Shepherd’s Pie

This is another one of those dishes that’s great to make ahead and freeze. I’m doing a bunch of cooking this weekend to try to make next week easier on me (as work is going to be insane).
Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 ribs of celery, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, grated or diced
• 1-2 carrots, peeled and diced (or 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frozen crinkle cut carrots)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
• 3 wedges of Laughing Cow garlic and herb cheese
• 1/2 cup petite English peas
• 1 cup chopped portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• ground pepper and salt to taste
• the kitchen sink (not really but any other veggies you like really)

Directions:

1. Brown and drain ground beef.
2. Using either the leftover drippings from the beef or olive oil, sautee the vegetables (except the peas and mushrooms) along with all spices until onion is slightly translucent.
3. In a large bowl, add mushroom soup, mushrooms, peas, and 3 wedges of Laughing Cow or other garlic and herb cheese spread. Mix well.
4. Add ground beef and sauteed veggies. Mix well.
5. Pour into large casserole dish.
6. Add mashed potato topping (see below).
7. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cook’s note: If freezing, allow to thaw before baking (pull it out of the freezer and throw it in the fridge over night). You can freeze it with the mashed potato topping, but I find it works better to make the potatoes fresh and add them when you get ready to cook.

Mashed Potato Topping:*

• 4-5 small russet or other potatoes
• 2 wedges laughing cow garlic and herb cheese
• half and half (Fat Free by Land O’Lakes is what I prefer)
• 1 Tbsp margarine
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Scrub potatoes clean and add to pot. DO NOT DICE! I know, it takes a lot longer (like an hour), but it’s part of my secret to making creamy potatoes.
2. Boil for an hour.
3. Drain. Peel if you wish, but I prefer to eat the peels.
4. Add salt, pepper, garlic and herb cheese, and margarine, and mash well.
5. Add half an half in small splashes, mixing well until you reach the desired consistency.

* Can also be used as a recipe for plain old mashed potatoes.

Homemade Tortilla Chips

I know, I know…it’s been ages since I updated.  It’s not that I haven’t been cooking–I just haven’t made anything new or interesting enough that I felt it merited posting about it!

But I made a happy discovery recently.  Sometime last year, I got into the notion of buying corn tortillas (one of those packs of 100 for like $4) and making my own chips–because  I could both control the level of fat and it’s a WHOLE LOT cheaper!  I tried several methods and recipes with varying levels of success and then just stopped trying.  I kept having chips come out either too hard, or a little chewy, or overdone.  And I really just got annoyed at having to flip them halfway through so that they cooked evenly.

Then it occurred to me that if I applied the same method I use for my oven fries (and I should post those here too, as they are a family favorite), I probably wouldn’t have to turn them.  So I took out my big baking sheet and layered the whole thing with my wire cooling racks, baking the chips so they were suspended.  And voila! Perfect chips!  They come out crispy and firm (think Tostitos Gold) and GREAT for dips.

Ingredients:

• 8″ corn tortillas
• cooking spray
• kosher salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Spray one side of each tortilla and stack up (I usually do 5 at a time, as that’s all that will fit on my baking sheet).
3. Take a knife or pizza cutter and slice the stack into quarters or sixths.
4. Lay out the chips, sprayed side down on the cooling racks on your baking sheet.
5. Spray the top with cooking spray.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes (will vary from oven to oven, but they should come out golden brown around the edges).
7. Layout on a kitchen towel or paper towels to cool and sprinkle with salt or other spices as preferred.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

This recipe is courtesy of Rachael Ray.  I saw it on her daytime TV show recently and had to try it.  My husband and I liked them so much that we’ve had them twice this week!  They’re a quick and easy and very tasty meal.  There’s a salad she devised to go along with it that you can find here.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 pound extra-lean ground sirloin or ground all-white-meat chicken
• 1 softball-size onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup steak sauce
• 1 cup beef stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 whole grain dinner rolls
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup provolone cheese, shredded

Preparation

Pre-heat the broiler.

In large skillet over medium-high heat with one turn of the pan of EVOO, brown the ground meat, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the onion starts to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook for about 2 minutes.

Split open the rolls and toast them under the broiler, keeping an eye on them so that they don’t burn!

While the meat is cooking, melt the butter in a medium size skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, then bring up to a bubble and let thicken, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese in a figure-eight motion until it is all incorporated.

To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the rolls, then top with the cheese sauce and add the top of the roll.

Go ahead!  Try to eat just one!

