Shepherd's Pie and Whoopie Pies

There are a lot of different ways to make shepherd's pie.  The first time I came across a recipe for it in a cookbook I have, it said to "throw in whatever leftovers you have."  This particular lady would just toss together whatever odds and ends she had in her fridge.  Looking up recipes online, you'll find several small differences. Some use cream, others use chicken or beef broth.  Some add cheese, others include Worcestershire sauce.  Some use ketchup, and others include oil.  Rachel Ray's recipe has 17 ingredients, while Alton Brown's has 21, and Martha Stewart's has only 9.  What they all have in common is that they are a meat pie with a mashed potato crust.

After a little experimentation, I landed on a simple, tasty shepherd's pie that my family loves.

I brown a pound of either ground beef, turkey, or pork (I prefer the pork), and then season it by sprinkling with onion powder, cumin, thyme, pepper, salt, oregano, nutmeg, ginger, basil, and sage.  Then I mix cooked peas, corn, and green beans in with the meat and pour it into a casserole dish.

Then I cover it all with mashed potatoes:

And I bake at 350 for an hour.

I forgot to take a picture of it when it came out of oven, but here's what it looked like fifteen minutes later:

Almost.  Gone.  It wasn't long before the kids cleared the whole pan.  It's not the fanciest shepherd's pie recipe out there, but it is so simple and it's something my kids always devour!  There are never leftovers.

For dessert, I made whoopie pies.

Whoopie Pie Cakes:

2 cups flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup whole milk

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 egg lightly beate

1 tsp vanilla extract

Warning: if your coconut oil is unrefined (like mine), these will have a detectable coconut taste.

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.  Drop 1 tablespoonful batter onto prepared sheet.  Repeat with remaining batter, spacing 1 inches apart (cakes will spread).  Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until cakes spring back when lightly pressed.  Cool completely on cookie sheets on wire racks.

Whoopie Pie Filling 

1/2 cup butter at room temp
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla extract

Tip: You can make the marshmallow creme at home if you want to!  This is the recipe I used: DIY Marshmallow Creme.
 

Homemade marshmallow creme.

With mixer on high speed, beat butter, confectioners' sugar,marshmallow creme, and vanilla until fluffy.  Spread filling on flat side of half the cakes and sandwich together with remaining cakes.

Store whoopie pies in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Kale and Sweet Potato

I made meatloaf tonight and chose to serve a kale and sweet potato side dish with it.

It was so easy and really delicious!

I poured 1.5 cups of homemade vegetable broth into a deep skillet, then laid a big bed of kale leaves down and piled the chopped sweet potato on top.  I sprinkled salt and onion powder on top, then put a lid on it, brought it to a boil, reduced to a simmer, and let it go for about 20 minutes.

Really.  Really.  Yummy.

Black Bean, Rice, and Mango-Stuffed Squash

This is a kabocha squash; it is an Asian variety of winter squash.  Some people call it a "Japanese pumpkin."  I had never heard of it before, not until I was browsing through a cookbook that happened to mention how delicious it was.  The very next day I was at a local produce market and happened to notice the kabocha squash!  So I decided to buy it and try it out.

I cut them in half, removed the seeds, and laid them face down in a shallow bit of water.  Then put them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, I mixed cooked rice, black beans, lemon juice, and parsley in a bowl.  After the squash had been in the oven for 20 minutes, I stuffed the rice mixture into each half and placed it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

When they came out of the oven, I added fresh, sliced mango.

For the kids, I removed the rice and bean mixture from the squash and put it in a bowl, mixing chunks of squash in with it, so it would be less intimidating.

The kids were skeptical of a new food, (both the mango and the squash), but they liked it okay.  All three ate the squash without problem, but they did not like the mango.  I'm okay with that, because they at least tried it before saying they didn't like it.  After I removed the mango, they were able to clear their bowls.

Mediterranean Eggplant Fritters

I've been really uninspired in my cooking recently, but I'm trying to change that.  I picked out several recipes this week that use ingredients I tend to neglect - hopefully that will make things more interesting and inspire better meals!

First up is eggplant.  

I love eggplant!  And yet, I rarely buy it or incorporate it into my cooking for some reason.

First, I peeled and diced the eggplant.

Then I combined the eggplant with water and fresh squeezed lemon juice in a large saucepan.  I brought it to a boil, then turned the heat down and let it simmer until the eggplant was very soft.

After the eggplant was very soft, I drained it and pressed it with a towel to remove any excess liquid.  Then I mixed it in a small bowl with garlic powder.  If you have fresh garlic, more power to you!  I didn't, so I used powder.

In a separate bowl, I mixed together flour, baking powder, salt, oregano, and basil.  I added the flour mixture to the eggplant and tossed to combine.

Next, I heated a thin layer of olive oil in a cast iron skillet.  I added the eggplant mixture one tabelspoonful at a time and fried the fritters until golden brown on both sides.

These were delicious and the kids loved them!  My only regret was that I didn't double the recipe!  We all could of easily eaten more.  You can serve these with plain yogurt, or what we chose to eat them with was marinara sauce.

Mediterranean Eggplant Fritters

1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup of water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons minced green onions

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons basil

3/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

olive or grapeseed oil for frying

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  In a large saucepan, combine the eggplant, water, and lemon juice.  Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook until eggplant is very soft (about 10 minutes).

