Shepard's Pie With Bling

Ahhh, look.  He's so happy I made dinner. :)

While eating Shepard's Pie at dinner Jessa remarked
"it tastes better than it looks mom."

She's right.  It does taste better than it looks.  Shepard's Pie can be a yummy quick dinner. 

 Here's my recipe (more or less...sometimes I don't measure). 

Shepard's Pie With Bling

8 servings of mashed potatoes
 (I used Betty Crocker Instant Roasted Garlic Potatoes - only $1 at Wal-mart!)
about 1 lb of ground beef
2 cans of green beans or about 10 oz frozen mixed vegetables
2 - 3 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 - 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup of French's Fried Onions (this is the bling!)

Brown ground beef, drain fat.  Add Italian Seasoning, Worcestershire Sauce, green beans or mixed veggies, and French's Fried Onions to beef.  Spread meat mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.  Spread mashed potatoes over meat mixture.  Cook for 25 - 30 minutes at 350, or until food is nice and hot. Serve with a fresh green salad.  I just always wanted to say that last part. 

Chocolate-Strawberry-Banana-Pops

Cooking in the kitchen today we have Chef Elsie and Chef Caleb. 

They will be demonstrating how to create

Chocolate Strawberry Banana Pops. 

If you would like to make your own pops, you will need:

More or Less:

1 banana

8 strawberries

2 cups vanilla yogurt

2 cups chocolate ice cream

a blender

Popsicle molds

Wash your strawberries, cut off the tops.  Add to the blender.  Make sure you have a grown-up helping. :)

 Peel your banana.

 Add your banana and yogurt to the blender.

 Add the ice cream - yum!!!

 Blend!

 Pour into your Popsicle molds...add your sticks.

 Place your pops in the freezer.

 Do a crazy dance while you wait for the pops to freeze...

 2 to 3 hours later...wha la!  Delicious Chocolate Strawberry Banana Pop!  If you have a hard time getting your pop out of the mold, run it under hot water for a few seconds.  This will help it to slip right out!

Sweet treat for a happy face!

Sour Cream Cookies

 I loved 'sour cream cookies' as a kid.  I have made them a few times with recipes I found on the Internet, but this is the first time I made them using my Grandma Madeline's recipe.  Ohhhh they are sooooo good!  My family kept stealing cookies while I was making the frosting.  They are good without frosting, but even better with!!!  Eating these cookies was like turning back the clock 25 years! :)

Madeline's Sour Cream Cookies

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Add:
2 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream

Mix well.  Add 3/4 cup nuts if desired.
Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes

 Creaming the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.

 Adding the remaining ingredients.

Getting ready to bake.

 Cooling...and about to be snitched!

 Heavenly!  This is Shane's Grandma Allen's cookie plate.  Special cookies deserve a special plate, right?
So the frosting recipe for the cookies isn't exact...I didn't have 'canned cream' so I just subbed milk.  I started with a cube of softened butter, added 2 - 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 - 3 tablespoons milk (ok ok I wasn't measuring!) and about 1 tsp Mapleine.  If you don't have Mapleine you could leave it out or use vanilla.  Then I beat together all ingredients till it was smooth and thickish.  Yes thickish.  Let's all say thickish...not to be confused with ticklish...oh when you spend your time with 5 year olds thickish is funny.  That is, funnyish.  Hee hee...

Doesn't this box look so old fashioned? 

It's like they never changed the label. 

You can make your own maple syrup with Mapleine.  It was really popular in the depression when people couldn't afford maple syrup, they made their own with Mapleine. 

This add is from 1909.

This one is from the 1950's.

Love these old adds.  Ha ha ha..."make delicious syrup instantly!"

Happy baking!

Jenn's Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken

This recipe is from my sister's sister-in-law, also a sweet friend of mine, Jen Jones.  It doesn't get easier than this.  And it tastes yummy.  :)

Jenn's Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken

6 frozen chicken thighs
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce


Cook on low for 8-10  hours or on high 4 - 6 hours in crock pot.  Serve over rice.
P.S. If you use chicken thighs that are thawed already, add 3/4 cup water (all equal ingredients).  I just omit the water since mine are always frozen and ice glazed.

Mine were frozen but not ice glazed, so I added the water.  Enjoy.

Mary Jane's Deep Dish Meat Pie

This is the perfect dish for using your leftover roast beef. 

Mary Jane's Deep Dish Meat Pie

 Pastry for Single Crust Pie (make or buy)
1 cup chopped potato (cut small)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage, crushed
1 1/4 cups beef broth (I sub 1 1/4 cup water and add 2 bullion cubes)
1 1/2 cups peas and carrots (I eye ball this - I use fresh carrots that I have cut up and boil for a bit and then put in about a third of a bag of frozen peas)
2 cups cubed or shredded cooked roast beef

Prepare pastry.  Roll pastry into a 12 inch circle.  Cover and set aside.  In a medium saucepan cook potato and onion in butter over medium heat, stirring constantly for 5 to 6 minutes or till onion is tender and not brown.  Stir in flour, herb, and 1/8 tsp pepper.  Add broth all at once.  Stir in peas and carrot.  Cook and stir till bubbly.

Stir in meat.  Transfer mixture into 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.  Top with pasty; trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond rim.  Turn under and flute edges of pastry.  (I know this part may sound hard but I don't do it this fancy - I just lay the pasty on top and roll up the edges to fit the casserole dish and then go around and pinch the edges to "seal it.")  Cut slits for steam.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till golden.  Let stand 10 minutes.

