Easy Shepherd's Pie

Susan (aka @orangehardhat)sent this recipe at the exact moment Mr. H was asking when the last time we had Shepard's Pie. Guess what I'll be making very soon!

Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe (taken from simplyrecipes.com)

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef (I might use buffalo or even turkey for a little leaner option depending on your metabolic type)
* 1 onion chopped
* 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
* 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones) (I would use cauliflower instead or do ½ potato, ½ cauliflower)
* 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
* 1/2 cup beef broth (use low sodium)
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice (use unrefined sea salt)




Method

1. Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes). (Steam cauliflower so you can mash it or put it in the blender so they resemble mashed potatoes.)
2. While the potatoes are cooking (or cauliflower), melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.
3. Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.
4. Add ground beef (or buffalo or turkey) and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add Worcestershire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
5. Mash potatoes (or put cauliflower in the blender until they resemble mash potatoes) in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.
6. Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes (or cauliflower) on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7. Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown. (Watch this carefully, as your cooking time will be less because you are using cauliflower)

Spinach Meal

...And we're back.

After an extended hiatus, ignoring all of my blogs and a running funk, we're back.

Charlie AKA @cewto submitted this recipe last week.

I have a bag of spinach in the fridge now. Hmmmmmm.



This is a fun meal and very fresh. Try it with different meats or sausages until you find one that everyone in the family likes. I use a mild Italian sausage.

½ pound Italian sausage, chorizo, etc.

Whole peppers (anaheim, poblano, etc.)

½ red onion

1 or cloves garlic (slice 'em thin)

Spinach

Jalapeno (if you like it spicy)

¼ cup cheese (your personal favorite)

Tortillas (I use a smaller fajita size)

If you use fresh peppers, char them over a flame or under the broiler. When the skin is dark to black, remove and submerge in ice water. When you can handle them, peel the skin, remove the seeds and capsacion. Cut into strips. By the way, the recipe works just great with canned whole chilis.

I use a large non-stick skillet.

I cook the sausage over medium heat. When it is about half way done, add the onion. Cook until the onion is almost soft, then add the garlic. Give it another minute or two and add the peppers.

When the peppers are heated through, fill the pan with spinach leaves. Cook it, while stirring it, until the leaves render down (just a few minutes).

I heat the tortillas in a plastic bag in the microwave for 30 seconds, flip the bag over and heat for another 30 seconds.

Add the cheese (try Sharp Cheddar) to the pan and heat until the cheese just melts. You can add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with the tortillas. Put enough of the meat mixture into a tortilla and eat it like fajitas.

I tend to serve it with a spinach salad on the side.

Spinach salad.

1 strip bacon (you can also use some of the sausage)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

Spinach

Fill a salad bowl with the spinach leaves. Chop the meat up and heat in a fry pan. Mix the vinegar, sugar and oil together in a bowl. When the meat is heated through, add the oil, vinegar, sugar mixture. Cook until the sugar melts (it'll be quick) and pour it over the spinach leaves. Mix it up and serve!

Bon Apetit!

Carrot Ginger Soup

@Cyberpenguin shared another fantastic recipe. It looks amazing! If you haven't taken a look at her cooking blog then you're missing out!


This soup has a warm, tangy, savory flavor to it, due to the addition of ginger & cumin. It bears Indian culinary influences. Enjoy!



Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 x 1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled & diced (For a zestier soup, add a 2 x 1/2 inch piece of ginger instead.)
1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves (remove after cooking)
1-2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 16 oz. bag of peeled mini carrots
1 small bunch fresh cilantro with stems intact, about 1 cup, roughly chopped
3-4 c. water
1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. lite, plain soy milk
salt & pepper to taste

Directions: Boil the water in a large sauce pot. On medium heat, sauté onions in olive oil until translucent, using a medium-sized sauté pan. Add ginger to sauté pan & keep cooking for about another minute or so. Then add carrots, cumin seeds, & bay leaves to sauté pan, cooking for another 2-3 minutes, stirring continually to keep the ingredients from browning/burning. Then add chopped cilantro. If necessary, add a bit of water to the pan to keep ingredients from burning. As soon as the water reaches a full boil, transfer the sauté pan's contents into the sauce pot & reduce heat to medium-high, cooking until carrots begin to soften. When carrots have softened (don't cook too long or they will turn to mush!), remove from heat. Let cool. Remove bay leaves & transfer to blender. Add soy milk & lemon juice, & season accordingly with salt & pepper. Pulse until smooth & creamy. Enjoy!

Yield: Makes about 4 servings.

"Ice Cream" Sandwiches

Do you ever want something sweet, but you don't want anything heavy or anything that will negatively impact your run? I know I do! Leigh Ann sent this quick to make dessert.

She says:

Someone told my mother about this at a weight watchers meeting…It is a great chocolate snack with not all the fat and calories like a regular ice cream sandwich would have..I make a bunch and keep in the freezer.

Low fat or non-fat cool whip
Chocolate graham crackers


Half the graham crackers
Spoon out some cool whip on one side and then place the other half on top to make a sandwich.

After you make the sandwich, put in the freezer till the cool whip is hard....then enjoy!!

Spaghetti With Fresh Basil & Oregano In A Garlic White Wine Reduction

My friend @cyberpenguin Has submitted some recipes and this is her first contribution. I love food cooked with wine (even though I don't drink). This looks so good!

This recipe is oh-so-simple to make but what a real crowd-pleaser it is. And surprise, surprise, it's actually healthy for you too. :) What makes it so healthy is a reduced amount of olive oil, fresh spices, & the use of an Omega-3-rich pasta, Barilla Plus, which is a tasty multigrain pasta containing 17 grams of protein, 3.5 grams of fat, 260 mg Omega-3's, & 7 grams of fiber per serving. Here's the recipe. Enjoy!



Spaghetti With Fresh Basil & Oregano In A Garlic White Wine Reduction

Ingredients:
2 servings spaghetti, measured with a spaghetti measure
3-4 medium-sized garlic cloves (or 2 very large ones), roughly chopped
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 c. white wine
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. butter (or just a very small sliver!)
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
10-12 fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
1-2 tsp. fresh oregano leaves (discard stems)
freshly shredded Asiago cheese

Directions:
Boil spaghetti for 10 minutes, adding a small drop of olive oil & a pinch of salt to the sauce pot while it cooks. Drain & set aside. In a separate sauté pan, cook garlic in olive oil until tender on medium heat. When garlic is just starting to brown ever so slightly, deglaze with white wine & reduce until there is only a thin layer of liquid. Stir in the spaghetti. Season with salt & pepper, & add the tiny sliver of butter to give the dish achieve a richer flavor but without all the fat calories. Mix well & cook for about a minute more. Remove from heat. Dress spaghetti with lemon juice & sprinkle with oregano, while ingredients are still in the pan. Mix thoroughly. Top with shredded Asiago & fresh basil leaves, & serve. That's it; you're finished cooking!

Serving suggestions: Serve with any one of the tasty salads from this blog.

Chef's Notes: This recipe literally takes 5 minutes to make. You can have dinner on the table in mere minutes, toss the dishes into the dishwasher, & have the rest of the night to enjoy your evening.

Chicken Tetrazzini With Prosciutto and Peas

Proscuitto? Are you kidding me? That is one of my favorite foods. In moderation of course, but good lord, I just love it!

This one comes from Megan one of my Ragnar teammates and one of the biggest supporters of Eat Run Eat.


Chicken Tetrazzini With Prosciutto and Peas

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Bake: 35 minutes
Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

3 ounces finely chopped prosciutto
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 (7-oz.) package vermicelli
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (10-oz.) container refrigerated Alfredo sauce
1 (4-oz.) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup frozen baby English peas, thawed
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Preparation

1. Sauté prosciutto in hot vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp.

2. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

3. Meanwhile, stir together chicken, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and next 6 ingredients; stir in prosciutto, pasta, and peas. Spoon mixture into 6 lightly greased 8-oz. ramekins or a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with almonds and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Granola!

Snacks!

Who doesn't love a good snack? I know I do! I always have a hard time finding a good snack that will last. This may be the ticket. This was submitted by my awesome twitter friend sconesvt

I found a recipe years ago for granola, but have tweaked it so much, that this is really my own recipe now. I change the types of nuts I use each time I make it (to keep it interesting) as well as the types of dried fruits I add. It's so simple and delicious!


Preheat oven to 225*F and spray two cookie sheets with cooking oil.


In a large bowl, mix 3 cups of rolled oats, 1/3 cup sesame seeds, 3/4 cup sunflower seeds and 1 cup of chopped nuts (I used slivered almonds, chopped pecans, or chopped walnuts).
In a smaller bowl, or measuring cup, whisk together 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I use canola), 6 TBSP brown sugar, 6 TBSP maple syrup, 2 TBSP warm water and 1/2 tsp salt. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and toss well until everything is evenly coated.
Transfer mixture to prepared baking sheets and bake until evenly browned, tossing occasionally. This takes at least an hour and a half. I usually turn off the oven after an hour and a half, but let the pans of granola sit in the oven as it cools so that it browns a bit and dries out completely.
Once it's completely cool, transfer to an airtight container and mix in one cup of dried fruits (raisins, dried sweetened cranberries, dried cherries or dates [chopped]). Sometimes, I add chocolate chips instead of fruit!