2. Drain the eggplant and press out any excess liquid, then place in a small bowl.  Add the green onions and garlic, and mix well.

3.  In another small bowl, combine flour, basil, oregano, baking powder, and salt.  Add flour mixture to eggplant and toss to combine.

4.  In a large skillet, heat a thin layer of oil over medium heat.  Add the mixture a tablespoon at a time, fitting as many fritters as you can without crowding them.  Fry the fritters and turn as needed until they are golden brown on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side).  Transfer cooked fritters to a heat-proof platter and keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest.  Serve immediately!

Beer Sausage

For the past couple months, I've been making beer sausage for dinner every Sunday.  Because I love it. 

I remember the first time my husband asked me to make beer sausage.  I had never heard of it and was totally skeptical, but went ahead with it.  I was amazed at how much I liked it!  And it's so easy!  

Of course, now I have to share it.

The general idea is to pour 12 ounces of beer in a large pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat.  You lay chopped potatoes across the bottom, then add a layer of chopped carrots, a layer of diced onion, a layer of smoked sausage, and finally a layer of cabbage.  On top of each ingredient, sprinkle a little Italian seasoning. Turn heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer until the vegetables are tender (about 30-45 minutes).

 

You can use whatever beer you like (ales, lagers, and wheat brews work best).  The first time I made it, I used a random wheat beer that I had picked at a specialty store - I can't remember what it was.  It was really good, but my husband's favorite beer is Coors so he prefers that I use that. :)  Although the recipe calls for 12 ounces, I use at least 16 (sometimes more) because we like it soupy (when we use 12 ounces, there isn't much broth and it thickens up...  it's great that way, too!)

I use 3 medium potatoes, 1 pound of sausage (I pick mine up at a local deli), 3 carrots, and about 1/2 a small head of cabbage.  My husband hates onion, so I always omit that.

Layer the ingredients into the simmering beer.  Let simmer for 30-45 minutes.

That's all there is to it!  I like to make these homemade sweet dinner rolls with it.  There is something supremely satisfying about soft, warm, sweet, yeasty rolls dipped in beer broth.

Here's the original recipe, but you can alter it however you need to to suit your family, like I do:

Beer Sausage

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer

4 red potatoes, quartered

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 (8 ounce) package baby carrots

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 pound smoked kielbasa sausage, cut into 1-inch slices

1 small head cabbage, quartered

Pour the beer into a large pot, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Layer the potatoes into the bottom of the pot, and sprinkle a little Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper over the potatoes. Layer the baby carrots, onion, smoked sausage, and cabbage, sprinkling every layer with a bit more of the Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper. Turn heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes.

 

Granola Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup of wheat germ

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup chocolate chips or raisins (optional)

1 tsp of salt

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 egg, beaten

2 tsps vanilla

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and grease a  9x13 baking sheet.

Combine the oats, flour, wheat germ, brown sugar, cinnamon, chocolate chips and salt in a mixing bowl.  Once mixed, create a well in the middle and pour the oil, egg, honey and vanilla into the well.

Mix together with your hands, then spread out evenly into the pan.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.  Let the granola bars cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.

Almond Crescents

Lately, I've been exploring new things to bake to have with my afternoon tea.  When I saw this recipe, I didn't hesitate to try it out!

I started by measuring out sliced almonds and pouring them into a food processor.  I blended until it was very fine.

I combined the ground almonds with flour and sugar, then added vanilla.

Next, I mixed in 1 cup of melted butter (note that the recipe calls for room temperature butter, but I didn't have any, so I was forced to melt it.)  I mixed it in with my fingers until I had a ball of dough.  The dough has to chill in the fridge for an hour.

Even after an hour after chilling, the dough was still extremely fragile and crumbled at the slightest touch (perhaps because my butter was melted and not room temp?)  For this reason, I was unable to roll the dough into balls, then out into rolls, and then into crescent shapes.  Instead, I very carefully shaped the dough into crescent-ish shapes, which I think were probably thicker than the recipe intended.  This was tedious because the dough literally crumbled at the slightest touch.

I added sliced almonds to the top of only two, assuming the kids wouldn't want almonds on theirs.

I baked them on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 15 minutes

The effort was well worth it, because these are delicious!  I wasn't sure what to expect the consistency to be, but I would describe them as cookie-like.  My 6-year-old loves them.  And they were smashing with a spot of tea. :)

Almond Crescents
2 cups unblanched almonds
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sweet butter, room temperature
Powdered sugar (optional)

-Grind 1 3/4 cups nuts very fine.  Chop the remaining 1/3 cup.
-Mix flour, sugar and ground nuts in a bowl.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  With your fingers, work in the butter until thoroughly blended.  Chill the dough for 1 hour.
-Roll the dough into balls, about 1 3/4 inches in diameter.  Form into rolls about 3 1/2 inches long, then into crescents.  Press the tops of the crescents into the remaining chopped nuts.
-Place them on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Cool on the pan for 7 minutes (exactly!), then remove to a rack.
-While the crescents are still warm, roll them in the powdered sugar.

Variations: Use hazelnuts instead of almonds, or a combination of the two.  You can use 1 tsp of cinnamon instead of vanilla.