Decided to try a different spin on cottage pie, using sliced potatoes on top instead of mashed potatoes, mainly because I could never get a good crust on my mashed potatoes. Turned out pretty well. The sliced potatoes roast up better and lets more of the gravy through to glaze over the top.
There's not really a lot soups I like. Stews, chowders are ok. But I was never a big fan of chicken and noodles or even chicken and stars when I was younger. Too much broth, too salty, and ultimately not enough quality substance.
I had couple cups of tomato puree leftover that I needed to use along with some celery. I forgot to buy stuff for cabbage rolls and I also didn't feel like putting forth the effort for them so I opted to make minestrone.
I like my soups on the thicker side so I only used 2-3 cups of beef broth (much deeper than chicken broth) and about 2 cups of tomato puree. I thought that I might have chopped too many vegetables (a couple stalks of celery, 4 carrots, 2 cubed Yukon potatoes, half a zuke, half an onion, lightly sauteed) but the broth was just enough to cover. Some oregano, basil, garlic, a lot of parsley, some salt and pepper, simmered for about 40 minutes. Tastes good with some dashes of Frank's and plain crackers.
Also, I guess I forgot to take a picture.
Addendum: This picture is from a recent pot I whipped up, probably March 2011. I used a cup of merlot, and it was pretty good.
From Elise. Finally got around to trying this since I had some Guinness Extra stouts on hand. Used Boss Monster (zin blend) for the wine. Forgot to salt the beef before cooking so it came out a little bland. First bowls were too watery, I think, so I spent some time a few days later reducing the stock. Smelled good. Leftovers in the freezer.
From Chaya, who seems to specialize in gluten-free food. It is basically a potato pancake with that other stuff and then baked in a muffin tin instead of fried in the pan. It's a convenient way to use up some vegetables, but it'll need some serious spicing up to suit me. I ate them for breakfast so it's pretty versatile.
Eggs, egg whites, kielbasa sausage, sliced potatoes, onion, and zuke. Pretty awesome.
I used a leftover boiled potato to make these potato pancakes which turned out better than the latkes I had tried before. For the batter, I just used milk, flour, an egg, and some salt and pepper. Turned out awesome.
The sausage is from Butcher Wagon, which I bought because it was cheaper than the Jimmy Dean one. What's nice about it is that it only uses pork, corn syrup, water, "flavorings", and dextrose. It said specifically "flavorings" and not spices, but I hope that just means spices. I don't recall what Jimmy Dean has in it, but I'm willing to bet it's more than those five ingredients. (Looked it up. Basically the same stuff with the addition of MSG. Which I don't think you can roll into the heading of "flavorings".) In any case, Butcher Wagon tastes better.
The giant zucchini slices are from this guy, an 8-ball zucchini:
Both sourced from Elise. The schnitzel is pretty straightforward with a sauce made from deglazing and stirring in sour creme. The gratin, also straightforward, though I skimped a bit on the heavy creme. And gruyere. And parmesan. Those were bad ideas.
Alternatively, a way to make a burrito much more complicated than it needs to be. Baked potato liner.
Keeps the fillings.
From making the tortilla soggy.
I froze one. We'll see how it goes.
A redo on my previous make. This time with baby carrots, corn, onion, and some leftover mushrooms. I only had 3/4 lb. of ground beef for the 9x13 pan which turned out to be a bit skimpy but everything else was in good proportion. Nothing particular interesting about this one other than the fact that it reminded me of those KFC bowls but much healthier.
I'm not going to bother posting finished product shots. Because it's a burrito. This is about a pound of ground beef, 2 medium potatoes, 1 small onion, and a packet of taco seasoning. In the pan: beef, then potato and onion. Added some extra water to cook the potatoes through when seasoning. I think this will make at least three decent burritos, possibly four. Added sour cream, refried beans, cheese. The first one was with salsa verde (which was superior) and the second with japs inside. Maybe I'll make salsa for the next one. Eh.
This picture is actually the last bits of pot roast. I kept forgetting to take a picture. (Listen, I've been busy.) Rump roast, baker potatoes, baby carrots, onions. This was the first thing I made in my crock pot my sister got me for my birthday. I suspect it will get a lot of use, especially come winter when I will stockpile food for hibernation. This batch, filled to the brim (about 5 quarts), lasted me nearly two weeks.
Of course, man cannot live on pot roast alone so I mixed it up now and then. Pot roast sandwiches, pot roast and noodles, pot roast and rice. Pot roast and pot roast. Delicious.
Real shepherd's pie is made with lamb, and cottage pie is made with beef, right? In any case, this is a bit involved as far as casseroles go, but makes a hearty meal. Followed diagram from Cooking for Engineers. Boil chopped potatoes for crust. While that's going, cook some chopped onion and carrot in a pan (didn't see a small bunch of celery at the grocery so I didn't bother) until the onion starts to clear up. I tossed in a pound of ground beef for this and broke it up as it cooked. While that's cooking, finish up the potatoes (mash and season). By then you should be ready to drain the fat off the pan; add some flour (a tbsp or two) to help thicken the gravy later. Then add a can of beef broth. CfE calls for only a cup to their tbsp of flour so adjust accordingly. Let that all simmer down and thicken. I actually went and worked out during this time. When you're ready, pour the pan mixture into a casserole dish. An 8x8 worked perfectly for me. Layer on the mashed potatoes and either fluff or smooth and then use a fork or something to make some cool designs. The peaks will brown and crust in the oven. I also forgot to put in the pats of butter CfE asks for. I think it's fine without and I used butter making the mashed potatoes anyway. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.
It turned out just fine, I thought. Used salt and pepper to taste afterwards, but I'd rather season afterwards than season too much during cooking. I also laid on the potatoes pretty thick so the potatoes not on top but not right on top of the gravy got a weird consistency. Tasted just fine and will get me to eat carrots.
Standard twice baked potatoes. Nuked for baking, let sit, halve, scoop. Make mashed potatoes as you see fit but not creamy. I used salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix in some frozen broccoli and a slice of crumbled bacon and refill potato skins. The broccoli helps stretch the potatoes. Top with a bit of shredded cheese and pop in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. I served with Sweet Baby Ray's and Frank's Red Hot.
Easy stuff. Just a fried pork chop, butterflied. Cheap, frozen broccoli. I think I used instant potatoes for this. Self explanatory.
