Shepherd's Pie -- by Stace

There was no special occasion, holiday or memory attached to this recipe (yet). I just had about 8lbs of potatoes growing impatient in my pantry, so I needed a recipe that would use a lot of potatoes.

I searched the Internet for potatoes and meat and found some great recipes. I took a few and changed them according to the ingredients I had at the house (because I was too lazy to go to the store).

Here is what I came up with:

Pototoes:
I used about 5 lbs of potatoes for this.
Chop potatoes into cubes and boil until tender
Drain potatoes
add 2-4 egg yolks (depending on how many potatoes you use), milk, butter, plain yogurt, salt, pepper and nutmeg to the potatoes and mash.
Some of the recipes called for sour cream or cream cheese or heavy cream -- but I used what I had, and I liked the result.


Meat mixture:
1.5 lbs ground meat
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 bag frozen peas
1/2 bag mixed veggies (carrots, green beans, peas and corn is what I had)
chicken broth
roux (4 T butter 4T flour)

pour 2 T olive oil into skillet and cook chopped onion and garlic until onion is translucent.
add ground meat and brown
add salt and your preferred seasonings to taste (I used a bit of Tony Chachere's).
add vegetables and 2-3 cups (about) chicken broth
let cook until veggies are somewhat tender
add roux until mixture thickens

Pour meat mixture into a casserole dish
Cover the meat mixture with the potatoes
Place in preheated oven (350 degrees) and bake for 15-20 minutes (until potatoes begin to brown on top).

Everyone loved this dish (except Boddhi who called it yucky). We ate over half the pan, and still put away 4 servings for lunches (which we finished off today).

This is a hearty dish (so filling) that uses meat, potatoes and veggies. This will definitely be a comfort food recipe that I use from now on. I intended to take a picture, but we ate it so quickly that it was not pretty anymore. Here is a picture I found while searching for recipes though (I wanted you to see what it looks like when done).


Enjoy!

-posted by Stace

Fried Chicken Dinner -- by Stace

I have been perfecting this recipe off and on since Michaela was born. I made my first fried chicken dinner for a family friend when Michaela was a tiny baby. When I was pregnant with Boddhi, we started making this recipe often, and even though we have not made it in awhile, Michaela had been requesting it regularly for her birthday dinners. She LOVES it, and can eat a ton. I made it this year for her birthday, and we sat down and ate it on my grandmother's fancy china. It was fun, and I have a picture I will share at the end of the post.

Double Battered Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

chicken tenders (we like boneless, skinless chicken)
flour (fill a gallon ziploc bag 1/4 of the way full with flour)
seasonings (season the flour to your taste -- we use Slap Ya Mama or Tony Chachere's seasoning -- and I add a lot to the flour).
milk -- pour some into a bowl
add eggs (about 2 -- add to milk and beat)
oil (we use organic sunflower or organic canola) -- pour oil into iron skillet (covering bottom of pan --about 1/2 inch high) and heat on medium heat (test it with some batter and see if it sizzles)
jalapenos -- chop jalapenos and add to oil (seeds and all) -- this adds a nice flavor to the chicken (it does not make it too spicy though)

I dip the chicken tenders into the milk and egg mixture once then throw them into the bag of flour and seasonings. I shake them around and then put the chicken back into the milk and egg mixture and then back into the flour mixture. After they are coated in flour, I place them gently into the hot oil (you do not want the oil too high or too low -- the chicken should fry gently and steadily). Turn the chicken over when it is crisp and lightly brown on one side. Fry it until golden brown on both sides -- then place gently on a plate covered in a paper towel.

Cream Gravy -- After you fry all the chicken, turn your oil down to low heat and add some flour to the oil, stir slowly while the flour absorbs the oil and browns a bit. Add milk to the mixture until it is the right consistency (we like ours a little thick -- but keep adding milk to thin the gravy according to your taste). I add salt and a little seasoning.

Mashed Potatoes:
wash and cut organic potatoes (we have used organic red, but recently we used organic russet-- we leave the skin on ours, but you can remove them if you prefer). Organic is important for potatoes as they tend to absorb a great deal of the chemicals and pesticides used on them.
put them in a pan to boil
boil until tender (falling apart)
mash with butter and milk
add salt to taste

We also make yeast rolls and broccoli with this meal.
Enjoy!


Posted by Stace