Turkey Shepherd's Pie

My husband has been asking me to try a Shepherd's Pie. Neither of us have had this particular concoction to my knowledge though I have no idea why. Just not something either of our families made. I caught an episode of Ellie Krieger on the Cooking Channel and she happened to be making a Healthy version of the Shepherd's Pie. I thought to myself (imagine a quizzical look and a thought bubble here) "Self, that's an easy recipe, and healthy to boot. I could do that!" So here we go. I changed it up even more from Ellie as I wanted to use my thawed ground turkey. It's not bad with the turkey but the onion overpowers the turkey so I think they red meats may have been a better option unless you cut the onion down.
(Possibly the worst picture I've ever posted but i was trying to show the inside and got in a hurry)

Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Inspired by Ellie Kriegar

Ingredients:1.5 lbs ground turkey
3 tsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped (if you use turkey, I recommend changing this to 1)
3 medium carrots, diced
2 tbs flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 1/2 lbs red potatoes (peeled)
2/3 cup milk
2 tbs butter

Directions:Dice potatoes and steam them until soft. Brown meat in olive oil and set aside. Add onions and carrots to same pan (possibly need a little more olive oil) for about 8 minutes. Return meat to pan. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in broth, salt, pepper and simmer. Stir in peas.

Place in large baking dish.

Mash potatoes and stir in milk and butter while hot. Salt and Pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over Meat mixture. bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This is a recipe that I've been meaning to post since Thanksgiving. It's one of those simple things that everyone has a take on but is always included at Holiday meals. Unless you are me, and your baby just happens to get on a Sweet Potato Casserole kick and demand it of you every other week until your husband wants to throw it at you every time it shows up on the dinner table.

I can honestly say we have eaten Thanksgiving dinner several times since then, including yesterday (which is after Christmas). Sweet Potatoes are a super food though, so I have regulated the guilt to the back of my mind, though I could probably attribute a few of these 20 lbs I've gained in the 27 weeks of pregnancy to sweet potato casserole.

Sweet Potato Casserole
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup drained crushed pineapple (or more if you like it)
1 cup light packed brown sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
4 tbs butter (optional really but I'm from the south, we like butter with everything)
Large or Small Marshmellows (your choice and I vary it depending on what I happen to have on hand).

Directions:
Boil sweet potatoes in salted water until tender. Process through a Potato Ricer or mash until smooth. Place all ingredients in a casserole dish, mix well and top with Marshmellows. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until Top is browned but not burnt.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

I was looking for something I could throw together quickly and inexpensively. We are on a budget crunch for the next few weeks as a lot of things have been going on above and beyond our normal bills (birthday party, Steve’s birthday present, T’s birthday present, shutting down the pool –chemicals and maybe a new cover- etc.) So one of the area’s to cut back is the grocery bill. If any of you have an Aldi’s grocery store, you know how cheaply you can shop but you also know there are certain items to stay away from. I am a brand snob when it comes to certain things so I’m a two grocery store person now a days. Considering our completely bare pantry/fridge, I did pretty good to cut our normal $150ish food bill down to 80 this week (includes non food items such as laundry detergent as well as my husbands soft drink addiction). This recipe is one of my new inventions to suit a budget crunch. Needs a bit of tweaking but it is well on its way.

Chicken/Turkey Noodle Casserole
Ingredients:
1 pack Chicken tenders (or leftover pieces of turkey etc.)
1 tbs oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 pack egg noodles al dente
2 cans cream of chicken soup
½ cup milk
1 cup frozen green peas
1 can coined carrots
1 can mixed veggies
1 cup shredded cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 cup French’s Fried Onion topper
1 cup Bread crumbs (or stuffing mix)

Directions:
Heat oil on stove and cook chicken WITH diced onions until chicken is cooked through. I sprinkled my salt/pepper/garlic powder on the chicken before cooking to flavor the chicken.

While chicken is cooking (and noodles are cooking), in a 13 x 9 casserole dish, pour strained cans of veggies and frozen peas. Add cans of chicken soup and mix. Pour hot noodles over this mixture and add milk and cheese. Mix well. Layer over the top: chicken and onion mixture, French’s onion toppers and bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven until bubbly and browned. Serve hot.