Pastry for Single Crust Pie

1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
3 - 4 Tblspns cold water

In a bowl stir together flour and salt.  Cut in shortening till pieces are the size of small peas.  Sprinkle in 1 Tblspn water over part of the mixture, gently toss with a fork.  Push to side of bowl.  Repeat till all is moistened.  On a slightly floured surface, flatten dough with hands.  Roll dough out from center to edges. 

Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Bars

We ran out of Cadbury mini eggs and I was craving something chocolate yesterday.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com - it's by Sara Yoder; it has 4.5 stars and 60 ratings.  I love the taste of toasted marshmallows and chocolate in these bars.  Shane said these aren't going to last long!

 ha ha ha...while eating his Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Bar Caleb said "mom, you're the BEST cooker..."(hmmm...this isn't what you said about sloppy joes last night :)) and then he adds "I wonder who invented food."  Whoever it was, they had a good idea.  :)

Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in marshmallows, chips and walnuts. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

* I used butter instead of shortening, and I left out the nuts. Still great.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I love this salad!  I have been trying to serve more leafy greens at dinner time, and this is a salad that most of my family loved. My picky 5 year old didn't like it - but he pretty much lives on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Yep he's picky.  But my 7 year old, 2 year old, and 33 year old (ha ha) loved it.   I like the sesame seeds - my husband thought they took away from the bitterness of the spinach.  And do you want to know something cool?  Vinegar has an indefinite shelf life!!!  I am sure all you smarties all ready knew that.  After dusting off my red wine vinegar, I googled it.  No worries.  The stuff lasts forever.  Enjoy your super duper healthy greens! :)

Strawberry Spinach Salad

• 2 bunches spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 4 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup white or red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1. In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.

Honey Glazed Chicken

This recipe is from my sister Mary Jane. It is a favorite at our house, and a good one because I usually have all the ingredients.

Honey Glazed Chicken

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup butter 4 chicken breasts (you could use chicken tenders too! I used about 3 of the frozen chicken breasts from Costco cut up)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, salt and cayenne pepper together in a large Ziploc bag. Drop chicken in bag and shake to coat. Melt butter and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place flour coated chicken in baking dish and turn to coat both sides with butter. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Honey Glaze Sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice*
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine all ingredients. Pour over chicken until well coated. Bake for an additional 45 minutes. Serve over rice. (Keep your eye on it, mine started to burn a little bit).

* The last two times I made this I had no lemon juice. I subbed grapefruit juice (weird I know - I was desperate) and the other time I used lime juice. Both times it turned out delicious! No weirdness. :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

You know the brownie mixes that always go on sale for $1? I always buy a bunch because they are so cheap, and you never know when you need a quick dessert. However, my complaint with the cheap brownie mixes is this: they turn out greasy, thin, and they flake apart. At least when I make them! Though they taste pretty good (it is chocolate!) they just don't look pretty. And I like pretty things. So in order to use the 20 boxes of brownie mix in my storage room, I have been trying different recipes for brownie mix cookies. I found this recipe on http://www.cooks.com/, and it turned out lovely. I made a few changes (added peanut butter, and swapped chocolate chips for oats) and the result was heavenly. Chocolate and peanut butter were just meant to go together. And I love the addition of oats - they make the cookie a little chewy. So if you are in the mood for a chocolate peanut butter concoction, grab a cheap brownie mix and give this recipe a try.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies



1 package (21.5 oz) Brownie Mix (milk chocolate or fudge)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup oil
3 Tbsp water
2 eggs
1 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter


Mix. Bake at 350 for 9 - 11 minutes.

Yogurt Fruit Salad

Yogurt Fruit Salad

fruit
yogurt

Chop up your fruit. Mix with some yogurt.

We eat this fruit salad a couple times every week. It's such a great way to get your fruit at dinner time. I just use whatever we have on hand. Apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, pears, plums, blue berries, peaches, raspberries, grapes...anything will do. We just use what yogurt we happen to have. My favorite is probably vanilla. Two thumbs up for quick and easy!


This yogurt fruit salad has 1 pear, about 1 cup green grapes, 1 banana and 2 individual serving sizes of Yoplait Yogurt.

Mom's Carrot Cake

My mom turned 67 this last week. She seems so much younger than that - and I feel too young to have a mother that old! Anyway I wanted to make her something special, and I know she likes carrot cake. So I made my first carrot cake! The cake was easy to make, and it tasted delicious. It was moist and flavorful - better than any store bought carrot cake I've eaten. I'm not trying to brag on myself - it was just a great recipe. I was kind of surprised...because it's still carrot cake, right? I mean, theres like 3 cups of grated carrots in it! I got the recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Family Dinner Cookbook by Debbie G. Harman.

Mom's Carrot Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

4 eggs well beaten

3 cups carrots, finely shredded

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (opt.)

1 cup raisins (opt.)

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, carrots, and oil. Add to flour mixture and stir until well blended. Stir in nuts and raisins if desired. Pour into greased 9 x 13 cake pan and bake at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes or until knife inserted at center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 4 oz pkg. cream cheese

4 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add softened butter and vanilla and mix until well blended. Gradually mix in powdered sugar until frosting reaches a nice consistency. Makes 2 cups frosting.