The easiest meal you will ever make…

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past couple of days.  Being new to the blogging world, I must admit my mistakes…I keep forgetting to take pictures of what I have made.  Usually, I am so ready to sit down and taste that we serve plates and dig in…about halfway thru the meal, one of my kids will say, this is pretty good, did you take a picture?  Uhhh, no…. think anybody wants to see a plate of half eaten pot roast?  Yea, me either!

I spent some time on Sunday with a pot roast.  It was good, actually pretty good, but not great and I thought it had a lot of steps.  While I am not trying to make every recipe I post here “quick and easy”, I do want to make sure the end result is worth whatever amount of effort is put in.  I don’t mind fussing with a roast on a Sunday afternoon if it is amazing….this roast had many steps, lots of ingredients and was just OK…so I am not sharing it.  When I find a great, easy roast for working folks, I’ll post it.

So today, I want to tell you about the easiest dinner you will make.  I mentioned it a few days ago; it is a Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I have to give credit to both my sister MC and Trader Joe’s for this.  As she was in  Trader Joe’s one day last year, the end-cap of an aisle had on it the following items and a recipe for

Chicken Tortilla Soup

(1)    Can of  Chicken

(1)    Large Box Chicken Broth

(1)    Jar Roasted Garlic Salsa

       Tortilla Chips

 You basically dump a large box of broth, the large can of chicken and the jar of salsa in a pot and heat it up.  When it is hot, crunch the tortilla chips in a soup bowl and spoon the soup over it.  Now, this indeed sounds too simple to taste like much….right?  Wrong!  The first time I made it, we finished the pot immediately.   The next time I did add about 3 teaspoons of chopped cilantro at the end, just because I had it in the fridge, and topped it with sour cream, however I have made it without both of these and it is fine. I have made this also with several different salsa’s…the key is to get one that is chucky and flavorful.  Trader Joe’s stopped carrying the Roasted Garlic Salsa shortly after this became a staple at my house, but I recently noticed it was back (they do that with lots of items).    Last week I spent a good deal of time making a “home-made” version of the same soup, and everybody thought it was inferior.  I am not a big fan of canned chicken…it has its place (like canned tuna), but it can taste pretty much like cardboard.  However, I have used both the Trader Joe brand, and Swanson from my Publix and they both work.  If I have some leftover chicken from another dish (or about ½ of a Rotisserie chicken), that is even better.  This is THE recipe to always have in your pantry…it is seriously about 5 minutes to make and everybody gets a good meal…  You can dress it up (chopped fresh tomato on top, add peppers if you want etc), or leave it alone…I think everybody will enjoy it regardless, and you know on the nights you come home late, tired and hungry you are minutes from a nice meal.   Thanks to MC and Trader Joe’s.

Football Worthy Food

Well this was not last night’s dinner (even though there was a football game on).  Last night was a time consuming Chicken Tortilla soup that was not nearly as tasty as the one I have with 3 ingredients – I will post the easy one here soon.   Last night’s recipe card was tossed quickly (a quote note…if you take the time to make something and don’t like it, either make a note in the cookbook or throw away the card…I have wasted time and money cooking something I didn’t like once and a year later I make it again!)

 I made these pizzas last weekend on a very rainy Saturday when I knew we would be sitting around watching SEC football most of the day (Football is close to religion in my family).  There are certain foods that you need with football – chips, dips, finger foods, nothing fancy etc.  I think there is becoming (at least in the South) a whole new category of food classified as “Tailgate”.  Even though we were not going to the game, I wanted tailgate worthy munchies.  Well, after some searching I went back to my friend Rachael Ray.  If you study her recipes you will find that many of them are a standard dish with a new spin.  (For example the Sheppard’s Pie stuffed potatoes…same ingredients, new presentation).  Anyway, she had a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizzas.  Wow…two for one on the snack foods, pizza and Buffalo chicken!  They were fun, easy and everybody gobbled them up.  When I do them again (and I will), I may try whole wheat English Muffin or something a little smaller would be easier to handle.  These tasted great, but we all ended up with forks and having some of the chicken fall off the flat bread.