Michael Simonesque Lasagna

I was watching Paula Deen this past weekend (DVR’d show) and her guest was Michael Simon (my favorite Iron Chef). They were making his Mom’s lasagna. It intrigued me because he made a thick meat sauce that wasn’t really a sauce so the lasagna was thickly layered without a lot of juice. While I can’t use all the same meats and spices he does (those pesky food allergy fears you know), I did mimic his method to create my own version. It came out quite well in my opinion. (There is very little similarity between the two recipes other than taking inspiration to make a super meaty drier lasagna).

I liked this recipe for many reasons. By cutting down the sauciness it came out cleaner and held its form better than my traditional lasagna. It was fast and easy to make and very hearty. This would be an easy recipe to adapt by adding some sliced veggies to it or taking to a potluck since its not as messy.

Meat Lasagna
1 Large box of noodles (boiled in salted water till al dente)
2 lbs ground sirloin
1 ½ medium large yellow onion-diced
2 tbs finely diced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp celery salt
Parsley and Italian Seasoning (amounts are up to you)
1 ball Fresh Mozzerella Cheese
1 bag shredded Mozzerella
½ cup shredded or grated Parmesan
12 oz cottage cheese
16 ounces Ricotta Cheese
1 can tomato Paste
2 cans Diced tomatoes

Directions:
In a cast iron Dutch oven, brown hamburger meat along with garlic and onion. I had to add a tidbit of water to mine as the hamburger doesn’t have enough fat to provide a cooking base. Add Tomatoes, seasonings, and tomato paste. Simmer for 30 minutes.

In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, parmesan, and ricotta. Stir until blended and smooth.

To assemble: Spread some of the meat mixture on the bottom of pan and layer lasagna noodles over the top so no meat shows. Spread about half of the ricotta mixture over and layer on another set of noodles. Spread some meat sauce and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Repeat with ricotta mixture. Top off with meat sauce. Tear the mozzarella ball into pieces and layer over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Zucchini Casserole II

I use zucchini and squash in various ways: zucchini bread, fried squash cakes, zucchini crab cakes, squash pie, calico squash casserole, stuffed zucchini parmesan and even Zucchini Almond Biscotti.

This year I am on a mission to expand my repertoire for this versatile, healthy and abundant vegetable. First up for the year? A new version of a simple zucchini casserole.

Ingredients:
4 ½ cups peeled zucchini cut in cubes
1 can Healthy Request Cream of chicken soup
1 container of light sour cream (8 oz)
4 large carrots peeled and coined
1 medium white onion chopped
1 stick of butter
1 sleeve Ritz Wheat Crackers
1 small can of French’s Fried Onion topping
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Boil Zucchini until just tender. Meanwhile, sauté carrots and onion in butter until tender. Drain zucchini. Remove carrots and onions from heat. Add soup and sour cream, salt and pepper directly to carrots and onion mixture. Stir in zucchini. Crumble ¾ of the crackers into mixture and stir gently. Pour into a greased casserole dish ( I used an 8 inch round corning ware soufflé dish). Top with the rest of the crackers crumbled and the can of French’s Onion topping. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.

Spring Green Rice Casserole

This is one of those recipes that I stumbled across on a blog and took inspiration from. Annie’s Eats is the original source I believe. I’m not sure if this was an original recipe of hers, but I did not use the recipe as she did. It’s a fine recipe but I did not have all the ingredients on hand and wanted to add chicken. It was good. I nice mild spring flavor with just the hint of citrus. (Though I think I’m going to have to steer clear of lemon for a bit as the hubby is making comments about it. I think I’ve done too many lemon dishes, but really, I had a whole bag, I didn’t want them to go bad!) This makes quite a bit too. Fed three people for dinner, two servings for lunch the next day and I sent about two servings home with my sister for my dad’s lunch.

