New Mom's Cookbook

Amazing Apple-Pork Meatballs With Sweet Sauce

2011-12-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

I found a turkey recipe in a magazine that sounded good, and then I realized I only had maybe half the ingredients it called for. So I BS'd my way through the entire thing, making this an almost paleo recipe to boot. These are by far one of my greatest creations!

Ingredients for Meatballs:

2 pounds ground pork
1 large/ XL egg
2 apples, grated
1/4 cup bread crumbs (or almond flour if you have it; not only does it taste better, it's Paleo)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dry thyme
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 Tbsp fresh (or 1/2 tsp dry) oregano
1 large shallot, minced

Crack the egg into a large bowl. Grate the apples over that.

Add all other ingredients (mince the shallots as small as you can before your eyes water up) and mix it all together well with your hands.

Form meatballs and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, but check them at 25 minutes; they are done when they are brownish gold on the outside and feel solid.

Ingredients for Sauce:

1/2 cup apple sauce (natural unsweetened is best)
1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a small pot and cook on low while the meatballs cook; keep warm and spoon over meatballs after they are on the plates.

Mostly Paleo Almond Cookies

2011-10-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

A cookie should be sweet, at least in my mind. I tried to cheat as little as possible and re-create a gluten-free cookie I had tried from a box once. I think these are pretty darn tasty!

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large/ x-large egg
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 cup (however much you want) slivered almonds (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth, then drop in hefty spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. I pressed the bottom of a small cup into mine to give them decoration, but it's not necessary. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes.

Soy Ginger Fried Chicken

2011-10-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

I've raved about the tasty benefits of coconut oil in previous posts, so I fry everything in it now. And I've lost weight. Go figure. :)

Ingredients:

about 1- 1 1/2 pounds of chicken wings
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
Coconut oil
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Drop a couple of heaping spoonfuls of coconut oil into the pan on medium-high heat, enough so that when it liquefies it covers the bottom of the pan.

Add the soy sauce and spread around with a spoon. Arrange the wings so all parts are touching the pan. Mix the spices in a little bowl and sprinkle evenly over the chicken, then again after you flip the wings over the first time. Continue flipping and cooking until golden crispy brown, about 20 minutes. If you need to, add another spoon of coconut oil.

Apple Pork Roast

2011-08-12T08:41:00.001-07:00

It drives me crazy when someone has an apple or other kind of fruit tree in their yard and doesn't take advantage of it. So when we took our walk and saw a ton of freshly fallen apples under a HUGE apple tree just lying rotting in someone's yard, I filched as many as I could stuff under the stroller and walked away. The good news is, I'll be making apple sauce tomorrow.

Anyway I had this pork roast and figured what the hell, why not use some apples?

Ingredients:

2-3lb pork loin roast
1 tsp kosher/sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
dash of ginger
about 2 cups of chopped apples
1- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix the spices together in a small bowl.
Rinse off the pork roast under running water, then rub all over with the spice mix. Set in bottom center of large crock pot. Chop up the apples and spread all around the sides of the roast.

Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top of everything and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Tasty Breaded and Fried Eggplant

2011-08-08T04:58:00.000-07:00

I've gotten into the Paleo Diet lately, and although it involves not eating dairy products or wheat-based anything, I still had this big can of bread crumbs on my shelf that I was reluctant to throw out. Eggplant was on sale at the store this week, and so a delicious side dish was born! And coconut oil is my new best friend in this house. It's much easier to cook now that my daughter understands the phrase "back off" when referring to her proximity to the stove.

Ingredients:

One large eggplant, washed and cut into rounds, then halve the rounded slices
2-3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Italian spices (or a few dashes of parsley, oregano, basil, and thyme)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup coconut oil

Beat the eggs in a large bowl and set aside. Mix the bread crumbs and spices in another large shallow bowl and set next to the egg bowl. Heat half the coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, until it just begins to steam. Dip pieces of the eggplant in the beaten egg, then drop into the bread crumbs and coat thoroughly. Drop gently into the heated oil and fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side, til the pieces are golden brown. Use the remaining coconut oil after each batch, as the breading will tend to soak it up. Continue the process until all the eggplant has been breaded and fried and set on a plate for serving purposes. Makes a great side dish, or a lunch by itself.