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizzas

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite size pieces

Salt and Pepper

2 Tbsp butter

½ cup Franks Red hot Sauce

4 flatbread rounds (or 8 English muffins, see above)

3 ribs of celery sliced thin on the bias

¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

Pre-heat oven to 450

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan on EVOO, about 2 Tablespoons.  Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add them to the pre=heated skillet.  Sauté until cooked through and golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet to melt.  Add the hot sauce and cook stirring occasionally, until the sauce had thickened and coats the chicken (Be careful not to take a deep breath over the pan or the hot sauce fumes could burn your sinuses!)

When the chicken is ready, place the flatbread rounds on a baking sheet and divide the chicken equally between all four rounds.  Scatter the celery over the chicken and top each round with some shredded cheese and blue cheese crumbles.  Bake until the bread is crisped and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.

Floods and Comfort Foods...

As many of you may know, the Atlanta region has had a pretty horrible week of rain.  It started last Thursday and really just finished yesterday.  I have heard lots of different totals, but the area got around 2 feet of water and several counties received much more.  Monday was the worst with some parts of East Cobb County getting 15 inches in one day.  The devastation is horrific and most people who don’t have flood insurance have lost everything.  We were lucky, our house is pretty elevated and we had no issues, my Mom had a small amount of water in her bathroom that was manageable.  However, there are thousands who are really hurting now and a few extra prayers sent their way would be appreciated.

In the midst of this amazing rain, I really felt the need for some comfort food.  I have seen lots of lists which name mashed potatoes, grilled cheese, ice cream, fried chicken and a host of other foods at the top of the “Comfort Food” chart.  I guess it is just further proof that my taste buds are a little off…my list topping comfort food is…. Beef Stroganoff.   And, not just any beef stroganoff but my Mom’s recipe which is a little strange to start with.  Further proof that the food you grow up with tends to be what you crave.  This recipe turns out pretty orange in color where most is dark brown.  It uses chicken stock rather than beef, and includes ketchup and brown sugar along with other spices….but it all works together and the house smells like pure love… Serve on top of some nice fluffy white rice and the world just seems like a better place.

It would be great if you could start this about 4:00 in the afternoon, but I am usually not hanging out in the kitchen then.  Please note it takes about 2 hours so either cook it one night for dinner the next day, or just tell your family to get a snack because it will be a late meal, but oh so worth it.  It may work well in the crock pot, but I have not tried it that way.

I would love to know your top 5 comfort foods to see how different everyone is and what make you feel like home…

2 lbs round steak cubed

2 Tbsp butter

2 small onions, chopped

1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp brown sugar

salt & pepper

1 tsp paprika

1/2 c ketchup

2 Tbsp Worchestershire

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 big cans of mushrooms, drained

1 pint chicken boullion

Corn Starch

16 oz carton sour cream

Hot cooked Rice

Brown the beef in butter in a dutch oven and add the onion and garlic cooking until the onion is translucent.  Add all of the ingredients down to the chicken boullion.  Simmer for 1-1/2 hours.  Thicken with corn starch and let simmer for a few minutes.  Add the sour cream right before serving and serve over hot rice.

I don't bake, but these are great brownies!

I don’t bake…it’s just not something I really enjoy doing like I do cooking.  I think everybody is programmed to have some amount of creativity…may be it is artistic, or fashion or home decorating etc…none of which I am any good at…but I cook.  I like to think that is my creative outlet.  I may only wear a couple of colors that I know match,  and my house looks great after the decorator leaves…and it still looks that way years later since I don’t have the confidence  to change it.  But give me a pot, pan and knife and I can toss stuff together that will be edible and usually pretty good.  So what does this have to do with “I don’t bake”?  Baking is a science…it requires exact measurements, specific instructions and a determined order (dry ingredients first, then wet; no substitutions etc).  Baking is really a giant science experiment that you can enjoy afterwards…but get creative about it and you usually don’t get to eat it.  My daughter J is a great baker…she follows the instructions, she measures and it always turns out excellent…Oh, and she excels at Science too – see the connection?  Anyway, sometimes you have to try to push yourself outside the proverbial box…and I did this weekend by baking brownies!  I apologize for the picture...not one of my best...

