Shepherd's Pie

I made this casserole for some friends who came over for a game night last week. It is great when you want a casserole a bit different from the chicken and pasta ones.

Here is the original recipe. (And I borrowed their picture)

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1-2 C vegetables (I used fresh carrots and frozen peas), chopped

1 1/2 - 2 lbs of potatoes (I usually go for the max because I like lots of mashed potatoes on top)

8 Tbs of butter, divided

1/2 C beef broth

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

salt, pepper, garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Boil the potatoes to prepare them for mashing. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and begin sauteing the onions. As the onions cook, add the other vegetables according to cook time (I waited to add the peas until after the meat was browned).

Add ground beef and cook until brown. While it cooks, add salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of garlic powder. You can drain the grease or add some flour for thickening into a gravy. When the meat is brown, add 1/2 C beef broth and simmer for 10 minutes while you prepare the potatoes.

Mash the potatoes with remaining 4 Tbs of butter. Season to taste.

Move meat and vegetables to a 13x9 baking dish. Spread potatoes on top. Use a fork to add texture to the potatoes if they are very smooth. This will form peaks that will brown nicely in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes until the potatoes begin to brown.

Creamy Crockpot Potato Soup

My friend told me about this indulgent soup. It is so creamy, I love it! A great comfort food for winter. The original recipe called for frozen hash-browns but I used fresh potatoes I shredded in my grater and it turned out lovely. I also added a few carrots we had in the fridge.

Original Recipe
Ingredients:
5 peeled, shredded potatoes (or you can use a 30oz bag of shredded hash-browns, frozen)
3 cups of chicken boullion
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 C onion, chopped
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 8oz package of cream cheese

Directions:
Mix everything but the cream cheese in the crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-6 hours. When you have about 1 hour left, add the cream cheese. Make sure you stir it thoroughly before serving. Top with green onions and cheddar cheese if desired.

S'more Bars

I have been seeing a lot of S'more recipes on Pinterest. I love those treats, pretty sure they are my favorite part of camping. So I finally made one of the recipes today on a play-date with my friend. This tasted remarkably like a s'more! So good and gooey. It really has all the elements a s'more needs!
Original Recipe

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized hershey's bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, cracker crumbs, baking power, and salt. Mix. Press half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Spread a layer of marshmallow fluff evenly over it (it is okay if you don't use all 1 1/2 cups). Place the hershey's bars over the top so they cover the whole thing evenly. Press remaining graham dough over the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Eat with a very large glass of milk!

Skillet Lasagna

My sister recommended this recipe to me. It is a lasagna you cook in a skillet. It was easy and tasty. I was worried it would be too tomato-ey but it tasted like a lasanga to me. And it doesn't call for any meat but I bet you could add some if you felt in the mood - however I didn't even miss it in this dish. So cheesy and delish.

Here is the original recipe. I modified it a bit to this:

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tsp basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
About 6 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into pieces and cooked
2 tablespoons parsley (dried or fresh)

Directions:
Heat the oil and cook the onions until tender. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, sauce, basil, pepper and salt. Cook about 5 minutes, until thickened a bit. Stir in the cooked noodles. Spoon on ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Let cheese melt. Stir in parsley and serve. 

Crepes with Apple Filling

One of my roommates in college was from Dijon, France. She had a great crepe recipe that I have often used. I was in the mood for crepes but couldn't find her recipe so I just used this one from allrecipes. The crepes turned out really yummy and I also made an apple-cinnamon filling one of the reviewers talked about.

Ingredients:
1 C flour
2 eggs
1/2 C milk
1/2 C water
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter, melted

Filling:
1 Tbs butter
1 apple, chopped
pinch of cinnamon
1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:
Whisk together the eggs, milk, water, and melted butter. Stir in the flour and salt. Poor 1/4 cup of batter on a small frying pan over medium high heat. Tilt the pan so the batter evenly coats the bottom in the thin layer. Cook for about two minutes and then flip. Cook until desired brown-ness. Serve with apple filling. Makes about 8 crepes.
 Filling: Mix together all ingredients in a small frying pan. Cook until apple is soft.

I also enjoy eating my crepes with just a little lemon juice and powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

Whitney's French Bread

This is my favorite French Bread recipe. No kneading required but it comes out fluffy and delicious. The multiple rising times make this bread take a lot of time but most of it is just wait time and doesn't require your attention. I used to skip the second two rises but the bread comes out much better if you let it rise all the times required. The egg white helps the loaf turn an appetizing shade of brown.
Half the recipe for one loaf.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs dry yeast
1/2 C warm water
2 C hot water
3 Tbs Sugar
1 Tbs salt
5 Tbs vegetable oil
6 C flour

1 egg white + 1 tsp water for top

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 C warm water. Let stand 10 min (if you use instant yeast you can skip this step and just toss the yeast in with all the other ingredients).
Combine all ingredients (except egg white) and beat well. Allow the dough to rise until double (about 1 hr). Punch it down and then allow it to rise again (about 1 hr). Roll into 2 long french loaves and put on a baking sheet. Gash the tops diagonally with a knife and brush with egg white. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 400 for 16 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.


Ingredients for 1 loaf:
1 Tbs dry yeast
1 1/4C hot water
1 1/2 Tbs Sugar
1/2 Tbs salt
2 1/2 Tbs oil
3 C flour

Best Cornbread

I got this cornbread recipe from my friend Stacie, who got it from this site.

My husband says this is the best cornbread he has ever eaten. I think the secret is the sugar. And the butter.

Ingredients:

½ C cornmeal
1 ½ C flour
2/3 C sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
½ tsp salt
1/3 C oil
3 Tbs butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ C milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients. Make a well and add wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Bake in a greased 8x8 pan for 35 minutes. (I like to bake in muffin tins for about 25 minutes - it makes automatic portions and cooks evenly. But it is more dense in an 8x8 pan if you prefer it that way.)

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

I know I have been posting desserts almost exclusively lately. I will try to post a few main dishes soon. But these cookies are so tasty that I needed to add them to my collection. My friend Jessica brought a few of these to me when I was sick and I have already made them twice since. They are a citrus-y cookie that is a nice something different if you aren't feeling like chocolate chip cookies.

I usually have to add extra flour to keep them from spreading out to much while baking.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 C flour
3/4 C white sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Tbsp orange juice concentrate, melted
2 Tbsp orange zest (between 2 and 4 oranges) - (I just added extra concentrate instead of the zest)
1 1/2 C white chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugars several minutes, until light in color. Add egg, vanilla, orange juice concentrate, and zest. Mix until well combined. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to wet mixture and blend just until combined. If dough is too sticky, add flour a little bit at a time until more of a play-dough consistency. Stir in white chocolate chips. Scoop dough balls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are slightly brown. Do not over bake. Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes until no longer soft and squishy. I enjoy these room temperature or even cool. I actually don't think I have tasted them warm.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

I made these tasty bars for a family gathering. I enjoyed them most when they were still warm but they were good the next day too. My husband really enjoyed these. I think it was because the ratio of batter to chocolate/peanutbutter chips was so low. Probably 1:1

Recipe Source

Ingredients:
1½ C flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ C brown sugar
¾ C peanut butter
½ C butter, at room temperature
½ C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 C peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with Pam. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In large mixing bowl cream sugars, peanut butter, and butter. Add egg and vanilla until combined. On slow speed, mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Turn off mixer and fold in chips with a spatula. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake 16-20 minutes or until set.