Irish Grandmother's Shepherd's Pie

Did I tell you that Bo's mom is from Ireland?  As in, she still has a bit of her accent, even though she's lived in the States for fifty years.  So, of course, I asked her to make something festive, now that she's living with us!

Over the years, Bo has asked me to make him Shepherd's Pie because he loves it.  I'd never even tasted it, so when I went digging for recipes, I had no idea which ingredients would make a recipe good or not.  So, I tried a few variations on him.  He claimed that they were good; I didn't care for any of it.

Fast forward to yesterday, and I asked his mom to make Shepherd's Pie the way she's always made it.

White Chocolate Chunk Krispies Treats for Valentine's Day

Are we surviving the week ok?  I thought I'd pop in with another dose of pink and red sweetness to help us find something to smile about.  Plus, who doesn't love fancied-up krispy treats?!

Things are still in transition on the home front, but actually going smoother than I was expecting.  Bo and I are going all dog whisperer on his mom's dogs, and I'm convinced that peace and quiet are just right over the horizon.  And once the weather gets a little nicer, we won't all be cooped up in the house all day.  (Am I bleeding optimism?  I hope so; I've really been working on it.)

So, anyway, to get sugar out of my house (because you know I always make creme brulee for Valentine's, and then it's all about birthday cake next week), I brought this batch of krispies treats in to work.  And immediately regretted having made only an 8" pan of them.  Word got out that I was sharing treats, and I only had enough for the desks closest to me.  Whoops!!  Maybe I'll earn back the office love by bringing in leftover birthday cake next week.  Speaking of cake (I'm incapable of focus this morning) - I've decided that this year's fancy birthday cake will be chocolate.  With caramel sauce between layers.  And covered in the most perfect homestyle chocolate buttercream.  I. Cannot. Wait.!!!

Cuban Black Bean Soup

Hurrah, more soup!  This time of year just seems to be the perfect time to whip up all the amazing soup recipes I keep seeing out on the interwebs.  This one caught my eye because it's hearty enough that Bo doesn't grimace over the lack of meat.  But it's also dirt cheap to put together a huge pot of it.  Win win, am I right?

And once you get the black beans set to soaking, this soup comes together in no time at all.  It's fabulous to slow cook on a Sunday afternoon.  The bonus is that with all the leftovers, you'll have an easy lunch to pack with you all week.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I just watched a thing on the news tonight that said that 70% of the people you hear coughing actually have the flu.  YIKES.  Knock on wood, but I haven't been sick in ages.  The last nasty cold I had was three years ago.  This is partly because we don't yet have kids.  But also because at the first sign of feeling run-down, I'm running around with a bottle of Vitamin C, mugs of hot water with honey and lemon, and getting extra rest.

Oh My Good Gravy

Why is it that when I'm digging through the containers of Thanksgiving leftovers, there never seems to be enough gravy for the mountain of leftover mashed potatoes and turkey?  And by that point, there aren't any drippings handy to whip up another batch of gravy.  What to do, what to do....

You can make this no dripping gravy!  The original recipe was intended to be a flavorful vegetarian gravy, so you can make this with either chicken stock or vegetable stock, depending on your needs or what you've got sitting in your pantry cupboard.  The rosemary, poultry seasoning, and vegetables add amazing flavor to the stock, and it smells unbelievably delicious as it's cooking.  This recipe makes a ton, so you'll definitely have enough to cover all those leftovers and then some.

Because this doesn't rely on pan drippings and because it actually doesn't have a ton of fat per serving, I'm most definitely adding this to my regular dinner rotation.

Turkey Coma Part II,

Oh My Good Gravy
(aka Gravy Without Drippings)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. finely diced onion
1 c. finely diced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 sprig fresh rosemary
32 oz. chicken or vegetable stock *
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 c. cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 c. broth or water

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring often, until caramelized, about 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms, garlic, butter, and poultry seasoning, and cook until mushrooms are tender, about 2 minutes.  Add rosemary sprig to pot and pour in stock.  Bring to a boil and keep at a medium boil for 10 minutes, to reduce.  Remove rosemary sprig and season with salt and pepper.  While gravy is boiling, whisk in cornstarch and continue boiling for 1 minute.  Serve immediately, or allow to cool and cover with plastic wrap before refrigerating.  Makes about 3 cups.