I had seen this recipe in a Food Network magazine that I picked up at the store.  The brownies (yea, I know pretty elementary baking….but you have to start somewhere) had both cinnamon and cayenne pepper in them…which intrigued me.  They also called for Mexican Cocoa powder, but since we were in remote North Carolina at the lake house, the possibility of finding Mexican Cocoa powder was slim to none.  I did use Dark Chocolate Cocoa (Hershey’s) and the brownies were great – moist, very dark (almost black) and extremely flavorful.  I would encourage you to try these…with some good vanilla ice cream…UMMMMMM

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground Mexican cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish very well with butter or cooking spray.  Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium low heat - do not boil.  Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.  Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Add the cocoa, flour, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and baking powder and mix until smooth.  Spread the batter in the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fudgy.  (20 - 25 minutes).  Cool in the pan on a rack and then slice and remove the brownies.

Bar Beans

Wow, I am so happy its Friday!  It has been a crazy week of school meetings, birthdays, out of town friends, oh yea, work... But we made it!  Last night G had a meeting and dinner out but I really felt like we had not had much family time this week and I wanted to have a nice dinner.  I knew I had some Yukon Gold potatoes from the CSA bag so I started there.  A quick run thru Trader Joe's found a great price on boneless pork chops (3 for $5) and some nice Marsala sauce.  Add to that what I found out was the number 1 seller at Trader Joes - the skinny green beans and we were set.

So the pork chops were just covered with salt, pepper and an equivalent of McCormicks steak seasoning (great stuff if you don't know about  it) and then browned.  After browning, I put them in a small casserole and covered with the TJoe's Marsala sauce. (If you don't have a Trader Joe's I am sure a regular pork gravy would have been fine)   The potato's were easy too...take a sharp knife and carefully slice them almost all the way thru, then carefully spread them apart.  Drizzle the inside with salt, pepper and olive oil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.  Test for doneness after 30 and then sprinkle some cheese (white cheddar last night, but I have done this with Parmesan also) on top and run them back in for another 5-10 minutes.

Now the beans....that's the title of the post.  Several years ago our oldest son "A" was travelling for work and met some folks in a local bar.  Instead of popcorn, peanuts or chex mix, the bar served green beans as a snack item. At first A thought this was crazy and then he popped a couple of beans in his mouth and loved it!  If you know our son, he can talk anybody into just about anything and before he left, he had the waitress tell him the recipe for the beans.  Basically, it is just skinny beans, low to medium heat and olive oil and garlic.  I do mine in a large skillet and keep the heat between low and medium and most of the time I used the pre-chopped garlic when I am in a hurry.  The trick is NOT to stir them around a lot and they get all brown and crispy.  Both of my (younger) kids will eat the beans this way, and are full of nothing but complaints most every other way I prepare them...give it a try - with a cold beer or a pork chop they are delicious.

Tomorrow is a big day of football and I'm working on some fun munchies while we watch!  Have a great weekend and please let me know what you think about the blog so far.

Fun Birthday, Great Restaurant

So yesterday started my 50th year - with my 49th birthday.  All in all it was a fun day and I had a pre-planned dinner with some old friends that I worked with 20 years ago!!!  I am not sure we had all four been together in 20 years so it was a lot of fun getting caught up and remembering.  Therefore...the family was on its own for dinner (thank you Stouffer's for providing the meal in my absence).

I do want to give credit to a great restaurant chain, Season's 52.  I know there are a couple of locations in Atlanta and I think in Florida as well...it is based upon the fresh concept and their menu changes weekly.  It is also (in my mind) the absolutely correct portion size.   The meals arrive sized somewhere between dinner at a spa (too small for my taste) and one of those places where you eat on your meal for 4 days.  Also, if  I remember correctly (and don't quote me) all of the entrees  are under 500 calories.  The desserts are presented in a shot glass and you get about 3-4 bites of an amazing dessert without killing your waistline.  You can have a gourmet meal and leave the restaurant with your belt still in its rightful place.  It is really a great concept and while this is not intended to be a restaurant review blog....its worth your time and money to visit Seasons 52 if you have one close by.  Oh, and they have over 60 wines by the glass as well...just in case you are so inclined.

Tonight we have tickets to the Braves game...so our family meal will probably be hot dogs (MAJOR difference from last night)...but we will be eating together!  I think next week should be back to a more normal routine.

I feel rotten.....but they gotta eat!

