Viola’s Sheppards Pie

While making supper Friday I snapped some pictures with my iPhone.  I thought I would share with you this version of my mom’s shepherds pie 🙂 Traditionally the topping is mashed potatoes but to mix things up a bit my mom decided to slice thin potatoes and just cook them that way with butter and salt and pepper.

First off cook 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef with salt and pepper to taste with 1 clove of garlic (or 2 if you really like garlic) finely minced.

I got so caught up in my potatoes I forgot to get a shot of the corn! I know corn is so exciting lol.

 

Take a can of cream corn and layer that on top of your ground beef along with two cans of regular corn and spread that layer even as well. This brings a lot of moisture to the dish as well as flavor. Who doesn’t like corn right?

Next take 4 potatoes or so (mine are puny so I have a few more) and roughly peel them. Now slice them into thin slices. This is where I break out my mandoline to make short work of this process 🙂

Layer your finely sliced potatoes on top of the corn layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper and a drizzle of EVOO

Hmm because I’m french I need to add butter right here!

and cheese…..(flakes of Parmigiano-Reggiano)

Ok into a 425 Degree oven it goes for 40-45 minutes till the potatoes are tender.

Voila:

I served this with a nice light herb salad with fresh tomatoes

Bon Appetite! This is so easy to make and delicious I hope you guys try it out 🙂

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 1hr
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 cloves of garlic minced.
• 1 can of cream corn
• 2 cans of regular corn
• 4 medium size potatoes
• 1 tbsp of EVOO
• 4 tablespoons of butter cut up in pieces
• 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large skillet brown your ground beef with salt and pepper to taste, along with your garlic. Layer this into a 9X12 pan.  Layer the cream corn next then the 2 cans of regular corn.

Roughly peel your potatoes and slice thinly.  Layer this on top of the corn add your salt, pepper, EVOO, butter and cheese.

Place in oven for 40-45 min (till potatoes are fork tender) Let cool for 10 min and enjoy!

 

Oven Roasted Meatballs

Homemade meatballs are indeed time-consuming, I won’t lie ……. BUT once you have eaten homemade meatballs  you just can’t possibly go back to store-bought!  I hate the messy greasy job of  frying them in the pan, so I eliminated that step by throwing them in the oven instead.  To get the softest meatballs I have used a ratio of 3:1 (3 eggs for 1 lb of ground beef) Also this is where you want to splurge on calories and get 80/20 ground beef. Of course the addition of milk and bread crumbs also adds to the texture.

I usually buy a huge package of ground beef from Costco 7 lbs or so and I make a huge batch and take the morning to cook them up and then I have many meals of meatballs that I freeze.  I love just eating them with a bit of marinara sauce and fresh cheese, meatball subs, spaghetti and meatballs, sweet and sour meatballs etc 🙂

• Servings: 15-20
• Time: 3hrs
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs of ground beef 80/20
• 12 large eggs
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 cups of panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup of fresh garlic chopped fine
• 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped onions
• 1/3 cup of parsley finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of basil finely chopped
• 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp of kosher salt

Directions:

Turn oven on to 375 . Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  In this instance clean hands will be your best friend to really get it mixed up well.  I use a cookie size scooper for getting the perfect amount of the mixture every time.  Roll in a ball and place on a lined half sheet pan.  Cook for 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and enjoy 🙂

TIPS:

• If you have a food processor use it for all the chopped ingredients, it really goes soooooo much faster.
• I take tinfoil to line my half sheet pans and use pam spray so they don’t stick!
• A small ice-cream scooper really get the perfect amount of meatball mixture every time so they cook evenly
• Don’t overcook! If you want that soft melt in your mouth texture watch the clock! I actually under cook them a bit because once you take them out of the oven to rest the heat will still be cooking them as they sit! Also if  I am going to freeze them, well-done meatballs will give you a firmer texture when you go to rewarm them.

