Cheddar-Topped Shepherd's Pie

After years spent subscribing to magazines I never cooked from, I instituted a new rule - I must cook at least one recipe from any magazine I subscribe to before the next issue comes out. That meant I was thumbing through the October issue of Everyday Food while planning this week's menus and I found this recipe for Cheddar-Topped Shepherd's Pie. I had ground beef to use up and this seemed like a good version of the classic dish, so I gave it a whirl:


I halved the recipe since I didn't want to make a ton of food and it still made plenty of food for 4 servings. I made some slight modifications - added a hearty splash of red wine for flavor, added frozen peas for color and for another vegetable - but kept to the basic gist of the recipe. It was quite good, although I think I used too much cheese in the cheddar topping, which meant the potatoes didn't get brown and crispy. Next time I'd leave the additional cheese off since there was plenty in the potatoes themselves. Overall a very good, hearty comfort food meal.

Stuffed Shells

We wanted something hearty and Italian for dinner on Sunday, so I thumbed through my copy of Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen and found her recipe for baked stuffed shells. It was an easy recipe and something we could make together. SP made the sauce and I assembled the shells.


It's a pretty simple recipe - undercook the shells so you can stuff them without them falling apart. The filling is ricotta cheese mixed with cubes of fresh mozzarella, chopped parsley, grated cheese and a beaten egg all seasoned with salt and pepper. After you stuff the shells you layer some sauce in the bottom of a pan, arrange the shells, top with more sauce and cover with slices of fresh mozzarella.


The recipe made a ton of shells, so I froze half the recipe for another time. The baked shells looked fantastic in the pan with the golden brown cheese, but not as great when put on the plate:


... but they certainly tasted fantastic. I love easy recipes like this and really, you can never go wrong with two of my favorite cheeses - mozzarella and ricotta.

Cider Donuts

While we were out on Saturday we stopped at a local farm market. This time of year they have wonderfully tangy cider, as well as cider donuts:



We got a half dozen of the sugar-coated cider donuts, as well as one of their frosted pumpkin donuts. I should have gotten a half dozen of those, too. Yum!

Anniversary Burgers and Loaded Potato Salad

As I said in the previous post, last week I was trying not to think about the fact that I was coming down with a wicked head cold. I don't get sick that often but every other year or so I get a really bad cold. By Thursday it was obvious that I was sick, so I tried to rest up since our fifth wedding anniversary was on Saturday. Unfortunately this cold was in for the long haul and I was still very sick for our anniversary. We had a ton of fun things planned (breakfast at the B&B where we got married, a walk along the canal like we did last year, capped off with dinner in the city at one of our favorite restaurants), but it wasn't meant to be. We had to cancel everything. It was a real bummer, but we tried to make the best of it.

On Saturday I wasn't feeling 100%, but I was going a little stir-crazy after being stuck in the house for a few days, so we went out to do some fall shopping. While we were out we picked up some good ground sirloin for burgers.


I thought it would be fun to try a new loaded potato salad recipe I saw on another food blog, so I got the fixings for that as well.


The potato salad recipe is supposed to be like those loaded potato skins you get as bar food in potato salad form. I liked the concept, but it was a little dry and needed more seasoning. Of course I made this when my tastebuds weren't in top form, so I'll definitely play around with this again.


The folks over at A Hamburger Today are always raving about how perfect Kraft American cheese is for hamburgers because of its meltability, so we bought a package of Kraft singles for our burgers:


And let me tell you, these were some great burgers! The meat was fantastic, the bun was soft and pliable and the cheese was wonderfully melty. I could only taste every other bite or so (stupid cold) so I can't wait to make burgers again.


It wasn't a typical anniversary meal, but we were together and that's what counts. The romantics out there will be happy to know we decided to forgo any real celebration this past weekend in lieu of a total do-over on the 18th. We've rescheduled everything, so barring anything crazy happening we'll be celebrating our fifth anniversary in style...a week late.

Skillet Beef Stroganoff

We love this recipe for Skillet Beef Stroganoff, so it was a natural choice when I realized we had a ton of ground beef in the freezer.


Forgive me if this wasn't the best version of this meal. I didn't know it at the time (or didn't want to admit it) but I was coming down with a wicked head cold. I forgot to chop some parsley to garnish and the dish was a little watery, but the flavors were still good. I tried to bump up the amount of egg noodles so I increased the amount of liquid.

Baked Tilapia, Potato Salad, Roasted Asparagus

We're trying to clean out the freezer in preparation for a trip to the wholesale club. We had three tilapia filets that I decided to bake for a healthier dinner.


I seasoned the fish with salt, pepper and a little lemon juice and baked it for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees.


