celery

Shepherd’s Pie with Cheddar Potato Topping

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St. Patrick’s Day was yesterday.  After dropping my son off at school I remembered, having dressed him in nothing green.  With blog posts and Instagram feeds full of “pot o’ gold” crafts, kids decked out in green and green or Irish foods, I knew I’d failed as a mom and food blogger.  I figured I should make something for dinner that night that was somewhat Irish, even though I’ve never been big on the holiday.  The more important thing about March 17 is that it’s my niece’s birthday!  Happy 4th birthday, Maren!

I’d seen a few people posting pics of their beautiful Irish soda breads on social media, but I am kind of breaded out at the moment.  The next thing that popped into my head was Shepherd’s Pie.  A complete meal with meat, veggies and starch all in one pan!

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I found an easy and basic recipe, made a quick grocery list and headed to the store.  This one from Martha is basically what I made, but with a few changes.  I also took some tips from a cookbook just recently added to my collection, America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

In perusing recipes I found some call this dish Shepherd’s Pie, and others call it Cottage Pie.  What’s the difference?  Opinions differ as to whether or not there is one.  Cottage pie was the term first used for the dish.  But over time people began calling it Cottage pie if it contained beef and Shepherd’s pie if it contained lamb.  A lot of what I’ve read says you can use either term.

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This meal wound up being quite good, a terrific comfort food, and something you can make in advance.  Cook the meat filling and the potatoes, store them separately, refrigerate for up to 1 day, then layer in the casserole and bake when you’re ready.  You can even assemble this in the morning, refrigerate it and bake it in the evening.  I’d recommend adding a little extra milk to the potatoes if you’re going to make it in advance.  For some reason I feel like letting mashed potatoes sit in the fridge dries them out.  This might not be true, but it just makes me feel better to add a little extra liquid.  No one likes dry potatoes.  A couple tablespoons should be enough.

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I like the combination of carrots, celery, onion and peas in this, but you can leave the peas out if you’re not a fan, or add corn to the mix.  If you don’t have fresh thyme, use 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves.  Instead of water use leftover beef or chicken broth.  It’s not enough to justify opening a new container, but if you have 1 cup that needs to be used, this is a fine time to use it.  Instead of sharp white cheddar you can use regular cheddar cheese, or leave it out if you like.  Use the combination of 2% milk and cream, or use all whole milk or all 2%.  The cream adds a nice richness, but isn’t totally necessary.

You don’t need to serve this with anything, but pairing it with a crispy green salad is a good way to round out the meal.  Enjoy!

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Shepherd’s Pie

Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 4 stalks celery, cut in half lengthwise then chopped
  • 4 carrots, cut into quarters lengthwise then chopped
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 cup water or broth
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • salt and pepper to taste

Potatoes

  • 2 large russet potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup 2% milk
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 3 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 egg

Directions

Filling

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and drizzle with a little olive or vegetable oil.  Add in the beef and cook, breaking up the pieces until it is no longer pink, about 8 minutes.
  2. Line a large plate with paper towels and remove meat from the pan to drain on the paper towels.
  3. Return the pan to the heat and add in onion, celery and carrots.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, until vegetables become tender.  Season with a pinch of salt and the thyme.
  4. Add in the flour and tomato paste and stir to combine, cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Add in the water or broth, stir to combine and bring to a simmer.  Add in the peas, stir and let cook for 3-5 minutes.

Potatoes

  1. Peel the potatoes and then cut into small chunks.
  2. Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cool water.
  3. Place pan over high heat and cook for about 15 minutes, until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork,
  4. Drain the water from the potatoes, then return to the pan and begin mashing to release some of the steam, mash for about 1 minute.
  5. Add in the butter and milk along with some salt.  Mash it up, then add in the cheese and continue to mash until it reaches a consistency that you like.  Add in more milk if the potatoes seem dry, and taste and adjust seasonings.
  6. Mix in egg.

Assemble and Bake

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Spray a casserole dish (a deep 8×8, 9×9 or 11×17) with non-stick spray.
  3. Layer beef mixture on the bottom of the pan, then layer potatoes on top and spread evenly.
  4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until top begins to brown.

 

Simple & Satisfying Potato Soup

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The forecast for this past week boasted 3 days in a row of cool and rainy weather.  Time to make some soup!  I started looking around for a potato soup recipe but most looked so heavy, full of sour cream and cheese.  I wanted a soup that would leave us full and satisfied without being totally weighed down.  I finally found a terrific recipe from The Pioneer Woman (are you at all surprised?).  Instead of cups and cups of whole milk and sour cream, there are cups and cups of chicken broth, with a little dairy to round out the soup and add creaminess.  It is heavenly.

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I was immediately excited about the celery, onion and carrot in this soup.  Made me feel like I was eating even healthier with those extra vegetables.  And they add such wonderful flavor.  I used shallot instead of onion because I didn’t have one.  Next time, though, I will use a regular onion.  Less peeling and chopping.  Everything else in the recipe is unchanged.  I might cook a few extra pieces of bacon because, if you are anything like me, having some of those crunchy bits on top is necessary.  The 6 pieces aren’t enough for the entire pot of soup.  Maybe this says something about our love of bacon.  I’d say 10 pieces would be good, and if you have extra, well, there is not a thing wrong with extra bacon bits.

After cooking the soup you puree about half of it in the blender.  This creates a nice balance of smooth and chunky so that every bite has something to chew on, which is what I like in a soup.  I used a sharp cheddar on top of the soup, but a sharp white cheddar would also be delicious, or whatever cheese you like on a baked potato.