Beef Chili

The trick to get bright taste from this chili is to bloom your spices with your veggies from the beginning.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
• 2 Tb of chili powder
• 2 onions chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 2 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• 1 tsp of chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• salt to taste
• 1 (28 ounce ) can of tomato puree
• 1 (28 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of vegetarian beans (I use bush’s it is in a tangy brown sugar sauce)
• 1 can of red kidney beans
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Directions:

Heat oil in a large dutch oven till hot then add your vegetables and spices. Cook until vegetables are softened. Stir in the garlic at the end for 1 minute.

Add your ground beef and cook the beef breaking up the chunks. Cook till beef is no longer pink.

Add your tomato puree, diced tomatoes and both beans. Bring to a simmer.

From here if I am not pressed for time I would transfer the mixture to a crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours. Otherwise I would put your covered dutch oven in a 325 degree oven for a few hours. Enjoy!

 

Beef Chili

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 2 1/2 hours(crockpot 6hrs)
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
• 2 Tb of chili powder
• 2 onions chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 2 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• 1 tsp of chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• salt to taste
• 1 (28 ounce ) can of tomato puree
• 1 (28 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of vegetarian beans (I use bush’s it is in a tangy brown sugar sauce)
• 1 can of red kidney beans
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Directions:

Heat oil in a large dutch oven till hot then add your vegetables and spices. Cook until vegetables are softened. Stir in the garlic at the end for 1 minute.

Add your ground beef and cook the beef breaking up the chunks. Cook till beef is no longer pink.

From here if I am not pressed for time I would transfer the mixture to a crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours. Otherwise I would put your covered dutch oven in a 325 degree oven for a few hours. Enjoy!

Meatloaf

Pass the ketchup! Loved by many and easy to make. It will feed your crowd:)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of meatloaf
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs (I like the seasoned ones for more flavor)
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion finely diced.
• 2/3 cups of ketchup
• 3 table spoons of brown sugar
• 1 table-spoon of Dijon mustard

Directions:

Saute your onions in a frying pan with a bit of butter till browned. Then take off heat.

In a large bowl combine the ground beef with the bread crumbs, milk, eggs, sautéed onions,  Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix together and place in a loaf pan.

Note: I like to make a sling for the loaf out of tinfoil so that once cooked it is easy to remove the loaf for cutting into slices. Just hit the tinfoil with some Pam spray first.

For the ketchup sauce combined the ketchup with brown sugar and Dijon mustard. Whisk together and slather on top of the meatloaf.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Meatloaf

• Servings: 6
• Time: 1 1/2 hrs
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of meatloaf
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs (I like the seasoned ones for more flavor)
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion finely diced.
• 2/3 cups of ketchup
• 3 table spoons of brown sugar
• 1 table-spoon of Dijon mustard

Directions:

Saute your onions in a frying pan with a bit of butter till browned. Then take off heat.

In a large bowl combine the ground beef with the bread crumbs, milk, eggs, sautéed onions,  Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix together and place in a loaf pan.

Note: I like to make a sling for the loaf out of tinfoil so that once cooked it is easy to remove the loaf for cutting into slices. Just hit the tinfoil with some Pam spray first.

For the ketchup sauce combined the ketchup with brown sugar and Dijon mustard. Whisk together and slather on top of the meatloaf.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Crockpot Lazy Man Cabbage Rolls

I Love Cabbage Rolls!! But they are a lot of work. This recipe is fantastic! Same great taste without the hard work of rolling them.

Crockpot Lazy Man Cabbage Rolls

• Servings: 8
• Time: 5-6hrs(crockpot)
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• head of cabbage chopped up
• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 container of tomato juice
• 1 small can of concentrated tomato soup
• 3/4 cup of rice
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic seasoning
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion

Directions:

Preheat your crockpot to high and add the ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, garlic seasoning and chopped onion. Let that cook for aprox 30 minutes then come back and break up the ground beef with a fork. Add the cabbage, tomato juice and tomato soup to the crockpot  and stir well. Turn down your crockpot to low and simmer till cabbage is softened. I usually let it cook at least 4 hours. Once your cabbage has softened add your rice and stir well. Once rice is cooked through your done! The rice usually takes about 30-45min, then I just turn the crockpot off. It will stay warm for a long time!