Mini Shepherd's Pie

These are biscuits filled with mashed potatoes and meat, and then topped with cheese. I was really happy with how these turned out when I made them. They turned out pretty perfect even though I had never made them before. I was nervous about the biscuits turning out and I was afraid I was going to burn them or they were going to turn out doughy. But they didn't. Phew! These have a lot of flavor and they are fun to make. It's a neat creation. Adam and I ate about two each last night because they are fairly rich from the biscuits.

Mini Shepherd's Pie

1 can biscuits (12) (recommended: Grands)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup beef stock
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
        (I also included chopped red bell pepper for added flavor and color)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (I used dried parsley)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves (I used dried rosemary)
1 1/2 cups leftover mashed potatoes (I used a pouch from a box of Betty Crocker Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and it took me less than 5 minutes to make and I didn't need the next two ingredients)
1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
2 tablespoons granulated onion powder
2 cups shredded Cheddar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray a 12-count muffin pan with cooking spray. Mold biscuits to the shape of each muffin cup. Par-bake biscuits for 6 to 8 minutes until light golden. Remove from oven and set aside. 

(I took a spoon and futher molded the biscuits into a bowl shape after I baked them half way.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and brown. Stir in the onions, salt, pepper and garlic and allow to cook together for a couple of minutes.

Mix flour into the meat mixture and stir until a paste consistency is reached. Add beef stock to pan and stir in vegetables and herbs, the last few minutes, until combined. 

 Reheat mashed potatoes in a microwave for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in granulated garlic and onion powder. (Or just cook up the box potatoes)

Spoon equal amounts (approximately 2 tablespoons) of warm potatoes on the bottoms of each par-baked biscuit. Then top with equal amounts of beef mixture (approximately 2 tablespoons). Finally top with equal amounts of Cheddar. 

 Return to oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted and browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before popping individual pies out with a knife.

My Attempt at Sushi

I have been wanting to make my own sushi for quite a while because it is one of my favorite things to eat. Adam got really sick off of some unagi a few years ago and so he won't touch any type of sushi. He is still in Chicago, and with him starting his new job making him around for dinner a lot more, I thought that tonight would be the perfect night to try it. As you can see, it is not the most pretty assortment of sushi ever, considering I used way too much yummy rice that I didn't make sticky enough and I used an old folder as my bamboo rolling mat, but let me tell you, it was delicious! I ate ever bit of it. I filled it with some of my favorite things that I like to have in my sushi rolls. It's like a California roll with a cream cheese twist.

Sushi - California Roll

Serving- 1 roll

Lemon juice
1/2 avocado
1 sheet nori (toasted seaweed)
1/4- 1/2  batch sushi rice, recipe below
Toasted sesame seeds
1/4 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into thin matchstick-size pieces
1 stick imitation crab, sliced in half long ways
Cream cheese
1/2 tablespoon scallions (optional)
Pickled ginger, for serving
Wasabi, for serving
Soy sauce

Prepare all your filling ingedients for the sushi and get them sliced and prepared how you would like. Pour some lemon juice on the avocado to prevent it from browning. Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap (in my case, I covered a folder). Cut nori sheets in half crosswise (which I forgot to do and that's why mine turned out so fat, but it's your choice if you want to cut it.) Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat. Wet your fingers with water and spread rice evenly onto the nori until it is fully covered. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds. Turn the sheet of nori over so the rice side is down. Spread desired amount of cream cheese across the middle of the nori. Sprinkle cream cheese with scallions. Place cucumber pieces, avocado, and crab sticks in the center as well on top of the cream cheese. Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder. Pull away the mat and set on a plate. Cut roll in to 6-8 pieces. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.

Sushi Rice

1 cup uncooked sushi rice
1 1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon oil
pinch of salt

Rinse uncooked rice in strainer until the water flows clear. Place on a medium sized skillet and add the cold water. Bring to a boil at high heat. When it is at a boil, lower heat to low, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes not lifting up the lid. When the twenty minutes are up, remove from heat, keeping it covered, and let it sit for another 10 minutes. Take the lid off and let it cool until it is handable. In a small sauce pan, heat the vinegar, sugar, and oil until the sugar disolves. Pour over the rice and add a pinch of salt and stir until the rice becomes more dry again.

Sweet Potato Fries

I made these for lunch today and I kind of burned them, so watch out when you bake them. I had it with some yummy fry sauce I made myself.

Sweet Potato Fries

2 sweet potatoes
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar (I added more)
salt
pepper
cumin (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. I should have done it a little lower, it just depends on how hot your oven gets. Cut potatoes into fry size pieces or into wedges. Place on cookie sheet and pour olive oil over it and toss around to cover all the fry pieces. Then add brown sugar, salt, pepper, and a little cumin if you would like and mix is around so it covers the fries as well. Make sure there is only a single layer of fries and they aren't piled up on top of each other. Bake for about 10 minutes (make sure to watch!). Then take out and flip the fries over and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. If they are bigger pieces, they will need to go longer, if they are smaller they will need to go shorter.

Dip in ketchup or fry sauce!

Fry sauce

3 tablespoons mayonaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tsp pickle relish (optional)

Mix all ingredients together

Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing

Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing

Salad

1 bag American Blend Dole Salad

4-5 slices Red Onion

4-6 Black Olives

2-4 Pepperochini if you like a sweet pepper you could use a Banana Pepper

1/2 C. Croutons

1 small Tomato Quartered

Parmesan Cheese

Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place bag of salad in bowl. Place on top of lettuce but red onion, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top.

Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons Miracle Whip

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

Put everything in a blender with 1-2 tablespoons of water and blend together. 

Eat with:

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

Olive Garden's Bread Sticks

Makes a great soup and salad mix with bread sticks!

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

Zuppa Toscana Soup
1 lb ground Italian sausage

1½ tsp crushed red peppers

1 large diced white onion

4 Tbsp bacon pieces

2 tsp garlic puree

10 cups water

5 cubes of chicken bouillon

1 cup heavy cream

1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes

¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.

3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.

4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.

5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.

6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve.

I also like to cut up a fresh tomato and place it in my bowl of hot soup as well. Mmm.... Tomatoes make everything better.

I made this last night and made it with my Olive Garden bread stick recipe and my Olive Garden salad recipe.

Eat with:
Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing 
Olive Garden's Bread Sticks 

Chicken Pillows

Chicken Pillows

 Mix together

2/3 cup pepperidge farm Herb Seasonal Stuffing, crushed (I used Stove Top Chicken Stuffing and it worked just as well)
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Cream together

2 (3 oz) pkg. cream cheese with chives
4 T. soft butter
1/8 t. pepper

Add

2/3 cup cubed chicken
2/3 cup mushrooms stems and peices
2 cans crescent tolls
6 T. butter melted

Spread rolls out, put 1/4 cup chicken mixture into each roll. Roll small end, tuck and seal like a pillow. Dip in butter thin roll in stuffing mix. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 375 for 15-20 min
Serve with cream of chicken soup