Simple Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

2011-06-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

It's a rainy, yucky day, where we can't go on a walk or to a park, so we put our aprons on (yes, she has a matching toddler apron) and baked a pie with some of the rhubarb my mom brought from her garden. I looked through several recipes online and they all seemed really complicated, so I simplified this up with what I had available. I made my own crust from scratch, because I like to, even though it inevitably falls apart and looks horrible in the end. It's always tastier when you use real butter and your fingers.

Ingredients for Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter (softened)
4-5 Tbsp cold water

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, first with a spatula and then with your hands, until it forms a large dough ball. Then break the ball in half and roll out each side, one for the bottom of the pan (a regular 9-inch pie pan, greased, floured, and pricked with a fork) and one for the top of the pie.

Ingredients for Filling:

2 cups (or so) fresh rhubarb, chopped and rinsed
2 cups/1 pint fresh rinsed strawberries, de-stemmed and chopped
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 lemon- all of the zest and juice
1 Tbsp butter

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour evenly into the bottom crust, sprinkling bits of the last pad of butter over the top of the filling, then top with the top crust, slicing an X in the center and pushing down the edges with a fork.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Easy Carrot-Ginger Soup

2011-05-22T09:53:00.001-07:00

I stole this out of a past issue of Parents magazine, and am giving it a shot since all we have in the house is leftover chili and the kiddo refuses to touch the stuff.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Add the olive oil to the bottom of a large soup pot and saute the onion, celery, and ginger for a few minutes while you peel and chop the carrots. When the onion starts to become clear and you can smell the aromas coming from the pot, add the chicken broth and carrots, along with a dash of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook on medium, covered, about 20-25 minutes, then blend together with an immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender).

Bangers and Mash (Emptying the Cupboards)

2011-04-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yep, I did it again. In my sad quest to change our diets (both my husband and I want to lose weight, so we're cutting carbs out as much as possible) I did not buy enough food to last two weeks. So I had to start getting creative to last through til payday. I found some potatoes buried in a lower cupboard, just starting to go a little bad, and you can always keep peeling til you hit the good part of an onion. And hooray for discount sausage! All in all I probably made this meal on about, oh, $4.

Ingredients:

2 Idaho Potatoes (large), peeled and cubed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium sized onion, chopped
2 fat cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1 Tbsp dried parsley

4-6 large sweet sausages

Put potatoes in a large pot and add the chicken broth, then add enough water to cover the potatoes. Cover and start on med-high heat while you chop the onion and garlic. Add onion and garlic, cover, and cook until boiling. Then raise the lid a bit for steam to escape and turn heat down to medium.

While this cooks, put sausages in a large skillet and add about 3/4 cups water, then cover the pan and cook on medium-high for about 8 minutes. Then take the lid off, poke the sausages with a fork, and turn over periodically as they cook, uncovered, an additional ten minutes or so.

Once potatoes are fork-soft, drain the liquid and return to the pot. Add all other ingredients and spices and mash well, mixing together with a large spoon.

Serve with the sausages and some ketchup.

Irish Soda Bread Buns

2011-03-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit, I stole this recipe from a magazine. But it's really simple and accurate, and the buns could be made into one big loaf if you really wanted to. I think these taste wonderful, especially for a bread made entirely without yeast, though my husband and the baby don't like them.

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup raisins or currants
1 3/4 cups lowfat buttermilk
2 Tbs melted butter

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add buttermilk and stir with a spatula to combine. Once mixture starts to become doughy, dig your hands in and mix it all together into one giant dough ball.

Knead it a few times once it's dough. Grease a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and form the dough into 12-13 little round balls, lining up on the sheet.

Cut a cross/"X" into each bun then brush the tops with the melted butter. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Easy Turkey Sloppy Joes

2011-03-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

I combined and added ideas from other recipes to make this one my own. It was really easy to throw together.

Ingredients:

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey (frozen or thawed, doesn't really matter)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced (I was supposed to use green, but only had a red one)
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup prepared barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
multigrain/whole wheat hamburger buns

Drizzle oil into bottom of crock pot. Add turkey. Toss all other ingredients in on top of turkey (except for the buns) and cook on low 6-8 hours. About halfway through cook time, open the lid and stir everything together with a wooden spatula; this is essential if your turkey was put in as a frozen block of meat.

