Shepherd's Pie

This is a favorite of my boyfriend and roommate.
Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 package ground meat browned
2 pealed carrots
2 stalks celery
1 can peas
1 cup frozen broccoli
3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried thyme
2 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 small can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup beef broth
2-3 cups instant potatoes

Instructions
Set oven to 400.
Spray cooking spray in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, carrots and celery then cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the browned meat, thyme, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix the peas and broccoli into the mixture until well combined. Pour soup and broth in and mix well. Let simmer 3-4 minutes then pour the mixture into a large baking dish.
Prepare the potatoes and spread over the beef filling. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle parsley and bake 30 minutes.

White Chili

So, I'm a soup fanatic. It's the meal I make the most. So, here's another soup idea!
I wanted to make creamy soup, but use up some fresh vegetables, so I made traditional white chili with some additions.

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 chicken breast
2 pealed carrots
1 stalk celery
1/2 yellow onion
1 can white beans rinsed and drained
1/2 can green chiles (or a splash or red Thai chile sauce, which is what I had on hand)
1 tbsp garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup yogurt or milk
Fresh chopped cilantro to taste
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken, carrots, and celery and saute until there is no pink in the middle of the pieces and the vegetables are soft. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes; add the garlic, green chiles/chile sauce, cumin, Italian Seasoning and some salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes then add the broth. Next add the beans and cilantro. Simmer on low for 20 minutes; taste during this time and add more spices as desired. Stir in yogurt and heat for several more minutes and then garnish with shredded cheese and cilantro and enjoy!

Tomato Soup with Cilantro

Quick and easy!

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 cup milk
1 clove minced garlic
1 small onion chopped
A dash cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning (or just basil)
Fresh chopped cilantro

Instructions
In a medium pot, saute butter with garlic and onion until tender. Add soup, milk, and all spices except cilantro. Bring to a simmer stirring constantly. Simmer 3 minutes, then add as much cilantro as desired. Take off heat and serve.

Pineapple Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

I saw this recipe in the weightwatchers cookbook and had most of the ingredients, so I decided to try out an edited version of it.

Ingredients
Cooking spray
one small-medium onion chopped (white or yellow)
1 tbsp chopped ginger root
2 medium garlic cloves minced
1 chicken breast diced into about 1-inch cubes
1 cup canned pineapple chunks with juice
1/2 can black beans
Instructions
Before beginning cooking, put black beans with juice from can in a blender or magic bullet with a little water and blend until very smooth and runny. Add more water or chicken broth if you have it to get it smooth. (The original recipe calls for black bean sauce, but I didn't have any so I did this instead.)
Set aside.
In a saute pan, cook ginger, garlic, and onion until tender over medium heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides.
Add pineapple and juice as well as the black bean sauce mixture.Bring to a simmer and simmer until chicken is cooked through--about 5 minutes.
Serve over rice.

Apple Crumble

So...I am still behind on posting, so I am going to again post several recipes at once.

Recently, I made a great dessert for my boyfriend's house-warming party.
I combined a traditional apple pie filling with a crumble topping to make my version of apple crumble.

Ingredients
For the filling:
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
4 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced (You can always use more for a larger dish)
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the crumble:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter until damp, and sand-like.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions
For the filling:
Set oven to 350
Put apples aside.
Melt butter and mix with sugar by hand in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and vanilla until the mixture is well-blended.
Add apples into the bowl and mix together until well covered with filling.
Dump mixture into the bottom of a buttered pie pan, fruit dish, or casserole dish.

For the crumble:
In a second mixing bowl, sift the flour, oatmeal, and sugar and then stir in butter until the mixture looks like damp sand.
Lay on top of the apple mixture.
Sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar on top.
Put in the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crisp.

Poptarts

I used the other pie crust to make this amazing dessert from my wish list. I ate one with a glass of milk that evening and then had the other two for breakfast. My roommate and boyfriend really liked them too.

Homemade Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Poptarts:
Original Recipe from: For the Love of Cooking.net

Ingredients
1 premade pie crust
Butter, softened
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg, mixed well

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place the dough on top of a cutting board. (I used a paper towel...)
Cut the circular dough of the pie crust once horizontally and twice vertically to make 2 square pieces and four triangle piece.
Spread a small amount of butter on one side of the pieces
Mix the cinnamon and sugar mixture until well combined. Spoon a bit of cinnamon mixture on top of the butter.

Fold the dough in half and gently seal the edges with your fingers. Take a fork and crimp the edges of the pop tart closed.
Slice a little vent into the top of each pop tart. Brush the tops of each pop tart with the egg wash. Sprinkle each pop tart with some of the raw brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

For the companion pie recipe for this, click here

Pie Night!

I'm a little behind on posting, so I am going to post the last couple of days of meals at once.

I bought a box of pie shells from HEB for under $2 and made a dinner and a dessert with them on Monday night.
The first was Beef Pot Pie, which is kind of a made-up recipe that combines something like Shepherd's Pie with something like pot pie. :)

Beef Pot Pie:

Ingredients
1/2 package ground beef
1/2 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
3 red potatoes diced
1/2 can corn
2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup cornstrach (more to make thicker)
1 tsp thyme
black pepper and salt
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce/paste (I only had sauce, so I went with that)

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the diced potatoes in a pot of water and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Spray deep saute pan or dutch oven with cooking spray and brown the beef with garlic, salt, and pepper.
Add carrots, celery, corn. and thyme and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce/paste and worchestershire sauce stirring well then deglaze pan with 1/2 cup of broth, scraping up pieces of sides.
Add potatoes along with another cup of broth.
While the mixture is simmering, whisk the corn starch and the remaining 1/2 cup of beef broth; stir into the beef mixture until thickened-- about 2 minutes.
Take off heat and taste, putting more salt, pepper, or thyme is necessary.
Ladle into baking dish or deep pie pan.
Roll out the pie crust from the package and place on top of the filling. Crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork. Make 2 small incisions with a fork in the center. Place the pie on top of a baking sheet and cook for 30-35 minutes or until crust is flaky and brown.

For my companion dessert, click here