About 5 minutes before the fish went into the oven I put the asparagus tossed with oil, salt and pepper in to roast:


I've always wanted to cook with leeks but I never knew what to make with them so I don't buy them. But they looked so good at the farmers market a few weeks ago that I couldn't resist. SP wasn't in the mood for soup and I was running out of time to use them, so I sliced them up yesterday and left them to soak while I thought of an idea. I asked for ideas on my cooking board and was directed to this recipe for a warm potato salad. I used the basic idea to create a warm leek and potato salad:


... that was a half success. I slow-cooked the leeks in some butter until they were soft and mixed them with the cubes of potatoes tossed while they were still hot in a dressing made with lemon juice, white wine vinegar, fresh thyme, lemon zest, salt, pepper and olive oil. The potatoes soaked up the dressing, which was nice and tangy, but SP said next time I should just use the vinegar. I also thought the salad needed something crunchy like the fresh green beans that are part of the original recipe. It's definitely something I'll try again.

Roast Beef, Au Gratin Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli

The last time I tried making roast beef, it didn't go very well. We both had off on Monday, so we thought we'd make a nice dinner to celebrate my successful conference. Despite my previous failure, I decided to give roast beef another go.


I used the same recipe and this time it worked out quite well, due in large part to the cut of beef. I was able to find a top sirloin roast and although I couldn't marinate it overnight, it had excellent flavor. The only thing I'd do differently next time is cook it for a shorter amount of time. This was bordering on medium, too done for our tastes.


We absolutely love these au gratin potatoes:


The recipe says it makes 6 servings, but it barely makes 4 in our house. We could probably eat the whole pan of these in one sitting if left to our own devices. It's so simple to make but it tastes absolutely fantastic. I roasted some broccoli to go along with the roast and potatoes:


This time I tried adding some garlic powder to the chili powder, salt and pepper and it was not a success. The flavor of the garlic powder just didn't work the way fresh garlic does. Lesson learned.

Pasta Puttanesca

I've also loved Puttanesca, but it isn't something I make often. In fact, since starting this blog more than 2 years ago, I've only made it once. I had black olives that needed to be used up and I needed a quick meal after a rough day at work, so it made sense.


I love the saltiness of this meal, between the capers, anchovies and olives. It was quick and easy, which was good since I'm in some pain right now. I've been planning a huge conference at work that starts this week (I'll be gone Wednesday to Sunday) and today I was rushing around trying to get some things done while my lunch was heating up. I was carrying a heavy box and ended up falling down the stairs. I twisted both my ankles, I already have a bruise on my left side and back and the back of my left thigh hurts as well. Basically my whole body is starting to ache. Good times!

Roast Chicken Dinner

We needed something fun for Sunday dinner, especially because the weather this weekend was so horrid. It was cool, but the humidity was something like 95%. I hate that sticky feeling. SP thought it would be good to dry out the house with the oven, so he suggested a roast chicken dinner.


I rubbed the chicken with a rosemary and thyme butter, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and cooked it at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then turned the oven down to 350 to finish cooking the chicken for 2 more hours.

I cooked up more of the red potatoes to make smashed potatoes and steamed some broccoli. Once the chicken was done I made gravy using the drippings and some chicken broth. It was a fantastic meal.

Bacon 'n' Egg Quesadilla

I loved these breakfast quesadillas so much I made myself another one for breakfast on Sunday.


I put a little more cheese in this time and just look at how gooey and fantastic it is. The yolks were perfectly cooked and the bacon was crispy. It's just a fantastic meal all around.

Mushroom Pizza

We needed something for dinner last night and pizza seemed like a good idea since we had very little in the house. We also had some mushrooms on the verge of going bad so I used them all for the pizza:


SP made a quick sauce using some of the tomatoes my mom and I canned this summer and I also threw on some sliced black olives.

Cheese Quesadilla

Yesterday we wanted an afternoon snack but didn't have much in the house. SP bought some amazingly good cheddar cheese last week so I thought quesadillas would be great.


I kept them simple with shredded cheddar cheese (I seasoned mine with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper but SP wanted just cheese in his). I diced some grape tomatoes from my garden and mixed them with a little chopped cilantro, salt and pepper and lemon juice. We had the quesadillas with the tomatoes and a dollop of sour cream for a fantastic, easy snack.

Meatloaf Muffins with Smashed Potatoes and Green Beans

As much as I hate to admit it, the weather is changing. Fall has arrived and it's time to put away the summer recipes for more homey, cold-weather meals. On Thursday I made one of my favorite comfort food meals - meatloaf muffins:


I usually throw whatever sounds good into my meatloaf, along with the requisite breadcrumbs and egg. This time it was some onion, red pepper, a jalapeno and a little chipotle salsa. I put the muffins into a greased muffin tin and top each muffin with a little ketchup. They bake for 35 minutes at 425 degrees.

While the meatloaf muffins cooked I scrubbed some red potatoes and cooked them for smashed potatoes, which I made with sour cream, butter, scallions, salt and pepper and a splash of milk. I love leaving the skins on when making mashed potatoes. I also picked up some green beans at the farmers market (the last day for the market by my office...boo!) so we had those steamed.

Chicken Spanakopita Burgers, Fries with Yogurt Sauce

I printed this recipe for Chicken Spanakopita Burgers awhile ago but never got around to making them. After the success of the Chicken Cobb Burger I decided to finally give this meal a try.


I assembled and froze the burgers on Sunday since I knew I'd be working late last week. They cooked up perfectly:


... topped with tomato, sliced cucumber and red onion. SP had misread the list and didn't buy me roasted red peppers, so I improvised and made a black olive and parsley mayo instead. We had waffle fries in the freezer so I cooked those until they were nice and crispy:


It was a good, simple meal, especially making the burgers ahead of time. I think if the burgers had been grilled they would have been even better, but the flavors were still great.


The one thing I'd do differently is decrease the amount for the sauces. As it is I used only 4 ounces of Greek yogurt and it made a ton of sauce.

Mac & Cheese with Arugula Salad

I had little bits of various cheeses to use up and I knew I'd be busy at work because of my upcoming conference, so I made a mac & cheese on Sunday to have during the week. I made the cheese sauce using blue, cheddar and Gruyere cheeses. I also made a fresh bread crumb topping using 3 slices of bread and thyme, rosemary, chives, basil and parsley:


On Monday I took it out of the fridge when I got home, popped it in the oven and 30 minutes later we were sitting down to dinner. While the mac & cheese cooked I sliced some mushrooms and red onion and tossed it with arugula for a quick salad:


I loved having an easy dinner on the table so quickly with minimal effort. I think I'm going to get back into the weekend prep this winter.

Sausage Pizza

On Sunday we had pizza for dinner:


I used the rest of the sausage and onion I had cooked and frozen and some sauce I'd also frozen. It was another great pizza, but I wish the photo was better. Stupid diminishing daylight.

Chicken Nachos

Last Sunday we wanted an afternoon snack. I needed ground chicken for a meal later in the week and SP had bought me more then enough, so we used some of it to make chicken nachos:


SP cooked the chicken with some cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper. I made the nachos using shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, diced tomatoes from our garden, cilantro, chopped scallions, a little chipotle salsa and sour cream. They were fantastic.

Bacon 'n' Egg Quesadilla

I saw this recipe in the October issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. It looked so good I decided to try it for breakfast.


I left out the black beans since neither of us is a fan and the avocado mash because I forgot to put it on the shopping list. For the quesadillas I used a combo of Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses. I also chopped up some grape tomatoes from my garden and mixed them with minced red onion, cilantro and lemon juice for a fresh salasa, which we had in addition to some sour cream.

I absolutely loved these quesadillas. They're basically a breakfast sandwich in a different package. You usually you see scrambled eggs in breakfast quesadillas, but these were made with fried so the beautiful bursty yolks made a sauce with the sour cream and tomatoes. The cheese and bacon were fantastic as well. I will definitely make these again.

Bacon 'n' Egg Quesadilla
Everyday with Rachael Ray

8 medium flour tortillas
2 hass avocados
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound bacon
8 large eggs
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 15 1/2 ounce can black beans, rinsed

Place the tortillas in the oven in two stacks; heat to 200 degrees . In a bowl, mash the avocados with the lemon juice; season with salt and pepper.

Working in batches, in a nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp; drain on paper towels. Leave about 2 tablespoons bacon fat in the skillet, reserving the rest of the fat. Cut the bacon strips in half.

Working in 2 batches, in the skillet, cook the eggs over easy; transfer to a platter. Reserve the skillet.

Lay the tortillas on a work surface. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup cheese; top with beans, 1 egg and bacon strips, then fold to enclose.

In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat over medium heat, add 4 quesadillas and cook, turning once, until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Repeat with more bacon fat and the remaining quesadillas; serve with the avocado mash.

E for Excellent

Friday was a good day for me in the blogging world. Lisa over at Lime in the Coconut gave me the E for Excellent blog award. I'm really feeling the love in the foodie blogging community these days! Thank you so much, Lisa!

I'm going to pass this award along to:

Brooke at ...and a cookie for dessert
Melissa at Alosha's Kitchen (even though I know she's already gotten it)
Colleen at Cooking This and That
Jenn at Jenn and Food, Perfect Together
Kelly at Kelly Cooks...and Other Amazing Feats
Mary Ellen at Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations
Amy at Skinny Food by Amy
Dani at The Average Cook
Katie at A Byootaful Life
Joelen at Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Now it's your turn to spread the love. Please find at least 10 more blogs of any kind which you deem to be excellent (but if you only know of a few, that's OK too). Post about the blogs you picked, linking back to me and to them. Once you’ve posted, return here to let me know your post is up, and of course let your 10 award winners know too.

Finest Foodies Friday

I just got an email from my buddy Melissa over at Alosha's Kitchen...that sneaky girl nominated me for one of the new Foodie Blogroll features Finest Foodies Fridays. I am beyond honored to be nominated! I'm seriously grinning from ear to ear. That Melissa, she really knows how to make a girl feel special. :)

To anyone stopping by to check out A Taste of Home Cooking because of the mention on Finest Foodies Friday, hello and welcome! I hope you like what you see. Feel free to pull up a chair and stay awhile.