2015... The Year of Food!

I would like to try more recipes! I have always been one to love to try new things, but I have my go-to classics. Like most pinners, my Pinterest board Yum is overloaded with tons of recipes I always say, "Oh I could make that!", "That sounds amazing!", but I never actually get around to trying them. Well, as cliche' as it is, I want to try and make (at least) one new recipe from my Pinterest board each week. Now these will not be "super foods", "healthier choices", and probably not "gluten-free". I am not a stickler about every little thing I eat. Yeah, I got curves... and I love 'em!

So today, January the first of 2015, I am tackling a Shepherd's Pie. I love chicken pot pie (one of my old trusties), so I think the beef version of it will be quite tasty. My picky boy isn't here today, so I can try it out without the "What is this? (with a snarled nose and questionable eye). My bottomless pit of a one year old and darling husband will be the judges today. They aren't very picky... at all!

I got my recipe from Pinterest (of course), and you can find it here. And yes, it has the word EASY in the title. As I fore mentioned, I have a one year old. A tiny terrorist that doubles as a tornado aka Lilli. I cannot be in the kitchen for hours slaving over a meal with a hip-high monster trying to pull my pants off to get my attention, trying to climb up the oven door, going through all the cabinets and pulling everything out, or terrorizing the dog as they both beg for food. (Just a day in the life that I love!) So many of my meals are 30 minute wonders! Because I always leave my husband wondering, "How did you do that?" Slight of hand and a little magic! ;)

The ingredients to this Shepherd's Pie are things I usually have around the house. I literally had everything for this with some substitutions of my choosing. Now for these ingredients, I go as simple (and CHEAP) as possible. The meat we usually buy in bulk and portion it out when we get home to save time and money. I always have a bag of potatoes or a box of instant mash in the house. You could even use the pre-made mashed potatoes from the grocery store. I eliminated the cream cheese and opted with how I usually make my mashed potatoes with butter, ranch, and sour cream. I didn't want the sweet of the cream cheese with such a savory dish. Just my opinion. I always have a variety of shredded cheese in my fridge too. I will use colby-jack today. As far as garlic goes, I just use garlic powder and onion powder. Those 2 are married in this house and go everywhere together! I also didn't have mixed veggies (I like canned Veg-All) so I took one can of carrot slices (diced them), green beans (cut them smaller), whole kernel corn, and sweet peas. Made a ton of veggies, but I am ok with that! So for the gravy, I didn't have a packet of beef gravy but did have mushroom gravy. I saw a few recipes call for mushrooms in the actual veggie mix, but I am no fan of mushrooms, unlike my husband. So I thought the mushroom gravy wouldn't be too over-bearing for me and nice for him. La-tee-da. **After eating this recipe, I realized it needed more gravy. The veggies and meat were a little bland. I put some A1 Steak sauce on mine (I could drink A1 straight from the bottle!) It needed some extra oomph!**

The recipe calls for the oven to be at 375° F, but I cook everything (besides baking) at 400°. Just how I do it, so I preheated my oven to 400° and got my water going for the mashed potatoes. I had like 8 small potatoes in a bag that I needed to finish up using, so I went old fashioned on it. I leave the skins on the potatoes for a little rustic flair (and I'm just too lazy to peel them). Sliced them and diced them and threw them in the salt water. Then I began browning my pound of hamburger meat (venison, ground turkey, or lamb could be yummy too) and sprinkled it down with my garlic and onion powders. Once my meat was almost complete, I got my mushroom gravy going. I drained my meat really well, returned it to the pan and doused it with the mushroom gravy.  I drained all my cans of veggies and cut the green beans and carrots. I threw them all in the casserole dish and mixed them together, then covered the veggies with the meat/gravy mixture. **I layered my meat on top of the veggies, but after eating it I realized I should have mixed the meat and veggies rather than layer it.** Then I mashed my potatoes and added salt, pepper, ranch, butter, and sour cream then spread it over the meat, covered it with cheese, and popped it in the oven for 15 minutes.

 


I was raised that a complete dinner is a meat 2 sides and a bread. So I had my meat and veggies, so I needed a bread. I went with some good ol' Red Lobster biscuits. My local grocery store carries the box mix to make them or you can use this recipe. Either way, they are freaking delicious, and I am too broke to be hitting the Red Lobster all the time.

So there ya have it. A quick, easy family dinner that your family is going to love. My husband liked it but agreed it needed some oomph, but my one year old TORE IT UP! She loved it!

Dessert was yummy too. I made Oreo Chocolate Pudding Parfaits. Something I whipped up in minutes just off the top of my head. I took 4 oz of cream cheese and microwaved it for about 30 seconds so it got all soft and gooey and added about 8 crushed Oreo cookies. Then I spread that mixture in the bottom of a little glass. Spooned some chocolate pudding onto the Oreo mixture. Then sprinkled 2 crushed Oreo cookies onto the pudding and topped with Cool Whip. Simple. Could even be made with more layers or in a casserole dish.