Shepard's Pie

We made leg of lamb using this recipe (you MUST make this, it's wonderful!!) for my parent's last meal here. It was over 5 pounds, so there were plenty of leftovers. Leftover lamb just isn't good, it's gamey, chewy and, well, just not good. Trust me here. We also had asperagus and mashed potatoes. So, what do you do with leftover asperagus, lamb and mashed potatoes???

It's screaming Shepard's Pie!

I started off by taking the juice (jus?) from the roast and bringing it to boil in a sauté pan.
Warning: the following pictures may not be pretty, but the end result is tasty!

Scoop out a couple ladles full of broth into a container (I used a measuring cup, but you could use anything). Spoon in a couple tablespoons of flour. Mix very well, till there are no chunks whatsoever. Use a fork or whisk to mix. If you don't get the lumps out now, you will have lumpy gravy!

Pour flour mixture back into boiling broth, whisking constantly. Whisk until smooth and thickened.

Like I said, it's not pretty. Be sure to taste your gravy for seasonings. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Dump meat and veggies into an oven-proof container, the amount is to your liking. You could use a regular baking dish, but I'm always looking for ways to use this pretty dish. Mix in the gravy.

Layer the top with the mashed potatoes. I used my hands to get it all over the top. Of course I don't have a shot of what it looked like after all the potatoes on the top, but you can use your imagination, I'm sure.

Bake, uncovered, at 400 or 425 for about 30 minutes.

Again, not pretty, but so, so tasty!! If you use the crockpot lamb and use plenty of seasonings like Stephanie says, you're golden.

Mostaccioli Bake

This recipe is from the vault. The vault that was my crammed recipe box. I packed my recipe box up when we moved overseas and hadn't seen this since 2005. I love this dish, had forgotten how much I loved this dish. I prepared this dish for last nights' dinner and loved it all over again!

I haven't done the math on it exactly, but it ends up being a fairly inexpensive meal as well. Like, under $5. I'll bet you have almost everything in your kitchen to prepare this tonight. So make it! Oh, and I made the whole 9x13 dish thinking I'd have half left over for another night. Not so. The crew devoured this and we only had enough left for Adam to take for lunch today.

What you need
3 cups uncooked mostaccioli (this is about half a 1 pound package)
3-4 Tbs butter, plus 2 more Tbs.
1 cup chopped onion (As usual, I used onion powder. We have onion issues at our house.)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 milk
1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, plus 2 more Tbs
1 tsp dried Italian dressing mix (the kind you get in the packets)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
1/4 cup bread crumbs, whichever variety you have on hand

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Go ahead and grate your cheese, measure out your ingredients, get the spinach thawed and squeezed in your colander.* Grease a 9x13 dish. You can also make the bread crumb topping (found at the end of this recipe). This all makes this dish come together with little hassle and little clean-up.

*side note: you can also squeeze the spinach out really well in a towel, but this will cause you to have a majorly green towel. Do what's best for you.

Cook your pasta according to directions, usually about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt 3-4 Tbs butter in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook about 5 minutes, but don't let your garlic get all brown. Add the flour and whisk constantly for about 1 minute. Slowly add in the milk, whisking the whole time to incorporate your roux. Cook about 4-5 minutes till just bubbling. Remove from heat, stir in 1/4 cup cheese, the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper (go easy on the salt, as there's plenty in the cheese, but it still needs some). Combine the pasta, tomatoes, the cheese sauce, the rest of the cheese (about 1 cup). Stir well. Spoon mixture into your 9x13 dish.

In small bowl, melt 2 Tbs butter. Stir in 2 Tbs Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Sprinkle over pasta. Bake about 30 minutes.

Serve with a glass of wine and some fresh bread. All your food groups are in there, so you can take or leave a salad!

Noodle Bowl a.k.a. Chicken grill and Peanut Noodles

Cooking in Korea was a challenge. Sometimes in a really frustrating-I-can't-find-good-dairy-products! way, but sometimes in a really good way. Ways that stretched me to become a better, more creative cook.