Wow, I woke up this morning with a big case of the crud....so dizzy I could not walk down the hall without bumping into the walls...good thing it was 6:00am or my kids would think I was into the wine bottle pretty early! I was nearly human (but not quite) by lunch and realized that if I recovered I was supposed to go to a meeting at J's school...and we would need a quick dinner.  Not feeling real inspired I wandered aimlessly into the pantry and spotted..... The Crock Pot!!! Yea.  I quickly found the Taco Soup recipe we had enjoyed last winter and thankfully it is pretty much a "open can and dump in crock pot" kind of plan.   The picture really doesn't do justice to the taste....very good.  If you have young kids or don't like too much spice, make sure you get the "mild" version of the Rotel tomatoes...that is where a good deal of the heat comes from.  There are a ton of good vegetables hidden in the soup so you may just be able to sneak some corn, tomatoes, and beans into your eaters without their knowledge!

 You can add or delete any ingredient based upon family preference.  It is more like a stew consistancy than a soup.

Taco Soup
2 cans kidney or pinto beans or 1 of each
2 cans of corn or frozen corn equivalent to 2 cans
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoes and chilies (Rotel)
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 lb ground beef or turkey (or chicken)
1 can green chilies
1/2 tsp or more chili powder
a few shakes hot sauce
salt & pepper
Garnish:  shredded cheese, sour cream, crunched up chips

Brown the meat or turkey and drain the fat.  Add the meat to the crock pot wilth all other ingredients except garnish.  The beans should be drained and rinsed but the corn and tomatoes should have the juices.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10.  Check seasonings about halfway through.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, chips or anything you would put on a taco.

What to do with CSA veggies?

A few months ago a friend mentioned that she missed the CSA she belonged to in Chicago. Of course, I didn’t know what a CSA was…and I’ll assume you don’t either. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It originated with folks like me buying a “portion” of a farm and then getting part of the produce it produced. It has become, thanks to technology, a great way to get local fruits and vegetables at their freshest. I started to investigate and found a CSA here in Alpharetta/Roswell (www.localfoodstop.com). Each Monday or Tuesday you get a list of what is available and place your online order for small or large bags; fruit, vegetable or mixed and tell them where you want to pick it up (several locations around the area). You are not obligated to buy every week and can make substitutions if you know your family won’t eat something included. It has been very fun for us, and made me try some fruits and veggies I might not normally have tried. This week’s bag included Acorn Squash. Now, I know Acorn Squash are not exactly exotic but for some reason we really never ate them. So, here sits this nice squash and what to do with it? Well, it was AWESOME. I found a base recipe for Squash stuffed with sweet/spicy sausage and swapped it around a bit. We also had some gala apples in the bag that I thought the apples would be nice cooked with the squash…and rather than go buy sausage I had some wonderful spicy Boudin in the freezer (Cajun sausage made with meats and rice…really nice spice). So…here is my interpretation. My only mistake was not taking a picture…but we were so hungry by the time we ate that we dug in before I remembered the camera.


Acorn Squash with Spicy Sausage

Ingredients:

2 Acorn Squash, halved and seeded
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot finely chopped
1-1/2 pounds spicy sausage, casings removed
1 cup brown sugar (I used less)
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2-3 Tablespoons dried cranberries
2-3 tablespoons red wine or port (optional)


Preheat oven to 350. Place the squash halves face down in a baking dish in 1 inch of water and bake until the flesh is tender, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the shallot for 1-2 minutes (can use mild onion), add the apples and sausage until starting to brown. Meanwhile, soak the dried cranberries in the wine (or water) and add to the sausage mixture after it is browned up some.

Once the squash is tender, discard the water. Cut a small part of the bottom if needed to sit up straight.  Sprinkle half of the brown sugar on the inside of the squash. Fill the squash with the sausage mixture and top with reserved brown sugar (I didn’t use it all). Return the squash to the oven until the sugar starts to melt, about 15 minutes.

Serve with a green salad and enjoy!

Holy Mole...