Top this soup with a little bacon, cheese and green onion and you have all the flavor of a hearty baked potato soup but without the bulk of it.  This is definitely a recipe I’ll be making again.

Note:  When reheating you might need to add some chicken broth or milk to thin it out since it does thicken as it sits in the fridge.

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Potato Soup

From The Pioneer Woman

Feeds 6-8

Ingredients

  • 6 – 10 slices of bacon, chopped
  • 1 whole medium onion, diced (I used 4 large shallots)
  • 3 carrots, diced (I used about 20 baby carrots)
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 6 whole small russet potatoes (or 3 large) peeled and diced
  • 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
  • 1/2 cup half and half (or heavy cream)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
  •  Balck pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt (I used Lawry’s)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
  • 1 cup grated cheese
  • 4 green onions, sliced thin

Directions

  1. Heat a large pot over medium high heat.  Add in the chopped bacon and cook until crispy, being careful not to burn it.  Remove from the pot and place on a paper towel-lined plate and wipe out some, but not all, of the bacon fat.
  2. Over medium high heat cook onion, celery and carrots for a couple minutes, until they begin to soften.  Add potatoes and cook, stirring things around a little, for about 5 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper and seasoning salt.
  3. Add the broth to the pot and bring it to a simmer.  Cook for 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.
  4. In a bowl whisk flour and milk and add to the pot.  Stir together and cook for about 5 minutes.
  5. Puree about half of the soup in a blender (I filled my blender almost full).  Be sure to remove the center piece from the top of the blender and cover with a dish towel.  If you don’t, you could make a big mess since you’re pureeing hot liquid.
  6. Pour the puree back into the pot, taste and season as needed.  Add in the cream or half and half, and the parsley.
  7. Serve with cheese, bacon bits and green onion.

 

 

Curried Chicken and Rice Soup

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This is a great meal if you’re looking for a nice alternative to chicken noodle soup.  This hearty chicken and rice soup is flavorful, loaded with veggies and has a nice crisp flavor thanks to the fresh herbs and lemon juice added at the end.  The curry isn’t overwhelming, but gives the soup a nice spice that makes it a unique chicken soup.  It’s great with the herbs and lemon.

We really enjoyed what was most likely the last hot soup we’ll have for a while.  I have a feeling that the weather is just not going to get cool enough for soup until October or November.  Oh, Houston.  If you live somewhere that is still experiencing or expecting a cool and rainy day, take advantage of it and give this soup a try.

I used this recipe from the Food Network kitchens as my starting point for this soup and then changed a few things to create a soup that had more of the things I like.  I’m sure it’s still great without the changes I made.  I added more carrots and celery, more broth, more rice, pureed only some of the soup instead of all of the rice mixture, added spinach and put lemon juice right in the soup instead of serving it with lemon wedges.  I also changed the cooking method a bit by doing it all in one pot instead of cooking the soup base and rice separately.

Since this was my first time to make this and I was kind of figuring it out as I went, I didn’t measure exactly how much broth and water I used.  Luckily, you can add as much or as little liquid as you want near the end of the cooking to get the consistency you want in this soup.  When I reheated this soup last night for dinner I added a little more broth since it had thickened up overnight in the fridge.  Soups are so forgiving, one of the many reasons I love them.

To make getting this meal on the table quicker and easier cook the chicken ahead of time and refrigerate it, or shred a rotisserie chicken.  If you do this, you will still need all the chicken broth and water called for below.  Slice the onion and chop the carrots and celery and store them in baggies or containers, the onion should be in its own container since it goes in before the carrots and celery.  You can chop the herbs and store them as well, but I think they lose some of their flavor if they are chopped too far in advance.  I’d recommend chopping them while the rice is cooking, but I doubt there would be much difference in flavor if they sat in the fridge for a few hours, just make sure to store them in covered containers to keep them from drying out.

Curried Chicken and Rice Soup

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

  • 2 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed
  • 5-6 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided
  • 4-5 cups water, divided
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch coins
  • 4 large celery stalks, cut 1/2 inch slices (you may want to halve the stalks if they are very large)
  • 1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup white rice
  • 3-4 ounces baby spinach leaves (left whole or roughly chopped)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped dill
  • 3 tablespoons chopped mint
  • 1 large lemon, juiced

Directions

  1. In a large pot, heat 3 cups of water and 3 cups of broth over medium heat.  Once liquid starts to simmer, add chicken breasts, a pinch of kosher salt, peppercorns and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  2. Remove chicken from broth and let cool until you can handle the chicken and shred it.  Strain the bay leaves and peppercorns out of the broth and set the broth aside.
  3. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat.  Add the onions, sugar and a pinch of salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions begin to soften.  Add carrots and celery and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
  4. Add curry powder, stir and cook for 1 minute.  Add the rice, stir and cook for about 2 minutes, then add 3 cups of the reserved broth.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
  5. After rice is cooked, take about 2 cups of the soup and puree it in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Add it back to the soup along with the chicken.  At this point you can add more liquid to achieve the consistency you’d like in your soup.  I added equal amount of broth and water, probably a cup of each to start with, but you can do what looks right to you.  More broth for a soupier soup, less broth for a more stew-like soup.
  6. With heat on medium low, stir in spinach and herbs.  Let simmer for 5-10 minutes until spinach is wilted down.
  7. Stir in lemon juice.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.