Spring Green Rice Casserole
Ingredients:
One box of chicken Stock (I think that’s about 4 cups, maybe 5, can’t remember)
1 ½ tsps Olive Oil (Plus some for the chicken)
1 ½ tbs butter
3 large skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 shallots minced
3 leeks, white and just part of the green parts, not the whole stems, chopped
2 cups plain white rice
1 bag frozen peas, thawed (about 15 ounces)
Zest of One lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice from One lemon
1/3 cup Mascarpone cheese
½ cup freshly grated parmesan

Directions:
Lightly oil a grill pan and grill chicken breasts over medium heat.

In a large stock pot, heat up olive oil and butter. Lightly toast the rice. Add the leeks and shallots to the rice, and toast/sauté for a bit stirring constantly. Add chicken stock, 2 cups at a time (let the rice absorb for a few minutes and then add the rest of the stock). Cook for about 10 minutes, till stock is absorbed and rice is al dente. Add the peas and stir. Stir in the lemon zest, salt and pepper. Continue cooking till rice is done (though it needs to still have a bit of bite to it). Turn the heat off and add in the lemon juice, mascarpone, parmesan. Stir well. Dice up the chicken and combine or serve strips of the chicken OVER the rice.

*Even when the computer is working again, I will not be adding a picture as I was distracted and forgot to take one! Sorry. But it really is pretty!*

Eggplant Gratin

I'm sure I've said this many times before and will say it again: I rarely use a recipe exactly. I get inspiration from many sources but to suit either my pantry, my budget or my tastes I can look at a recipe and change it before I ever try it. I do try to give credit where credit is due though and I *barely* adapted this recipe from Ina Garten. (It's Ina, she rarely needs adapting ya'll, now how easy is that?)

It was a gooey soft eggplanty goodness. We have officially determined that my husband does not like nor appreciate eggplant though. Alas, I guess I will be making eggplant dishes for just me! (Oh darn, I have to eat all the eggplant by my lonesome, whatever shall I do? LOL)

Eggplant Gratin
Ingredients:
Good olive oil, for frying
1 large eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 extra-large egg
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup plus some freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 can stewed tomatoes in juice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to paper towels to drain. Add more oil, heat, and add more eggplant until all the slices are cooked.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, half-and-half, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Pour your can of tomatoes into a blender with a dash of salt and pepper, pulse until a fairly smooth thick sauce.

In each of 2 individual gratin dishes, place a layer of eggplant slices, then sprinkle with Parmesan, salt and pepper and spoon 1/2 of the tomato sauce. Layer half the Riccotta sauce. Next, add a second layer of eggplant, more salt and pepper, half the ricotta mixture, and finally 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan on top.

Place the gratins on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the custard sets and the top is browned. Serve warm.

Easy Vegetable Pot Pie

This is probably one of my new favorite recipes. The Hubby wasn't too happy because "Where's the meat?" but he survived. My sister enjoyed it and said it was light and a tad sweet. Apparently my mom enjoyed it as the leftover's I sent home didn't even make it to my Dad. LOL I'm going to make this again but with a homemade crust. As I was working on cleaning out our stores of food though, this is what came out of it and I have to say, for getting inspiration from an episode of Barefoot Contessa and running with what I had on hand, this dish was phenomenal. I love those "accidental" masterpieces! I think I could live off of this stuff and feel NO GUILT whatsoever! It's that good. Creamy sauce, sweet and savory vegetables and a flaky crust! YUMMMMMMM!

*and I know, I am WAY behind on my pictures. I promised I have pictures for 99% of the posts from the last three weeks...still on the camera*

Easy Vegetable Pot Pie
Ingredients:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 large Sweet Onion
1 medium yellow onion
1/2 cup flour
2 3/4 cups chicken stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons half and half
5-6 Yukon gold Potatoes Diced
1 large Sweet potato skinned and diced
2 cups Frozen Green Peas
3-4 carrots, peeled and coined
2 yellow squash, diced
1 zuchini sliced lengthwise in strips and cut in chuncks 1/2 inch
1 box (2 shells) of Pillsbury Pie Crusts
One Egg

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the flour, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the heavy cream and season to taste. The sauce should be highly seasoned.