(Sorry but for some reason the photo uploader keeps turning my image sideways)
When it's time to eat, just put some of the mix on the buns and enjoy!

Leftovers Lunch

2011-03-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

Once again, I wanted to use up some of the leftovers and random things i had in my cabinets to make something healthy for lunch. Now that the baby is a toddler, she has a lot of her teeth and can eat just about anything. I'm going to recommend you either buy good-quality brown rice or rinse off the rice in a colander before you start cooking it, as mine came out tasting a little dirty.

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 scallion, chopped
2 white mushrooms, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup leftover roast chicken/poultry, chopped up
1/3 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup frozen corn
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. parsley flakes

Prepare the rice as directed; in other words, boil the water then throw in the rice and turn to a simmer for about 30 minutes. When rice is close to done, leave on low and throw in all other ingredients, mixing well. Cook another 10-15 minutes, or until water is all sucked up.

Makes about 4-6 servings. We ate this for lunch, and I ended up throwing a little sweet and sour sauce on it to spice up the taste a little. But hey, at least it's healthy!

Cheese and Spinach Tart

2011-02-22T06:55:00.001-08:00

I got this recipe from Parents magazine, and messed with it just a little bit for dinner last night. It was pretty easy, but all together took about an hour to make.

Ingredients:

2 small onions, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 9-inch frozen pie shell
1 cup reduced fat milk
1 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 10oz package frozen spinach, drained and squeezed of water

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in a skillet, and add onions. Cook on low to medium heat until caramelized.

Prick pie shell with a fork and bake for 10 minutes. When onions are done, take off heat and let cool a few minutes. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl, then add the onions.

Pour into cooked pie crust and bake another 45-50 minutes or until firm. I served this up with some of my Easy Lemon Pepper Fish.

New Year Mexican Fun Dip

2011-01-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

I'm overwhelmed with stress right now. I'm trying to organize and pack for a move clear across the country to Massachusetts and on top of that my grandmother just died. So I apologize for the lack or recent recipes.

I don't have any photos of this, but it's so simple you can picture what it looks like on your own.

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans
1 small jar any type of Salsa
1/2 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese (one cup for large batch)
2 Tbsp sour cream

For a large batch, you'll use all the ingredients, but for a small 1-2 person batch, place 2 heaping spoonfuls of refried beans into a bowl with 2 heaping spoonfuls of salsa and the 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Mix together then top with sour cream, or mix the sour cream in. Makes a great, easy dip for snacking with tortilla chips or Triscuit Thins.

Lovely Meat and Veggie Pies

2010-12-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

We had meat pies at Dickens Fair in San Francisco this year and loved them so much that I decided I wanted to try to make them. My husband even helped out a little! It was fun and not as hard as you might think. The baby loved them too! We bought small ramekins at World Market for $4 a 4-pack to make individual pies.

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds ground meat (we used a mix of lamb and beef)
1 sweet onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 small/medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 red potatoes, chopped small
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Dough:

2 cups flour
2/3 cup softened butter
1 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold water

Brown the meat in a large pan on medium heat, breaking up into bits as it cooks, while you chop the vegetables.

Put carrots and potatoes into a small pot and cover with water, then boil about ten minutes until softened.

Drain meat once it's cooked. Add butter to pan and throw in the onions and garlic to brown up a bit. Then add the meat and the cooked potatoes and carrots and mix it all together. Turn the heat to low and throw in the peas, milk, flour, parsley, and as much salt and pepper as you like the taste of. Mix it all together until it's creamy, adding more milk if needed.

Mix the dough with your hands and roll out thinly. Use a bowl as a cookie cutter to make a circle large enough to fit into the ramekin. Spray inside of ramekins with cooking oil and push the dough circles into them, tucking loose ends in neatly.

Save enough dough to make smaller circles of dough for the tops of the pies. Fill each crust with the meat mixture and then top with another crust, pinching closed at the edges. Cut a small cross in the top of each pie to let out steam.

