Shepherd's Pie

We had some leftover mashed potatoes and it was a toss up between making gnocci (delicious but destroys the kitchen) or shepherd's pie. Today is cool and breezy and feels like fall and the perfect day to enjoy some comfort food. While most people think of comfort food as high in fat, this is a delicious and healthy way to enjoy a perennial favorite.

Here's my healthy recipe for shepherd's pie:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 onion- finely diced in the Vidalia chop wizard
1 C. mushrooms-finely diced in the Vidalia chop wizard
2 carrots (or 1/2 C. baby carrots)-finely diced in the Vidalia chop wizard
1 stalk celery--finely diced in the Vidalia chop wizard
pinch of celery salt and ground pepper
3/4 lb. ground 85% lean beef, turkey or chicken
2 tbs. tomato paste
1/4 C. red wine
1/2 C. each- frozen peas and corn kernels

Add olive oil to a large nonstick pan on medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 1 minute. next add mushrooms, carrots and celery and saute for another 2 minutes, season with celery salt and ground pepper. Next add in ground beef and break apart with the back of a wooden spoon ensuring the beef is well combined with the vegetables. Cook for 6 minutes or until beef is mostly cooked through. Add red wine,tomato paste, peas and corn and stir to incorporate. Let cook for another 3 minutes or until red wine has mostly evaporated. Taste and season as needed. Remove from heat. The filling can be prepared earlier in the day or even the day before.

Preheat oven to 350. Add filling to the bottom of a casserole pan. Spread mashed potatoes atop filling and add a sprinkling to Parmesan cheese, this will create a nice brown crust.

Bake for 20 minutes covered, then remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes or until mashed potatoes are golden brown. Serve with a simple green salad.

Mac and cheese with proscuitto

(Healthy, but don’t tell the kids) Macaroni and cheese with proscuitto


8 oz. pre-diced proscuitto
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
4 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 cups non-fat or 2% milk
2 C. shredded skim mozzarella and cheddar cheese mix
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, saving ¼ C. for topping
1 pound elbow macaroni
Kosher salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.

To make the sauce:
Cook proscuitto on a heavy nonstick pan on medium high heat for 5-6 minutes until it begins to crisp. Remove from pan and melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in flour. Cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes, then whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in cheeses, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Add in diced proscuitto, cover and remove from heat.

Cook macaroni in a pasta pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain macaroni in a colander. Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl. Transfer to a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
Sprinkle ¼ C. grated parmigiano over macaroni and bake uncovered until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Asian pear, carmelized onion and blue cheese flatbread

We went picking last week and as usual picked an abundance of Asian pears. These happen to be one of our families favorite fruits and they can be hard to come by in the market, not to mention extremely costly. Lyman Orchards has rows and rows of these delicious fruits available for picking now. It is worth the drive to this lovely orchard to pick these sweet, crunchy and delicious pears. They will quickly become one of your favorite snacks too. Pick some extras to make these flatbreads. I made them for some friends and we gobbled them up with some nice cold white wine.

Asian pear, carmelized onion and blue cheese flatbread


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Naan (Indian flat bread, available at most grocery stores)
1 cored, thinly sliced Asian pear
1 cup Caramelized Onions (see recipe)
1/2 cup Maytag blue cheese, crumbled
¼ C. candied pecans (available at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods)
1 C. arugula
pinch of black pepper


For carmelized onion:
Thinly slice 1 onion and sauté in a large nonstick pan on medium high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 4 minutes. Add a pinch of kosher salt and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Remove from heat and let onions cool.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 450°. Brush olive oil on the flatbreads and cover with the sliced Asian pears and caramelized onion. Sprinkle with the cheese, then the pecans. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add a large handful of arugula leaves, slice into small pizza slices and serve immediately.

Thanks to www.CTbites.com for the gorgeous photos of my food.

Moroccan Chicken with preserved lemons and green olives

I had this dish at a friends house years ago and practically licked my plate clean. I began to make preserved lemons and have even given them as gifts.

Here is my recipe for Moroccan chicken with preserved lemons and green olives

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 cubes frozen garlic
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 pieces preserved lemon
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 C. pitted green olives, halved
1 C. golden raisins
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro


Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a plate and keep warm, covered.