Pita Pizzas

In the name of trying to cut back on our fat intake, yet still keep some of our favorite foods on the menu, I decided to try a mini version of pizza.  It’s not the real deal (you can’t beat real, homemade crust), but it’s darn good considering.  I did use my pizza sauce and some of the fresh basil growing outside.  Served it up with a spinach salad, topped with slow roasted tomatoes and avocado–delish–and the appropriate serving size.  If you load up your pizza with veggies as toppings you can go a long way toward getting your 5-9 servings of veggies and really keep down your fat content or even go meatless.

Ingredients:

• whole wheat pita bread rounds (not precut)
• pizza sauce
• shredded part-skim mozzarella
• fresh basil
• other toppings of your choice (turkey pepperoni; fresh, slow roasted, or sun-dried tomatoes; olives; mushrooms; grilled chicken; roasted red peppers; zucchini; whatever…)

Directions: Layer ingredients in order of your preference.  Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

I revisit these with another cooking method here.

Zucchini Chowder

This is actually an adaptation of this recipe for cream of zucchini soup, but me being me, I had to try to lighten it up a bit and make it my own. The original recipe called for butter–I used extra virgin olive oil. It also called for 4 oz Monterey jack, which was delish, but I thought I might be able to obtain a creamier consistency (without using cream) by switching out to FF cream cheese and FF half an half in lieu of the milk. And as far as I’m concerned, garlic is onion’s right hand man, so I added that in.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini, finely grated
• 2 medium carrots, finely grated
• 1 medium to large onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 4 oz. fat free cream cheese
• 1/2-1 cup fat free half and half (depending on how thick or thin you like your chowder/soup)
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Finely grate the zucchini, sprinkle with salt, and let drain in a colander for approximately half an hour.
2. Meanwhile, grate the carrots, dice the onion, and mince the garlic.
3. In a medium to large skillet (approximately 12″), coat the bottom with extra virgin olive oil and heat to medium high.
4. Add onion, carrots, zucchini, and garlic.
5. Sautee until veggies are slightly limp.
6. Sprinkle flour over the top and reduce heat to medium, stirring and mashing (it forms a sort of paste) as you cook for approximately 4-5 minutes.
7. Slowly add chicken stock a little at a time and stir to incorporate.
8. Reduce heat to medium low and add cubes of cream cheese. Stir until melted.
9. Slowly add half and half until desired thickness is reached. I happen to like really thick consistencies, so this turned out more as a chowder than a cream of zucchini soup.
10. Salt and pepper to taste.

Great served with a good crusty bread for dipping or also good alone.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is one of those meals that’s good if you’ve got leftover rice–as we frequently do. I tend to batch cook brown rice because it reheats well and goes in a lot of stuff. It’s a good one to try on both the Sonoma Diet and South Beach Diet because it’s chock full of good stuff.  Not pretty but tasty.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of lean ground beef
• 1 cup finely diced Portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• basil
• thyme
• oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 2 cups finely grated cheddar (or cheese of choice)
• balsamic vinegar
• 3 large bell peppers
• 1 to 1.5 cups cooked rice (I prefer brown)

Directions:

1. Most people, when they make stuffed peppers, cut the top off and pull out the core and ribs of the pepper. This winds up being enormous (and as I am the only REAL pepper fan in our house, wasteful), so I cut them straight down the center, vertically and carefully scoop out the core, ribs, and seeds. Boil in salted water for 3 minutes, then remove to a clean kitchen towel to drain.
2. Brown the hamburger meat with the onion and garlic. Drain off any excess fat.
3. Add meat mixture, can of undrained diced tomatoes, rice, mushrooms a splash of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp each of the oregano and basil, and 1/4 tsp of the thyme. Mix well. Add salt and pepper.
4. Overfill each pepper and place in a baking dish. Any leftover filling can go in the empty spaces.
5. Cover entire dish with cheese.
6. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Vacation Delights

DH and I are on vacation in Colorado this week, so it’s been a matter of old standbys in the crock pot here at the rental cabin as we’re out and about.  Today we went down to Steamboat Springs and had a late lunch at the Old Town Pub & Restaurant.  The atmosphere was nice, the prices very reasonable, and as it was so late, not at all crowded.  I had a fantastic grilled chicken sandwich that was marinated in some sort of teriyaki, topped with pepper jack cheese, a couple of slices of thick hickory smoked bacon, and an avocado dip on top.  I’ll give it a shot at replication at some point.  After lunch we walked down the street to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for dessert.  Oh my dear God.  I think I gained ten pounds from walking through the door.  We picked up a couple of Irish cream truffles (to die for!) and for tonight’s dessert a couple of peanut butter buckets–which are essentially extra large, homemade Reece’s cups that are so much better.  If you’re ever in Steamboat Springs I highly recommend stopping in.