Place on a baking sheet for ease of removing from oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes.

Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2010-12-20T12:03:00.000-08:00

So I've been using jarred spaghetti sauce for about 4-5 years now, and finally thought I'd try a cheaper way out. The baby is 15 months old now, can you believe it? So I am able to sit her in her play area and let her watch one of the Your Baby Can Read dvds while I prepare a meal. Since I just threw this one together in the crock pot, it took no time at all and will be very easy to throw together come dinnertime.

Ingredients:

1 14oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can diced tomato (mine was flavored with olive oil and garlic)
1 pound ground meat (I used turkey this time)
1 can artichoke hearts or quarters
2 fresh scallions/green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
a few shakes of seasoned pepper and onion powder
1 Tbsp each fresh chopped sage and oregano
1/2 tsp fresh thyme

Throw all ingredients into the crock pot. Mix together if you can; my ground turkey was still partially frozen when I put it in so I'm going to have to stir it all together in a few hours once it's cooking. Cook in slow cooker on low for 6+ hours or until dinner, then serve over freshly cooked pasta of your choice.

Atrocious Frozen Beef Makeover

2010-12-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

I realized it was my night to make dinner close to noon today, so I hope I'm not cutting it too close using the crock pot. I'm going to start it on high for a few hours before turning it down to low later on... though I'm sure whatever this is would taste better cooked on low for 8-10 hours. I found a package of badly freezer-burned thin beef steaks in the freezer and am trying to reconcile them with the beef gods for dinner tonight.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of old, frozen beef something-or-other
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 bag of baby carrots
2 medium/large red potatoes, chopped
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
a few shakes of seasoned pepper and seasoned salt
1 cup leftover red wine (ours was a zinfandel)
1 cup frozen green beans

Unwrap the beef atrocity, thawing a little under warm running water to get the wrapper off and using leverage to break the frozen meat in half, or however it will fit into the crock pot. Add all the other ingredients on top of the meat, and cook either on low for 8-10 hours or high for 3 hours and then low until dinner time (another 3-5 hours) In the last 20 minutes of cooking, toss in the green beans and then mix in with the rest of the stuff before serving.

Let's hope this turns out well and rescued... it looks like it'll serve about 3-4 people.
UPDATE: Though it could have used a little more salt, it was actually pretty decent, as a sort of stew/potage.

Veggie Stir Fry Over Rice

2010-12-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

This was a quick meal, thrown together for lack of any thawed meat in the house. Hooray for the local Farmer's Market!

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
2 cups water
2 Tbsp sesame or olive oil
1 zuchinni, sliced into 2 inch strips
2-3 small heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1 shallot, sliced thin
2 garlic clove, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, cored and sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
sprinkle of fresh thyme

Prepare the rice as directed; bring to a boil then simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes until all water is absorbed. Saute the vegetables in a large frying pan with about 1-2 Tbsp sesame oil, adding the soy sauce, thyme and pepper once the veggies begin to wilt. Push the veggies to one side and drop in the beaten egg, stirring around til it fries, then mix in with the veggies.

Put a big scoop of rice in a bowl and top with the veggie mix. Quick and simple, and feeds 2.

Sausages with Colcannon and Roasted Pumpkin

2010-11-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I found this pumpkin recipe somewhere online and it's not fully mine, but I had to share it because it was delicious, and managed to get rid of at least one of the fresh pumpkins we've had hanging round the house since Halloween. The Colcannon I made on Halloween, but forgot to write down the recipe, so I BS'd it last night and it still tasted great! Just had a little extra kale because of some unfortunately rotten potatoes. Did you know that they don't sell bags of red potatoes in California? You have to buy them individually. It sucks.

Pumpkin Ingredients:

One 2-3 pound whole fresh pumpkin
6 shallots, peeled and quartered
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano
1 Tbsp fresh sliced sage leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp coarse ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Chop the ends off the pumpkin and cut it in half, and take out the seeds. Then slice it up into wedges as you would a watermelon. Toss them in a large roasting pan with the shallots and garlic. Mix all other ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the pumpkin as if it were a dressing, then toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 60 minutes, but make sure you toss the pumpkin every 20 minutes of that time. Serve immediately. You will have leftovers if you're not feeding a ton of people. Sorry, but I totally forgot to take photos of the process here.