While sauce is going, cook the potatoes (Gold and Sweet) in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Lift out with a sieve. Add the carrots, zuchini and squash to the pot and cook in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Add the potatoes, mixed vegetables, and green peas to the sauce and mix well.

Pour into a deep dish baker or individual stonewear dishes. Cover with pie crusts. (I had multiple dishes so needed both pie crusts). Whisk egg with a bit of water and brush over shells. Cut steam vents in center of shells and Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until crusts are golden brown and pie is bubbly.

Chicken Souffle

MY FIRST SOUFFLE! And that was worth e-shouting about! Souffle's are one of those daunting dishes full of strife and complication. Perils that rival seafaring colonists of yesteryear. Rumor has it that a cough or loud noise will make your souffle fall, though this may be more of a myth. Souffle's by nature are made to fall once removed from the heat. In fact, souffle itself means to "blow up" or in cooking terms "Puff up". It is the distinct combination of cream sauce with thick eggs yolk combined with whipped stiff egg whites. When heated through the dish "puffs". Once removed from the oven, it falls as it cools. That's the nature of the beast. For the record, mine did not fall, ever. It was fabulous.

I've always wanted to try a souffle but never quite had the guts. The mixing and combining of the ingredients is a simple task. I was never quite sure what there was to fear. In my ever growing addiction to the Food Network, I discovered Giada making a savory version from her Husbands family. I figured this would be as good a recipe as any to cut my teeth on.

I changed VERY LITTLE about the recipe. I do think a very important tip on this one though: Get all your ingredients READY to go before making. The sauce comes together very quickly. Basically in the time the KA Mixer takes to whip the egg whites, the sauce is finished.

Chicken Souffle
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter for greasing the souffle dish, plus 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons), at room temperature
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded mild Cheddar
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 package frozen chopped spinach
3 roasted/baked chicken breasts, cubed
6 egg yolks, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2 (1/2-inch thick) slices country-style white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 egg whites, at room temperature

Directions:
Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart souffle dish. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 stick of butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheeses, the spinach, chicken, egg yolks, and bread cubes. Stir until combined (mixture will be thick).

Using a KA Mixer with Whisk Attachment, beat the egg whites at high speed until they hold stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the chicken mixture. Using a spatula, fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish and bake until the souffle is puffed and the top is firm and golden, about 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Grown-up Mac and Cheese

When you get a hankering for comfort food, it can be an overwhelmingly powerful thing. I had a massive craving for Macaroni and Cheese but trying to eat well without all the preservatives doesn't bode well for the cherished blue box with the name of Kraft. It's been quite a long time since I've made homemade Mac and Cheese but I decided it was definately time to try again.

Much like Brownies, mac and cheese really is one of the easiest things in the world to make. There is absolutely no need to keep the cheap boxed stuff around unless it is merely a money issue. Just remember a few easy steps: blend of cheese, basic Rou. EASY PEASY.

Grown Up Mac and Cheese (based loosely on Ina Garten's version)
Ingredients:
6 slices of Turkey Bacon
2 cups elbow macaroni noodles
1 1/2 cups heated milk
2 tbs unsalted butter
2 tbs flour
1/3 cup grated Gruyere Cheese
1 cup shredded mild cheddar
1/4 cup asiago cheese (grated)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup Panko

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees and bake bacon slices for about 15 minutes or until crispy.

Cook macaroni in salted water until tender. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium pot and add flour. Whisk until smooth about 2 minutes. Slowly add heated milk (heated through but not boiling) whisking constantly until smooth. Off the heat add the cheeses, 1 tsp salt and pepper. Once sauce is smooth and melted add macaroni noodles and stir gently. Pour into baking dish and top with Panko and crumbled bacon. Bake for about 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly and browned.

Twice Baked Potato and Broccoli Casserole

Sometimes the biggest mistakes can turn into new and amazing adventures in life. Tis the same with cooking. Things that don't work out like you planned can often create new and exciting dishes.