OK, sorry about the title...I had to! When we were in Chattanooga over the weekend (the source of leftover Lasagna) we went on Sunday afternoon to a great market in the downtown area, near UTC. One of the vendors was actually from Atlanta and selling wonderful salsas, and tamales. I love Mexican food and two things are at the top - Tamales and Mole Sauce. I find a lot of people don't know about Mole sauce (pronounced Mole-a) but it is wonderful. A very complex sauce and a bear to make. It has about 3-4 dried and reconstituted peppers, tons of great spice and at the very end, you melt in good Mexican Chocolate. It makes for a warm (but not hot) spicy sauce that you just can't quite figure out. I don't make it...maybe one day when I am retired...but now, when I see it and know its good I buy it. Thus, what we had last night was Chicken Enchiladas Mole. I froze the tamales I bought and I'm sure they will make an appearance here soon. To shortcut, I take a supermarket rotisserie chicken and shred it. In my opinion, Costco is the best tasting, biggest and best value...if you are there buy several and take the meat off when you get home, freeze each bag of chicken meat individually...SOOOO much better than the already processed bag of chicken.


Chicken Enchiladas Mole

Meat from one Chicken (appx 2-3 cups)
1 small red onion, halved
8 corn tortillas
2-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or Monterrey Jack cheese
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese
1 jar prepared Mole Sauce

Preheat the broiler. Slice half the onion into thin rings and set aside. Place the other half on a pan in the broiler until charred and soft. Set Aside.

Stack the tortillas on damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute. Meanwhile, add 2 cups of the cheese to the chicken and mix it up. (If you want to add a small amount of salsa here you can, we didn't need it). Add 1 tsp of salt to the chicken and cheese. Spoon a portion of the chicken and cheese into the center of each tortilla. Wrap tightly and put in a lightly oiled 9 x 13 pan. Once all 8 have been rolled, brush them with olive oil. Broil until crisp and golden - 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the mole sauce over the top, top that with 1/2 cup of remaining Monterrey Jack cheese. Return to the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and the sauce hot (3 to 5 minutes) Then top with the broiled red onions and queso fresco.

I served this with "green rice" which is my normal rice with Salsa Verde and fresh Cilantro added.

We could have licked the plate....

On a budget note...I had easily enough Chicken and Cheese left over to make another meal.  So they went right back into the freezer for one of those "I really don't have it together" nights.  If you had leftover turkey, steak or pork this would work great also...and it doesn't take that much meat.  I probably used 1-1/2 cups of chicken.

Family Weekend Parties and Trays of Lasagna

Well, today I'm posting before eating....but since dinner is already made I know what we are having!  We just came back from a fabulous weekend outside Chattanooga on Signal Mountain.  My mother's grandparents built a house in 1912 and it is kept up by my Mom and her two sisters.  It is where I spent most of the summers in my childhood and holds a special place for everyone in the family.  We had all of my brothers and sisters in addition to all the grandkids and one great-grandchild there with Mom.  Needless to say it was awesome, Mom loved it and we all had a blast.  However, feeding 20 people at every meal can be a challenge...my sister, Mom and I planned all the meals and if I can brag, we did excellent.  Friday night was Lasagna.  If you like Lasagna, this is a great recipe, courtesy of our friend (and Mom to my nephew in law) Rorie Fore.  It's called Petrucci's Lasagna, but since I don't know Petrucci, I'll give credit to Rorie!

A note or two about making Lasagna...all the recipes look time consuming, but they usually are not.  You can multi-task (i.e. mixing up the cheese while the meat is browning etc).  This recipe calls for cooking the sauce for 1 hour - so it is a sauce that you make on the weekend or while you are eating your dinner.  We doubled the sauce with the crowd we had and make two pans of Lasagna with a large bag of meat sauce left over for spaghetti one night.  If your family is 4-6 people, you can easily get 2 meals out of one pan...so by doubling it we are getting 6 meals (2 each on the lasagna and 2 from the spaghetti sauce).  So, for 6 meals it is well worth the time.  It will last in your freezer for months.  Another note....if you have a "juicy" sauce like this one - skip the step of boiling the noodles...honestly it works fine just putting them in hard and cooking it...as a matter of fact, if you like your pasta "al dente" this is the only way to do it!  No, you don't need to search for the "no cook" noodles...standard lasagne noodles work just fine...I promise!  A final word if you are REALLY pressed for time..yes, you can skip the whole sauce process and just use a jar (or two) of sauce...but I really do think it is worth the step....


Petrucci's Lasagna


Brown 1lb ground beef and 1lb Italian sausage with 1 chopped onion and 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic.