Colcannon:

4-5 red potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 pound (minimum) fresh curly kale, ripped into 2-inch strips and the stems pulled out

1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup onion, chopped small
salt and pepper

Place the cubed potatoes in a pot and just cover with water, then set to boil. Once boiling, turn down to medium heat and cook for about ten minutes or until they are fork tender.

Using the chicken broth in place of water, steam the curly kale until wilted, about 5-6 minutes once broth is bubbling, on medium heat. Drain potatoes and add the milk, butter, and some salt and pepper. Toss in the steamed kale and mash like you're mashing regular potatoes. When thoroughly squished, add the onion and mix well, adding more salt and pepper if desired.

If potatoes are too thick, add a little of the chicken broth from the kale pot. Serves 4.

I served this up with store-bought sausages (which I just steamed in a frying pan with some water for 20 minutes, then fried with the lid off for another 15 minutes). A very tasty, filling meal!

Tyler Florence Roast Chicken

2010-11-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

Well, mostly... I got his recipe from a cookbook my mom sent me and it looked so simple I had to try it!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, 4-5 lbs.
1 whole small garlic bulb
1/2 lemon, cut in half
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 or 3 bay leaves (fresh if you've got them)
kosher salt and black pepper

Rinse off the chicken inside and out, removing the giblets (you can toss them or give them to your cat). Set on rack in roasting pan and season well inside and out with plenty of salt and pepper. Cut the garlic bulb in half horizontally and stuff inside the cavity along with the lemon, bay leaves and thyme.

Roast at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 15-30 minutes (depending on exact weight of bird), or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F.

Soul Cakes

2010-11-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

Soul Cakes are an echo of the sacrificial foods of the Celtic festival of Samhain held in early autumn. These little cakes were traditionally set out with glasses of wine on All Hallows Eve (31st October) for the souls of the dead. On All Saints Day (1st November) children would go "souling" calling out "Soul, Soul, for a Soul Cake: pray you good mistress, a soul cake". You can read the Wikipedia entry, at least part of which I wrote myself, here: Soul Cakes.
I try to make these every Halloween, so we can have a treat and leave some out for our dead ancestors in memorium. I realized this year that I made mine a little too big; if you can get the dough a good consistency, try rolling it out and cutting circular cookies so you can get more out of a batch.

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup caster/superfine sugar
4 cups plain flour, sifted
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons currants
a little milk

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture. Beat in the egg yolks. Fold in the sifted flour and spices. Stir in the currants. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. Form into flat cakes and mark each top with a cross. Brush the tops of each lightly with the leftover egg whites. Bake on a well-greased baking tray in a hot oven until golden (350 degrees F for about 17 minutes worked on my big cakes).

Amazing Shepherd's Pie and Beer Bread

2010-10-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

My daughter is almost 14 months old now, and can pretty much amuse herself with some toys in her play area for as long as it takes to make dinner. However, for those of you dealing with babies too young to entertain themselves, this version of Shepherd's Pie is easy to make and tastes absolutely phenomenal when you use ground lamb instead of beef. I was drinking a new and interesting bottle of Italian wine while I was cooking, however, and completely forgot to take any photos, so you are left with the next day's leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 lb. (or so) ground lamb
1/3 cup beef broth
1 celery stick, chopped
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
3-4 red potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 heaping spoonful light sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese (any kind will do)
1 12 oz can creamed corn

Put chopped potatoes in a pot and cover with water, then put the lid on and cook on high heat until the water starts to boil. Take the lid off, turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes. Brown the lamb, onion, garlic and celery in a frying pan on medium heat, chopping up to loosen as it cooks. When mostly browned, add the beef broth, a little salt and pepper, and flour then mix to coat evenly, simmering on low another 4-5 minutes. When potatoes are done, drain and mash along with the butter, milk, sour cream, seasoned salt and pepper.

Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the meat mixture in the bottom of the dish first, then dump the whole can of creamed corn on top of that, spreading evenly. Top with the mashed potatoes, spread out evenly over that and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Do not cover, but place in oven for 20 minutes.