* Note:  If your container of stock is only 26 oz, don't bother opening another container to reach 32 oz.  I've made this with both size containers, and it's yummy either way.

         

         

Caramelizing the onions will add much more flavor than just cooking them to tender.

Pour in the stock and keep at a medium boil for 10 minutes, to reduce.

(Leftover) Turkey Lentil Soup

Oh boy.  Who's still full from yesterday?  And who ate way too much dessert and not enough veggies?  Just me?  I suppose that's not terribly surprising :)

This recipe is a yum-yummy way to use up some leftover turkey (or roast chicken) while getting in a bunch of vegetables and lentils for antioxidants and fiber.  It leaves you feeling nice and cozy, but not heavy or sleepy.  And doesn't it feel so good to scoop up all those brightly colored veggies after a day of Thanksgiving feasting?

Spending Today in My Fleeze PJ Pants (Not Shopping),

Turkey Lentil Soup
adapted from Allrecipes

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 c. lentils, rinsed
16 oz. salsa
2 c. cooked turkey, diced
6 c. low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
5 oz. spinach or collards or kale
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute until celery is tender, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are tender, about another 3 minutes.  Add lentils, salsa, turkey, and broth and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in spinach or collards and simmer 5-10 more minutes, until greens are softened.

         

        

Ingredient Lineup:

Sage Stuffing

Oh, sage, how I love thee.  You taste amazing (especially with butter), and you look just beautiful (5 points to the first person to guess my favorite color!).  


Last year, I took my gramma's stuffing recipe and threw in fresh sage, simply because I had it on hand.  And, oh what a fantastic decision that was.  It pushed an already yummy recipe to perfection.  


I have a few tips for making stuffing:
- Opt for larger cubes and strips of dried bread to keep your stuffing from becoming a gooey paste.  You can buy bags of stuffing cubes from your grocery store bakery.  


- If you don't like mushrooms, don't use 'em.  Throw in something else!  People add all kinds of things to their stuffing; there are a million variations.


- If you don't like giblets, don't use 'em.  My gramma also used to add sausage to her stuffing, and a popular variation is to make it with oysters.  Go right ahead.


- You can prep all the veggies a few days early and store them in your fridge to save time on Thanksgiving Day.  Once you have the ingredients prepped, it only takes about 15 minutes to get it all cooked and mixed and into the pan, ready for baking. 


- You can call it dressing if you want, and we'll all still know what you mean :)


Sagey Sagey,

Sage Stuffing

1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 c. celery, diced
3/4 c. onion, minced
8 oz. mushrooms, diced
4-6 fresh sage leaves, finely minced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1lb. dry, day-old bread cubes
14oz. (or more) broth from turkey giblets (or chicken broth)
Turkey giblets, optional

Optional:  Place turkey giblets into a medium saucepan with enough water to cover by 3”. Boil on low for 1-2 hours, while you’re preparing the other dinner items. Add more water if necessary, to keep the giblets well covered. Remove giblets from broth and finely chop for stuffing. Strain and reserve broth for stuffing mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and mushrooms, and sauté until nearly tender, about 3 minutes. Add sage and cook until vegetables are tender, about 1 more minute. Remove from heat.  Add salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and giblets, and then stir in bread cubes. Stir in enough broth to moisten all of the bread well, without making soggy.

Bake until stuffing is hot and the top is lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

         


       

Ingredient Lineup:

After combining the bread cubes with vegetables and sage,

add 14oz. broth, or enough to moisten the bread without its becoming too soggy.

Apple Pecan Cobbler

Today's recipe is a lesson for me in being giving and gracious.  It's not normally something I struggle with, but when it comes to recipes, I get so antsy to make them how I want to make them, and I have the hardest time fulfilling an exact and specific request.  Sigh.

Example:  For the past two weeks, while my back has been screwed up, Bo has been holding down the fort, unasked.  He's kept my kitchen spotless, unasked.  He's straightened up the clutter piles in our living room, unasked.  He's insisted that I stay on the floor with my heating pad so that my back heals while he's been keeping my sanity in check.  So, on Saturday, I decided to whip up a cozy dessert for him and asked what he'd choose if he could have any dessert.