Add remaining tablespoon of oil to pot and reduce heat to medium. Cook onions and garlic, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add turmeric and pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Scrape pulp from preserved lemon, and cut rind into thin strips and add to onions with broth, wine, raisins and olives.

Return chicken, with any juices accumulated on plate, to skillet. Braise, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve sprinkled with cilantro over couscous.

The Big Hand- Hamburger Helper Homemade

Emma asked for Hamburger Helper last week, I almost fell over. But who can blame her? A happy talking hand and a catchy tune! I decided to make my own version tonight and wanted to share my recipe.

1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
8 oz. petite diced tomatoes, juices drained
1/2 C. fat-free half and half or non-fat milk
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 C. shredded 2% mozzarella cheese
2 C. dry elbow pasta (or any pasta)
2 basil leaves (optional)

Boil pasta in salted water. While pasta boils, brown beef and add garlic salt in a deep sided pan with a lid. After beef is cooked through, add drained diced tomatoes and half and half. Stir to combine and add Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Stir to combine, cover and lower heat to low. Continue cooking on low heat until pasta is cooked, about 10 minutes. Drain and add pasta to tomatoes and beef. Add basil leaves and season to taste before serving.

Corn chowder

Fall is in the air and I have been busily making (or at least thinking about) all of the different soups I'm planning to make. We made lentil again last week and it was gobbled up.

I had some frozen roasted corn sitting in the freezer that I had from a party this summer and decided to make a corn chowder from it.

Here's my recipe for the chowder, it can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the proscuitto, but it adds a nice smoky flavor.

8 oz. package diced proscuitto
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 finely diced onion ( I used my vidalia chop wizard)
3 C. roasted corn kernels (Trader Joe's sells a bag of roasted corn kernels that are good)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 C. milk ( I use non-fat)
1 C. water
2 tbs. Better than Bouillon
3 Yukon gold potatoes, finely diced ( I used my vidalia chop wizard)
kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 C. leftover roasted cauliflower ( I threw this in because it was in the fridge, completely optional!)
Other options- add in 1 C. cooked quinoa, 1 C. fresh lump crab meat, 1 C. diced red pepper

Saute proscuitto in butter for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in diced onion and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Add in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and let cook for 30 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and using a hand mixer, puree soup until mostly smooth. I like a little body in the soup.

Cover and continue cooking on low or serve.

Kibbe a.k.a Lebanese lamb meatballs

I grew up eating kibbe as my grandmother is Lebanese. I hadn't made them by myself, well ever, and decided it was time. I saw a good looking recipe in Cooking Light Magazine and decided to tweek it and make it a little easier.

Here's my recipe for delicious and (fairly) easy Kibbe.

1 lb. each-ground lean beef and lamb
1/2 lb. bulghur cracked wheat, uncooked
1 teaspoon salt
2 cubes frozen parsley
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, soak wheat for 30 minutes in cold water. Remove and drain. Remove excess water by squeezing through thick paper towel or cheesecloth. Place into medium bowl and combine with meat, onion, parsley, salt, allspice, pepper and cumin.

Combine well and place small amount in food processor until doughlike consistency. Refrigerate covered mixture for 30 minutes. Add in pine nuts (optional before forming into balls).

Take an egg sized amount of mixture and form into a football shaped ball.

Fry in 350 degree oil on stove top for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Makes 25 medium sized kibbeh.

We ate these with Tzatziki and some sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and a little kosher salt, and the kids ate them with katsup. They also freeze well.

Chicken cacciatore

Although summer is still here, the smell of fall is in the air. This makes me very happy because I love the cool sunny days, I also love making foods that warm our home with their delicious scents.

Here is my recipe for chicken cacciatore.

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 C. quartered button or baby bells mushrooms
3 cubes frozen garlic
3/4 cup white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons drained capers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
5-6 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

Directions:
Combine flour, salt, pepper and oregano in a pie plate. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture to coat.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion , mushrooms and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine, tomatoes with their juice, broth, and capers. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce.

Serve over rice, couscous or pasta.

Bring the sauce to a simmer. Cover and continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked about 30 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.