Eat and enjoy! I know I did.

As an extra side to this dish, you can also make a quick homemade beer bread.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp white sugar
1 12 oz can/bottle of beer (we used Sam Adams Honey Brew last night)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, using your hands if necessary. The dough will be sticky. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, until hard on top.
Excellent served warm with butter as an accompaniment to the Shepherd's Pie.

Easy Corn Chowder

2010-10-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

My mother said this was my grandma's easy cheater recipe for making corn and potato chowder, and since I had four potatoes from the farmer's market to use up I figured I'd give it a shot. It even made a decent breakfast, though it was meant for lunch.

Ingredients:

4 medium white potatoes, scrubbed and chopped with the skin left on
1 shallot or 1/4 onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 celery stick, chopped small
1 12 oz can creamed corn
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
water

Rinse off chopped potatoes in the pot, then add just enough water to almost cover them. Add a dash of extra salt and pepper to that and cover, then put on medium/high heat and bring to a boil.

Add celery, shallot, and garlic, and turn down to medium heat. Stir well and let cook about 5 minutes, until potatoes start to get tender.

Add all other ingredients and stir well, turning heat down to low and simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soup has the consistency and the potatoes as soft as you want.

Makes about 6-8 bowls of soup.

*Late edit: My mother told me I did it a little differently from grandma, but to make the soup even better, add a spoonful of bacon fat at the beginning and 1/4 cup of milk after you add the creamed corn near the end.*

Butternut Squash and Carrot Medley

2010-10-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

When I made this, it was supposed to be a side dish to meat and other things. Then I realized I'd totally forgotten to thaw the pork chops. So dinner it became!

Ingredients:

1 medium-large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Turn a large frying pan on medium heat and add the butter, letting it cover the bottom of the pan. Drop in the squash and carrots, and stir around to coat.

Cover and let cook about 12-15 minutes, turning the heat to low if it burns and occasionally stirring.

Then add the other remaining ingredients and stir well, cooking another 5 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Serves 4-5 people.

Butternut Squash Soup

2010-09-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe at Thanksgiving as a starter last year, and it was wonderful once I added a few extra ingredients. So I tried it again as a light dinner last night. I used my father-in-law's new immersion blender for the first time, and I really want one of my own now. If you don't have one, just blend the soup in batches in your regular blender.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp butter
1 butternut squash, about 1 1/2-2 pounds, peeled and cubed
2 large carrots (or about 3/4 cup), peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk or half and half
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large pot, letting it cover the bottom. Drop in squash, carrots, and onion and sauté for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken broth, bring to a boil. Add the herbs and pepper and mix together, then cover and reduce heat to low, simmering for 30 minutes. Then turn off heat and add in milk and salt.

Blend all together well with immersion blender or regular blender until soup is smooth.

Feeds 6 people.

Low-Fat Yet Delicious Taco Salad

2010-09-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've had the opportunity to cook anything new. Life is a little chaotic, with a toddler running around and my husband working nights. But this was made with leftovers and freezer food, so it was incredibly cheap AND tasty!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground meat (I used a combo of Turkey and beef)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Taco seasoning packet or mix (or if all else fails, throw in a mixture of chili powder, cumin, black pepper, paprika, and garlic salt)
chopped lettuce (about 2 cups)
1 chopped tomato
1 cup shredded cheese
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6-7 corn tortillas
1/4 cup cooking oil (Enova if you have it, or Smart Balance)
light sour cream
guacamole (pre-packaged)

Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray and turn on medium-high heat. Add ground meat and brown evenly all over.

Then add black beans and spices and mix well together, turning heat to low. Cook about 4 minutes or until all is heated through.

In a separate, smaller pan, heat the cooking oil until steam rises, or about 3 minutes. Then toss in one whole tortilla and fry until golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, then chop them or beak them up into slices or fork-ful bits.

Put meat/bean mix into a large bowl. Then add the tortillas, cheese, lettuce, salsa, onions, cilantro and tomato and mix well.

Set guacamole and sour cream in separate bowls for each person to take as much as they wish as toppings, and serve taco salad in bowls to everyone.

Extremely tasty, and feeds 4.