There was a type of mushrooms that was everywhere in the Korea street markets and grocery stores. How I wish I had taken a picture of them! They were in huge clusters with brown thickish, chewy stems and caps. Very, very meaty, similar to a portabella. And cheap!

And I have no idea what they are called, if the even have an English equivalent. I've looked all over the web trying to find these little fungi, but anytime I think I've found it, that particular type of 'shroom comes up as "suspect" or "poisonous". Well, we're still here. And while we suffered numerous stomach upsets over there, those episodes could almost always be blamed on food handling practices, not poisonous fungi.

Life goes on, though, right?

These mystery mushrooms were often sautéed with a soy mixture in the pan. So, so amazing and yummy! While living there, I would make an easy chicken and vegetable grill/broil using this idea of the mushrooms and soy mixture. I cooked it a lot. At least twice a month. Even our Korean friends liked it, so I usually fixed it for our fellowship time too. I haven't cooked it since our time there, but tonight I pulled it from the files and made it again, only this time without the amazing mystery mushrooms. Sigh. I also fixed a noodle recipe based on Rachael Ray's Sesame Noodles (I can't seem to find it online, but it's in one of her cookbooks). I didn't want to spend money on Tahini, so I substituted peanut butter (which I already had), and served it hot, not cold. We combined the noodles and chicken grill in a bowl, but you can do what you like.

One big thing to remember, this is a major easy, fancy-looking meal! Serve it to friends some night!

Chicken Grill

What you need
soy sauce or Tamari, if you like a stronger flavor
honey
ginger root
chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces (I used thighs this time and regretted it. I'm a big dark meat fan, but not in this recipe. Go for the white meat here.)
any sort of veggies (zucchini, red, yellow or green peppers, mushrooms)

I realize there are no measurements, just use what looks right and will cover all your chicken and veggies in a bowl. So, mix the soy, honey and ground ginger root well in a bowl. (Ok, ok. It will be about a 1/4-1/2 cup each of soy and honey with maybe 1/2 inch of root. That's for all you people out there who need measurements. ......Who am I kidding? I'm one of you! High-five!)

Moving on.........

Let your chicken and veggies marinate for awhile, anywhere from a few hours to overnight. Or, you can do what I did and forget about it for 24 hours. That works too, apparently.

I live in the freezing cold, below freezing, actually, so we don't grill in the winter. I use my broiler as an alternative as I did in Korea and New York. Pour your chicken mixture onto a foil-lined baking sheet, place under broiler (about the 2nd rack down from the top) and cook about 7 minutes. Check it, give it a stir and return to broiler till chicken and veggies are nice and tender, but with a few pieces starting to get that nice char.

I love the char.

Peanut Noodles

What you need
Peanut butter, about 2-3 Tbs.
Soy sauce, about 2-3 Tbs.
1 inch ground ginger root
2 tbs (maybe less) sesame oil (this is a very strong flavor, so go easy)
pinch of cayenne pepper, optional, if you're going to use it, use it! I couldn't taste a pinch.
2-3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 # pasta, I used fettuccine, but angle hair would be nice too
1 carrot, shredded
4 green onions, sliced
peanuts, finely chopped, for garnish (I didn't have these, but they're good)

Cook pasta al dente. Mix together peanut butter, soy, ginger, sesame oil, pepper and garlic in a bowl till smooth. It looks weird at first, just keep whisking together. Drain pasta well. Place in large bowl, pour in peanut butter mixture and stir together. Add in carrots and onions, mix well. In bowls, top with extra green onions and peanuts.

As you can see, I added the chicken and veggies to the noodles. Yum!

Don't you just love my pretty Korean China (that sounds weird, for some reason). This was a present from our company right before we left. I'm always looking for ways to use it.

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Or chicken if you don't have turkey.

I had all my Thanksgiving leftovers sitting in the fridge, and while I love it all the first time around, warmed up mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts just aren't what I call a good meal. But I love pot pie.

Whoa! I thought. What better way to use it all up then to throw it all into a dish, top it with biscuit mix and throw in the oven! As it baked, I began having second thoughts. When it came to the table, I was even more anxious. My husband took the first bite and said, "Man! Have you tried this? It's delicious!" And he was right. So, for you who are sick of microwave warmed up turkey, I give you my pot pie.

What you need:

Any or all leftovers from Thanksgiving (or Christmas, for that matter), but leave out the pumpkin pie, if you have any of that left-over, that is
mine, for example was as follows:

• turkey
• mashed potatoes
• Brussels sprouts and carrots
• cooked corn
• gravy
  

1 cup Biscuit mix (Jiffy or Bisquick)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

In a large dish with high sides, pack all those yummy mashed potatoes down to form a bottom. This will be your "crust". Mix together all your vegetables, turkey and gravy in a large mixing bowl. Pour this all over your potatoes. (If you need more gravy, do this: In large sauce pan melt about 1/2 cup butter, whisk in 1/2 cup flour and cook till creamy. Whisk in 3 cups chicken broth and cook till thickened.) In another mixing bowl, beat together the biscuit mix, egg and milk, pour over the turkey mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Enjoy! This paired really well with the spinach salad I forgot to serve on Thanksgiving day.

Brussels Sprouts with Carrots, Bacon and Garlic

A classic Thanksgiving and Christmas dish for our family is brussels sprouts. I used to completely turn up my nose at this cute little vegetable, but somewhere in my adulthood I fell in love with it's tiny little cabbage leaves, it's bright green color, how it turns from a slightly bitter ball to a melt-in-your-mouth crunch when done the following way. I dare you to try it and not agree. (Courtney, that's for you!) Also, the ingrediants don't have any measurements, just use what you need and/or like.

What you need:

Brussels Sprouts (outside leaves taken off, cut in half, bottom trimmed)
Carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces, then cut in half lengthwise
Bacon, chopped
Garlic
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil

If roasting in oven:
Combine all ingredients in large dish and toss well. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every so often.

If sautéing on stovetop: (Note: this way is done without the carrots)
Heat olive oil over medium heat in large sauté pan. Cook bacon pieces till tender. Add the rest of the ingredients except the carrots. Stir around till done, about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your sprouts.

Baked Tomatoes with Asparagus

I got this fresh dish from my friend here in NYC, Sarah. It is so easy and simple that you will feel guilty (well, maybe only a little bit) because it just looks so complicated and tastes amazing! This recipe is for 8 servings, but you could make it as large or small as you wish very easily. I, personally, could eat 2 servings with no problem! A great side to accompany a steak, chicken or pair it with a pasta dish.

What you need:

4 large tomatoes
24 spears asparagus, lightly steamed--snap spears off at their woody base
1 cup mayo
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 dashes Tabasco
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
3 Tbs grated onion (I used a few shakes of onion powder)

1. Cut tomatoes in half, core out. Place in buttered baking dish, cut side up. You may also want to slice off a small part of the bottom of the tomato to make it stable.

2. Top each tomato with 3 spears.

3. Combine mayo, cheese, Tabasco, mustard and onion in bowl. Spoon onto top of each tomato.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and tomato is heated through.

Mom's Granola

Granola is my favorite cereal. It's even good mixed into vanilla yogurt with our without fruit. But to buy it at the store is just too gosh darned expensive! The ingredients used in this granola that my mom created are inexpensive at the outset, and the fact that you can make several batches before having to buy more of each is a plus. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 10 cups.

What you need:

4 cups quick cook oats
2 cups raw wheat germ
1 cup hulled, raw sunflower seeds
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup flaked, sweet coconut
1/2 cup flax seed
1/2 cup veg. oil
1/3 cup water
1 Tbs. vanilla


Stir together dry ingredients in large bowl. In small bowl, mix vanilla and water together, then pour into the dry mix along with the oil. Stir this really well. Spread onto a really large cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees F for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. Let it cool and dump into your container.