I had thawed out a small container of Eagle's Chili for Stephen and planned on making simple broccoli stuffed twice baked potatoes. For some reason even after an hour my potatoes still were not soft. They were cooked but not all the way. So when I tried to scrape out the halves, they broke apart. Frustrated, I threw everything in a casserole dish and rebaked. It actually turned out really well and the leftovers were phenomenal. Thus a new dish was born.

Twice Baked Potato and Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients:
Two cups boiled or steamed broccoli florets
2 large baking potatoes
One small carton of Sour Cream
1 cup mild shredded cheddar
1/2 stick butter
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup Panko or Seasoned Bread crumbs (optional)

Directions:
Bake Potatoes at 350 for one hour (wrapped in tinfoil). Rough Chop cooked potatoes and place in casserole dish. Add the rest of the ingredients and gently stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Turkey Meatloaf

Sounds blah right? I'm not a big meatloaf fan myself. THE HORROR! It's a staple in Southern family menues right? Don't get me wrong, every once in awhile, I really enjoy a good meatloaf. In fact, the Cheeseburger Meatloaf recipe is probably my favorite and was a staple in our house as a newlywed.

Now that I'm eating healthier though, and have cut out a lot of red meat from my diet, I've turned to using Ground Turkey to lighten things up. Let's be real for five seconds. Turkey is NOT the same. Yes, you can make a nice turkey chili or turkey burger but it does NOT replace red meat chili or a juicy beef burger. They are their own things and if you appreciate them for being what they are and not try to use it as a substitute, you will be much happier. Trust me. I've been down that road and learned that lesson.

Having said all that, I have been making a turkey meatloaf that is easy, quick and dare I say it: Better than beef meatloaf. GASP! It's so moist, firm and tasty. Served up with a side of asparagus, its a perfectly healthy dinner that I don't feel guilty about!

*Side Note: I keep trying to post this recipe but we dig into it so fast I never get a picture snapped, so don't be expecting any pictures with this recipe. Sorry. It's that good though!

Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients:
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 ts tomato paste
1 pound ground turkey
1/3 cup Panko
1 small egg beaten
1/8 cup ketchup

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix gently until blended. Do not mix roughly or over mix. Just FOLD the ingredients into each other.

Place mixture in a glass loaf pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Peirogi Lasagna

I was browsing several cooking blogs the other day and came across Peirogi Lasagna. I thought "wow, this sounds great!" My imagination made it a little better than it actually was. It was OKAY but a little bland and oily in my opinion even AFTER I spiced it up with some Kielbasa. I may come back to this in the future and play but for now, its being sidelined. The only differences to the recipe (which is why I'm not reposting) is that I added sliced Kielbasa, some italian herbs and instead of milk I used about 1 cup of cream because the potatoes were too dry.

Sourdough Sausage Stuffing

Hands down, one of the best "dressings" I've ever had. The sourdough bread gave it a rich flavor while the sausage and herbs gave it a kick and bite. This was inspired by a Cooking Light Recipe but I modified it and made it truly southern and full of fat and Thanksgiving. It's a holiday, who needs light?

Ingredients:
1 lb sage sausage
1 medium onion chopped
4 ribs of celery cleaned and chopped
3 tbs dried parsley
2 tsps rubbed sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 loaf cubed sourdough bread (little over 1 pound)
1 (16 ounce) can chicken broth

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and spray coat 9 x 13 casserole dish. Brown sausage in skillet over medium heat. Remove sausage and in drippings saute onion and celery about 3-4 minutes. Stir in parsley, sage, thyme, salt, marjoram and pepper. Add sausage back in to pan and heat all ingredients. Place cubed bread into casserole dish, add sausage mixture and mix gently. Pour Chicken broth over mixture and toss until coated. Cover and bake for 15 miutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Paula's Garlic Cheese Grits

I'm putting the cart before the horse here and telling you about the fabulous Paula Deen's Cheese Grits before I tell you about Thanksgiving. You see, I decided hosting family was the perfect time to try out this little southern gem. Not to mention instead of using the called for Chicken Stock, why not make it a true holiday brunch and use leftover TURKEY STOCK. Talk about using your thanksgiving leftovers wisely! I did not change up the original recipe too much which is why I linked it here to give proper credit.