He promptly said "Apple Cobbler."  Huh.  I'd never made apple cobbler.  When I think apples, I think apple pie, which is my most favorite.  So, I thought, ok, I can do that.  Then when I started digging up recipes, I found one that was more cakey and looked amazing.  I had a whole conversation with my mom over text messages about how we liked the other version better, even tho Bo had asked for a biscuit style cobbler with pecans.  And then, I finally gave up that thing where I make what sounds good to me and decided to make what Bo had specifically asked for.

And I'm so glad I did.  The first bite he took bopped him right up into heaven, and he absolutely loved it.  It made him so happy to have a dessert all to himself, and it made me so happy that I listened and fulfilled his request.  Giving and gracious with my cooking.  I can do that, you betcha.

Thankful,

Apple Pecan Cobbler
adapted from Betty Crocker

filling:
4 c. (475g/20oz.) diced apples *
1/2 c. (100g) sugar
1 Tbsp. (8g) flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped pecans

topping:
1 c. (128g) flour
1/4 c. (50g) sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. unsalted butter, cold and diced
1/2 c. (4oz.) milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange diced apples in a 2 quart baking dish.  In a small bowl, mix remaining filling ingredients - sugar, flour, cinnamon, and pecans.  Sprinkle mixture over apples.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the topping flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or using two forks, until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Stir in milk and drop by spoonfuls over apple mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until topping is golden and apples are cooked through.  You can test apples by poking a fork or skewer into them.

* Or equal amount of peaches or blueberries.

Ingredient Lineup:

Tip!  Pour water from a large glass measuring cup into your casserole dishes to determine size.

Then mark each size on the bottom with a Sharpie.  No more guessing!

Let me introduce my apple peeler corer slicer to you.

I'm not one for kitchen gadgets that serve just one purpose, but this thing saves soooo much time.

It only takes 20 seconds to peel, core, and slice one apple.  20 seconds!

Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pasty blender or two forks.

The batter will look lumpy (and icky), but will bake up just fine.

Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream is beyond amazing with this!

Browned Butter Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats

Happy Halloween!!

If you manage to keep your hands out of your kids' candy tonight, make this your reward :)  It's a slightly fancier version of rice krispy treats - with browned butter, vanilla bean, and pumpkin pie spices.  Ohhhhh, yesssss.  And we already know how much I love browned butter (this much and also this much).  The pumpkin pie spices in this recipe are optional, but they add a hint of warmth and Fall to the taste, so I highly recommend including them.

And while we're here, did you know that I'm awful at making rice krispy treats?  Seriously, every batch I make turns out hard as a rock or flavorless or both.  Except for this one, hurrah!  I got to comparing recipes from the back of the marshmallow bag, the cereal box, and a couple online.  It's amazing how much different the amounts of cereal are.  This recipe I'm posting for you calls for nearly half the cereal of the other recipes.  Half!  So it's no wonder that it turned out perfectly gooey and soft and definitely full of flavor.  After all the cakes and cheesecakes and cake pops and candies, I'm so excited to have finally conquered what everyone else can make blindfolded! :)

Trick Or Treat!


p.s.  Browned butter.  There's really nothing else I need to say about this!

Browned Butter Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats
a mish mash of recipes from The Merry Gourmet and Cookies and Cups

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/8 tsp. cloves)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 10oz. bags marshmallows
9 c. crispy rice cereal

Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Add the butter to a large saucepan set over medium-low heat.  The butter will melt, then begin to bubble and foam. Eventually it will start to turn golden brown and smell nutty.  Be patient and watch carefully, it can go from brown to burned quickly. Once the butter is browned, add the vanilla bean paste, the spices, and the salt.  Then add all of the marshmallows and stir the mixture constantly until the marshmallows are completely melted.

Remove from heat and add the cereal, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to coat the cereal evenly with the marshmallow mixture. Spread the mixture in an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Note:  If you halve this recipe, use an 8x8" pan.

Ingredient Lineup:

 Stages of Butter:

Melted, and starting to foam:

Starting to bubble:

Browned, with bits:

Stirring in the spices, vanilla, and marshmallows: