 Tbs. dijon mustard

2 Tbs. Worcestershire

3 pkg. small rolls (12, unseparated per package)

Mix onion, butter, poppy seeds, mustard, and Worcestershire. Slice rolls while still unseparated and spread paste-like mixture on tops and bottoms of rolls. Lay slices of ham and cheese on bottoms of rolls and put tops back on. Do not separate rolls until after they are baked. Wrap each set of prepared rolls in foil. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cut into individual sandwiches.

These can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. They should be wrapped in foil to be frozen. If frozen, they should be baked for 60 minutes.

Sausage and Mushroom Breakfast Casserole

My mother-in-law makes this and it's wonderful. I like to make it on Sunday mornings for the church that meets in our house. It seems to be popular with both adults and children. Maple sausage adds a yummy dimension to this crowd pleaser.

6 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 lb. sausage

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup chopped tomato

2 cups Cheddar cheese, grated

10 eggs, beaten

3 cups milk

2 tsp. ground mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Brown sausage and mushrooms together. In separate bowl, mix cheese and tomatoes together. In separate bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.

Layer in rectangle pan: 1/2 bread crumbs on bottom, 1/2 sausage and mushrooms, 1/2 cheese and tomatoes. Repeat the layers again. Pour egg mixture over top and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until done.

Cheese Ball

Super easy. Super delicious. Super popular.

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Dash garlic salt

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Chopped pecans

Mix first four ingredients. Roll into ball. Roll in chopped nuts to cover.

Pesto

Basil is easy to grow and worth the while if you enjoy this dish as much as my family does. My two-year old devours it.

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts

2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 tsp. salt

black pepper

In a food processor or blender, combine oil, nuts, basil, cheese, garlic, and salt. Cover and blend until nearly smooth, stopping and scraping sides as needed. Add pepper to taste.

Toss with hot penne - (I use whole wheat). It’s best served on a bed of marinara. It also freezes well for up to three months.