However, the directions below ARE what I used.

Garlic Cheese Grits

Ingredients:
5 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
8 ounce cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces Velveeta Cubed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cup Quaker Quick grits
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
4 cup chicken broth
2 cups Turkey broth
1 stick butter (You know its not a PD recipe without BUTTER! God Love Her)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 4 quart casserole dish with Butter spray. Bring the broth, garlic powder, salt and pepper to a boil. Stir in the grits and whisk until completely combined. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the grits are thick, mine took about 5 minutes. Add the cubed cheese, half the shredded cheese and milk and stir. Take about 1/4 cup of the grits and mix into the whisked eggs to temper them. Gradually stir in the eggs and cubed butter, stirring until all are combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese and bake for 35 minutes.


This meal is truly a southern girls dream and lasted us all weekend.

Stuffed Cabbage

I actually took a bare bones ingredient list given to me by BGG (from her Girlfriend) and combined it with a more traditional Southern version Recipe to create my own Stuffed Cabbage.

It cooks away in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven as I type this. Pictures and results to come later.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

1 large head cabbage

Filling:
2/3 lb ground Beef (chuck or sirloin works best but hamburger will work too)Browned
1/3 lb Italian Sausage-Browned
1 stalk finely chopped celery
2-3 tbs dried parsley
1 tbs dried basil
1/3 cup brown rice, raw, can use instant or regular
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Topping:
2 tbs crushed garlic/finely chopped
Half of One Large Purple Onion Sliced
1 Can Stewed Tomatoes
1 Can diced tomatoes

3 to 4 teaspoons lemon juice (1 large lemon)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup hot water


Remove about 6-8 large leaves from the cabbage; cut off very thick part of each leaf. Pour boiling water over the cabbage to wilt the leaves.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine Filling ingredients in large bowl. Place a mound of meat mixture in cupped part of each softened cabbage leaf. Fold over sides of cabbage leaf; roll up. In bottom of Dutch oven, place a few of the remaining leaves from the cabbage head. Combine Topping Ingredients (minus sliced onions) in seperate bowl. Arrange layers of cabbage rolls, seam side down; cover with Topping mixture and sliced onions in a Dutch oven or large casserole. Place in oven for one hour. Check for tenderness. Cook longer if necessary.

I may try this in a crock pot next time. Uncooked for 4 hours.

Zuchini Casserole

For some reason our zuchini plants have done fabulous this year while our squash plants (which are planted with them) have done horribly. Most of my recipes use both but since we only had a bunch of zuchini, I had to find some new recipes. We did some simple grilling which everyone seems to like but I am just not that crazy about grilled zuchini. Here is a recipe I found for a zuchini casserole off of Cooks.com. Stephen says it tastes a lot like the Calico Squash casserole recipe. It does but it has a great texture to it. I'm going to post the recipe in its original form and then post what I did so you can choose how you would like to make it. I'm going to make this again soon and hopefully I will snap a picture of it this time. It completely slipped my mind the other night.

Zuchini Casserole
Ingredients:
4 cups zucchini, peelede, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes (I leave my peels on and didn't de-seed it: mine is from my garden and the peels have not been waxed and deseeding takes to long!)
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 small to medium onion, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots (I chopped mine)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup of sour cream ( I think I used a bit more)
1 box of Pepperidge Farms seasoned croutons (I couldn't find these so I used a half of bag of Pepperidge Farm seasoned stuffing mix)

Directions:
Boil zucchini just until tender and drain. In a large skillet, melt butter. Add carrots and onion and saute until tender. (3-4 minutes over medium-high heat)

Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, soup (undiluted), zucchini and half the croutons (or 3/4 of the stuffing). Pour into 3 quart baking dish. Top evenly with remaining croutons (or stuffing mix). Cover with foil (I didn't do this) and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. (I baked at 400 for 15-20 minutes.) I also used a bit more zucchini then called for (not sure how much as I didn't measure ;).