Drain and add : 2 large cans whole tomatoes, 2 8oz cans tomato sauce, 2 6oz cans tomato paste, 4 bay leaves, and 1tbs Italian seasoning, several shakes of red pepper flakes.

Add 1/2 cup red wine (or more) . Simmer for about an hour.

Filling: 1 pint ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup chopped parsley.

Cheese: Large package of sliced mozzarella, or large block grated

Boil 1 box lasagna noodles for 5-6 minutes. The more al dente the easier to handle. (or skip this step and it will work fine)

Spread a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of a 9-13 inch baking dish.

Layer noodles, cheese filling, sauce, mozzarella cheese slices, and repeat ending with sauce and mozzarella on top.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until bubbly.

Chicken and Dumplings in a hurry...

Well, I'm not trying to make this a Rachael Ray revisited site...but last night was a Rachel night also.  We had a meeting at J's school to attend so it had to be a quick dinner.  Since she has been sick, I also wanted something that would taste good to her and chicken tenders were on sale at the Publix...so combine the three and you get Rachael Ray's Chicken and Dumplins.  This is a great version that you can pull together in about 30 minutes (it IS Rachael Ray remember) and tastes like it has been simmering all day.  I do like her recipes because they tend to be quick and are usually healthy.  Sure, this has biscuits floating on top, but also has lean chicken, potato, carrots, onions and celery to offset the biscuit...and really...what's a couple of biscuits going to hurt?


RR Chicken and Dumplings


1-1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 potato peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons flour
1 quart chicken broth or stock
1 small box biscuit mix (preferred Jiffy brand)
1/2 cup warm water
Handful of fresh chopped parsley
1 cup frozen green peas (optional in my kitchen)

Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside

Place a large pot on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth in the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.

Place biscuit mix in a bowl. Combine with 1/2 cup warm water and parsley. Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evently Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir chicken and dumplings to thicken sauce a bit. Stir peas into the pan, removed from heat and serve in shallow bowls.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog.  I created my first blog to cover a major renovation of our lake house (hasslefreeredo.blogspot) and enjoyed the process.  Since then, several friends have commented about how we are able to have dinner together every night with two busy teenagers and Greg and I both working.  They gave me the idea to do a new blog with my recipes.  Here you are...I hope it is helpful.  I am no gourmet, but I do enjoying cooking for my family and friends.   I will try to always give credit to the author of any recipe along with any tips or hints I might have added.

So, what are we having last night?  I tried Rachael Ray's

"Shepherd's Pie Stuffed Potatoes"


4 large Russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided, plus additional for drizzling
Salt
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 pound ground sirloin or ground turkey
1/2 pound button or crimini mushrooms, quartered
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons spicy brown or Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese, for sprinkling on top
Preparation Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF.

On a baking sheet, toss the potatoes with a hearty drizzle of EVOO and some salt. Bake in the oven until tender, about 1 hour. Let cool.

Turn the off oven and pre-heat the broiler.

While the potatoes are cooling, place a medium skillet over medium-high heat with one turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Add the bell pepper and half of the onion to the pan, season with salt and pepper, then cook until the veggies are tender, 5-6 minutes. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice lengthwise off of the top to expose the inside. Scoop out the potato flesh, taking care not to pierce the wall of the potato, and transfer to the bowl with the veggies (reserve the potato shells). Add the sour cream and paprika to the bowl and mash. Reserve warm.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with two turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the ground sirloin or ground turkey to the pan and cook until golden brown, 5-6 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to turn golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

Add the remaining onion and garlic to the pan and cook until all the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes more. Push all of the ingredients to the edge of the pan and add the butter to the skillet. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and cook for about 1 minute. Add the stock, mustard, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and some salt and pepper to the skillet and stir to combine. Bring up to a bubble and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes.

Fill the potato shells with the beef and mushroom mixture, then top each of them with the reserved mashed potatoes. Transfer to a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cheese. Pop the potatoes under the broiler until the cheese is melted and tops are golden brown.

NOTES:  This was really good, pretty easy despite the long list of ingredients (most of which you have in your pantry probably).  The next time...I think I will skip the step of the peppers and onions added to the potato meat...and possibly add some cheese directly to the potatoes (parmesean, blue cheese or keep the smoked gouda).  The husband and kids gave it a thumbs up!