Second Time Around: Bruschetta

So earlier this week I made bruschetta with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and goat cheese for a small dinner party I was hosting.  It was such a hit, I made a second batch for hubby and myself last night (and to save myself some work, I used a can of drained, diced tomatoes–I still think the fresh are better, FYI).  I had the last of the bread with the bruschetta for lunch today, but I still had about half a cup of the topping remaining.  So I decided to do some creative tinkering in the kitchen to see what else I could come up with to do with it.

Naturally, I wound up making pasta–because, let’s face it, almost everything is good on pasta in some form or another.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. dried pasta of your choice (I used cavitapi)
• 1/2 cup leftover bruschetta topping
• 1 whole medium zucchini, diced
• 1/2 cup baby portabella mushrooms
• 1 oz goat cheese
• 2  Tbsp light sour cream
• olive oil
• minced garlic

Instructions:

1. Drizzle olive oil in your skillet and heat over medium high.
2. Start your pasta water and salt.
3. Add garlic (your preference–I only used about a 1/2 tsp because there was loads of garlic in the bruschetta topping)
4. Add zucchini and mushrooms.
5. I also had some pre-grilled chicken (one of those rarely bought convenience foods that I don’t suggest–it’s never as good as when you make it yourself, but I bought it for my non-cooking spouse and then he didn’t like it–gotta use it SOMEWHERE) that I needed to use up that I tossed in, but this would be just as good without meat.
6. Dump your pasta in the boiling water.
7. Sautee veggies until zucchini softens.
8. Add bruschetta topping.
9. Turn down heat and add goat cheese and sour cream. Mix until cheese is melted.
10. Add drained pasta and stir well to coat.

It’s not really a pretty dish, but it was definitely tasty.

Easy Beef Stroganoff

I was looking for something simple to cook for supper tonight. This came together with a lot of household staples and is like a bit more upscale version of homemade hamburger helper.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 package of fresh baby portobella mushroom
• 8 oz whole wheat extra wide noodles
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

Instructions:

1. Brown the ground beef, drain and rinse.
2. Add can of mushroom soup and 1 canful of water back to the skillet. Mix well.
3. Add beef back to skillet.
4. Add mushrooms.
5. Add spices.
6. Bring to low boil and simmer on medium low until liquid is reduced by half.
7. Meanwhile, cook noodles to just before al dente (approx. 8 minutes)
8. Add sour cream. Mix well.
9. Add noodles and stir well, coating with the sauce and letting them rest for a few minutes as the sauce is absorbed.

Cook’s note: You can substitute stew meat or any cut up beef for the ground beef, and replace the can of water with a good red wine (your preference–I used merlot) to make the sauce more flavorful.  Also, add a bit more of the wine and cook the noodles in the sauce for a richer dish.

Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

This was a recipe born of needing to use stuff up before we leave on vacation. I had 2 roma tomatoes and a going to stale baguette, which isn’t quite enough to make bruschetta for more than one. So I decided to toss in roasted red peppers (which hubby will eat) and some of my favorite goat cheese.

Ingredients:

• roma tomatoes (I used 2 but I was making a very small batch)
• roasted red peppers (approximately the same quantity as the tomatoes)
• 1 tsp oil from a jar of sun dried tomatoes
• goat cheese
• basil (5-6 leaves, finely chopped–fresh is best, but dried if that’s not available)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• splash of balsamic vinegar (or more if you prefer)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 baguette

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Slice baguette on the diagonal, approximately 1/2 inch thick slices
3. Parboil the tomatoes for 1 minute to loosen the skin.
4. Using a sharp knife, remove the skin, then seed the tomato, also removing the stem portion.
5. Finely dice the tomatoes.
6. Finely dice approximately the same amount of roasted red peppers (this will vary depending on how many tomatoes you use!)
7. Peel and finely mince the garlic
8. Add tomatoes, red peppers, garlic, olive oil, oil from the sun dried tomatoes, the basil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper to a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
9. Arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. You may have to do this in batches.
10. Bake slices 5-6 minutes or until they just start to turn golden brown
11. Arrange bread on serving platter olive oil side up and top with bruschetta and crumbled goat cheese.