Meaty Shepherds Pie

Ingredients

For the Potatoes:

2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
4 tablespoons real butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste


For the Filling:

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground venison, beef, turkey or lamb
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sweet paprika2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons dried parsley leaves 
1/4 cup meat or vegetable broth, plus more if needed
1/4 cup good red wine
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup frozen peas
Butter for dish
Garnish with green onions or parsley.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Fill a large stock pot with enough water to cover potatoes by an inch. Add potatoes with 1 teaspoon salt. Boil potatoes until fork tender. This will take about 15 minutes. When potatoes are ready, drain and add them to a large bowl. To the potatoes, add cream, yogurt, salt and pepper. Mash by hand or for smoother potatoes, use a hand mixer. 

Add olive oil to a skillet on medium high heat.  Add onion and carrots and cook until almost fork tender. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Break up ground meat and add to the vegetables and brown. Add all seasonings and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture and stir. Immediately add broth, wine and Worcestershire sauce while stirring to thicken. Add additional liquid if too dry.

Carefully stir in peas so not to mash them. Add the filling to a buttered casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Just enough to lightly brown the top. Garnish and serve hot with crusty bread.

You can also make individual pies using baking tins or ramekins.

Shrimp & Chicken Gumbo Kit's Way : )

 

In Honor of Fat Tuesday today, I made Gumbo for dinner. I have to admit it's been a while since I last made it, so it took me  a minute to gather my thoughts. It didn't take long for it all to come flying right back to memory and soon we had a luscious Louisiana favorite on the table. It had been so long that my Cajun seasoning had turned to stone and I was left to my own devices as far as spices went. All and all it was a hit and super comforting on this cold and rainy day. Caz hates okra, but he did indulge me by trying it my way...crunchy and fried as a topping instead of slimming the inside of the dish. Give this deliciousness a try.

Ingredients:   

1 1/2 pounds chicken legs and thighs

1/2 pound breakfast sausage

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 to 4 celery ribs with tops, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup bacon grease or cooking oil for rue, plus extra for cooking vegetables

1/4 cup flour

5 to 6 cups chicken broth

1 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 bay leaves

3 tablespoons cornstarch for thickening if necessary

1 pound shrimp, peeled and tails removed

1 cup white rice 

2 cups frozen breaded okra

Seasoning: 

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley

Directions:

In heavy bottom stock pot or dutch oven, poach chicken until thoroughly  cooked, about half an hour or so. When chicken is done, cool, remove from the bone and discard bones. Chop in bite size pieces. Set aside. Remove and save chicken broth in a bowl. This will be your stock.

In the same pot that is now empty, add sausage to pot and brown. If necessary add a few tablespoons bacon grease or oil and turn heat to medium high. Add bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic. Cook until onion and bell pepper is tender and garlic is fragrant, stirring as needed. Turn off heat while you make the rue.

In a skillet on medium high heat, add the bacon grease or oil and whisk as you slowly add the flour. Cook flour mixture until the color becomes a light reddish brown. This may take a few minutes, but do not turn up heat. The flour needs this time to cook the floury taste out and the rue will only burn. When rue is finished cooking, stir into the vegetable mixture. Don't return the pot to the heat at this point. 

In a medium bowl mix all the herbs and spices and add the contents of the bowl to the pot. Add the chicken, broth, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and the bay leaves to the pot. Return to medium low heat and allow to thicken. If mixture does not thicken to the right consistency, them mix cornstarch with enough water to make a loose paste and add to hot ingredients in pot. 

Add shrimp in at the last and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes on low heat.

Add rice to a pot with 2 cups boiling salted (1/4 teaspoon salt) water. Bring to a boil again and turn heat to simmer. Cover and set timer for 20 minutes. Rice will be perfect and fluffy.

Deep fry breaded okra in a pot of oil on medium high heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

To plate, add rice to a bowl or plate and top with gumbo. Top with crispy fried okra. Enjoy!

White Castle Burger

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 cup dried onion flakes

2 pounds ground beef (Good chuck is best)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic

6 American cheese slices

12- small dinner rolls

dill pickle slices

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sprinkle the onion flakes on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Add ground beef over the top of the onion flakes and press to fit the pan. You're making one big patty : ). 

Season the meat. Use a dowel rod or the side of your hand to press in lines to make (separate later) into square patties. Once the patties are defined, use a drinking straw to poke 5 holes in each patty (4 toward each corners and one in the middle).

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and remove from oven. Top each square (imprint) with a slice of cheese (cheese will overlap. It's fine). Cut patties apart.

Open buns and using a spatula add patties with onion to the bun. Top each burger with a pickle and top bun.

Serve with fries, potato salad or chips and your favorite condiments. 

Enjoy!

70's Coffee Can Lofthouse Cookies

In the 70's, one of the first recipes I learned in home ec 101 was how to make lofthouse type cookies.  Tin coffee cans (remember those?) were used to store the cookies and keep them soft. I'll never forget how good they were and how easy they were to make because a box cake mix was used. This is the recipe I've used throughout the years. When I first tasted lofthouse cookies from the store I smiled, because these were the cake box cookies I'd been making since high school. Here's my version. Enjoy!

Cake Box Lofthouse Cookies

Cookie Directions: 1 box white cake (It's better to use moist with pudding mix, something they didn't have back in the day :)
1 cup flour, divided into 2/3 cup for the cake and 1/3 for the work board
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons milk or buttermilk (I like using butter milk for the flavor)

Cookie Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, eggs, milk and oil.  Beat until mixture incorporated and a cookie like consistency.  Use a spoon or an ice cream scoop or roll into a log and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Press cookies down if necessary and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake time should be  approximately ten minutes, however you want to continue to check the cookies to insure the bottoms are not browning. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely before frosting. Store in a coffee can or plastic ware to keep soft.

Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (I use 1 cup of butter and no shortening when I'm frosting cakes.)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
4 to 5 cups powdered sugar (should take 4 cups, but I have had to use more)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream

Icing or food color
Sprinkles or sanding sugar

Frosting Directions:
Add butter and shortening to the bowl of your mixer and using a paddle attachment, beat until smooth. You can do this with a hand mixer, no problem. Don't over beat.  Add in confectioners sugar a little at a time until well incorporated. Add salt, vanilla and cream. Allow the mixer to go on medium for about 5 minutes. Frosting should be fluffy and smooth. If you are coloring your icing add now and mix until color is blended thoroughly. If using more than one color. Separate frosting into individual bowls as needed and add color to each and stir until incorporated. Ice cookies and sprinkle with your favorite decorations.  

Beef Chuck Sliders with Chipotle Mayo

Makes 12 sliders

Ingredients:

2  pounds ground chuck

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 

1 teaspoon season salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon thyme

6 pieces of thick sliced pepper bacon, cut in half to make 12 short pieces

12  slices Swiss cheese 

12 leaves peppery arugala

3 Roma tomatoes, sliced

24 bread and butter pickles

slices of sweet red onion (optional)

12 soft potato or dinner rolls, sliced

Chipotle Mayo:
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 chipotle chiles with 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare the grill by rubbing or brushing oil on the grate and heating the temperature to 500ºF. or- Heat a skillet on medium high and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

In a fry pan, cook bacon until crispy and set aside. 

Using a fork or your clean  hands,  mix together the first 8 ingredients in a bowl. Divide the mixture into 12 equally sized portions and roll into balls and flatten.

Grill the patties until you have reached desired doneness and flip over. Once patties are ready, add cheese slice to the hot patty.  Warm the rolls on each side for a couple of minutes

Spread with chipotle mayo and top with lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion.Top with bun and use a toothpick to hold together.

Serve with your favorite fries or chips.

Are You Ready For Some Football? Our First Quarter Right of Passage Chimi's are Fabulous!

Chicken Potato Chimichangas

2 to 3 tablespoon cooking oil
1 rotisserie chicken, remove bones, skin and shredded
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
1 sweet yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 rotisserie chicken or equivalent poached or baked chicken, shredded 
1 tablespoon California Girl's Mexican seasoning or 1 package burrito or taco seasoning
1 4 ounce can green chilies, diced
8 to 10 large flour tortillas
2 cups Monterey or Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
Oil for deep frying


Directions: 
Heat a heavy bottom pot, Dutch oven or deep fryer with oil to 375 degrees. Use a thermometer for correct temperature.

In a frying pan, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add potato cubes and cook until crispy and browned. Add diced onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add shredded chicken and seasoning. Stir in the green chilies and cook until well incorporated and heated thoroughly. Set aside.

Roll and wrap tortillas in a paper towel and twist ends. Microwave for 30 seconds or until tortilla are pliable. Divide chicken mixture evenly among the tortillas by placing equal amounts in the center of each tortilla. Top with 3 tablespoons of cheese, fold sides in and roll into a burrito.

Cook one burrito at a time in deep fryer, heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven. Lower each burrito using tongs to hold the roll together. Continue to hold together with tongs while Deep frying until golden brown. Repeat until all of the burritos are cooked.

Drain burritos on paper towels and serve with toppings, green or red salsas and guacamole.


California Girls South of the Border Seasoning

Great for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tostadas and all other Mexican dishes.

4 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons oregano (Mexican if possible)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
½  to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Note: If you don’t like an ingredient, leave it out : ). If you like more, add more. Make it your own.

For general use, Add two to three tablespoons seasoning mix to one pound ground beef, chicken or turkey or shredded pork, chicken or beef, along with one cup of water in a skillet or crock pot. *See directions below for this recipe.

The Kiddos Favorite Drum Sticks

This recipe is so simple and yet so yummy! My Grand kids love this chicken and two of then are super picky eaters. Give this 4 ingredient baked chicken a try and you'll love it too.

Ingredients:

Chicken Drum sticks
Greek seasoning (Like Cavenders or see my Greek seasoning recipe below : )
Paprika
Garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash chicken and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with seasonings to taste. Place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and juices run clear.

Serve with your favorite sides.

Yum it up!


California Girl’s Greek Seasoning
Makes about ½ cup of spice mix
 Ingredients:
 3 teaspoons salt  1 ½ teaspoons black pepper3 teaspoons garlic powder  3 teaspoons onion powder 3 teaspoons dried parsley, finely crushed 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano, finely crushed 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil, finely crushed1 ½ teaspoons dried rosemary, finely crushed 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme, finely crushed  1 ½ teaspoons fennel seed, crushed 1 ½ teaspoons marjoram leaves, crushed 1 ½ teaspoons dried mint, crushed  Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Store in a labeled airtight container.
Use in soups, stews, chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, casseroles, eggs.


You will use this on everything!