Zucchini Casserole

Easy Pot Pie

This is one of my favorite recipes that I have come up with. I will often get the desire for something and am too lazy to look up a recipe or I just do not like the ones I find. Inventiveness is the key to my cooking (and occasionally my downfall as well.) The key to the Pot Pie Recipe is my Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker (a Christmas Gift by a good friend....THANKS TONYA!) that I adore!

Chicken/Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups cubed chicken or turkey (this is great to use leftovers)

2 Pillsbury Roll Out Pie Crusts

2 cans of gravy (cream soup would work as well)

2 stalks celery (cleaned and finely slivered)

2 medium-large Carrots (cleaned and finely coined)

2-3 small-medium potatoes (cleaned partly skinned, cubed and boiled)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

One small onion (finely chopped)

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp rosemary

1/4 tsp thyme

1 egg

1 tbs butter

Directions: Roll one pie crust (room temperature) into baking pan. Preheat oven to Box's directions. Whisk egg in small bowl with a splash of water and a dash of salt-set aside. Melt One tbs butter in pan, add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, thyme and continue to saute for another minute or two. Add in celery and carrots and continue to stir for a few minutes more. Add meat and potatoes continuing to stir until heated through. Pour contents into prepared dish. Pour both cans of gravy over top mixture and toss around gently with fork (do not disturb pie crust). Roll second crust over top of the mixture and pinch sides of bottom crust and top crust to close. Cute a cross/X into the top and brush egg wash over top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Spinach and Ham Quiche

This recipe has become one of my favorites and recently the most requested. I invented this recipe based on other recipes. The other quiche recipe I've posted was good but this one is a meal all in one and is very simple to make. My parents ended up coming to my house for EAster dinner with only a few days warning so I scrounged around for a menu that didn't require any shopping. As this dish was already on our weekly menu I decided to make it for lunch. I served it with grilled salmon filets (chicken for Stephen), deviled eggs, and fried potatoes. For dessert I introduced my Sweet Potato/Pineapple Cake which I will post soon.

Spinach and Ham Quiche

Ingredients:
4-6 eggs (only 4 if they are large eggs) beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (I used 1/2 cup monterey jack, 1/4 cup cheddar, 1/4 cup italian blend)
1 pkg. chopped spinach, thawed and drained (drain it and place it on a towel for 15-30 minutes to soak out extra moisture.
3 tbsp flour (I use self-rising)
1 tsp salt
1/4 stick butter
1 Pillsbury Roll out pie crust
1 center cut ham steak
1 cup chopped onion (or one small/medium onion chopped)
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp parsley


Melt butter in pan and saute onion. Roll out your pie crust into a LARGE pie plate (or deep dish baker) and bake at 425 for 5 minutes. Trim fat from hamsteak, remove center bone and chop the rest of it into cubes. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, parsley to onion mixture. Meanwhile whick flour into milk and egg mixture then add the shredded cheese to it. Throw the spinach and ham into ONION pan and toss for a minute or so till heated through. Pour onion mixture into pie crust and pour the egg mixture over it, mixing it up a bit with a fork. Pop in the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees then reduce heat to 300 for 30-35 minutes. Let Stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. I'm drooling just thinking about this!!

OH DEER!

I had this plan one day two or three weeks ago (yes, I am THAT behind in updating my blog) to make deer roast. So I put my deer in the crockpot with onion, salt and pepper, and water and let it cook all day. I ended up working late....so I did not get the potatoes and carrots in the crockpot in time to be done for dinner. What's a girl to do? Throw something together completely last minute! I chopped up the deer (which was falling apart and needed very little chopping), cooked some brown rice (uncle ben's bagged rice is fab for this) mixed with a 2 tbsp butter, made some peppered sawmill gravy and mixed all together for a casserole style dinner, served with garlic bread. For a throw together meal, it wasn't bad at all and may be something I try again with different variations(such as adding sauteed onion and broccoli florets, so I felt it worth a brief mention on the blog.