Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, 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 and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire 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 in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes 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.

Serves four.

Tomato Pie Recipe

from Simply Recipes

If you want to take this recipe up a notch, you can caramelize the onions while prepping the other ingredients. If you do that, double the amount of onion.

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie shell (see pie crust recipe for homemade version)
• 1/2 yellow or red onion, chopped
• 3-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced basil (about 8 leaves)*
• 2 cups grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozarella)
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Frank's Hot Sauce (or Tabasco)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

*To slice basil, chiffonade them by stacking the leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar, starting at one end slice the "cigar" crosswise in thin slices.

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you'll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

2 Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.

3 Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with chopped onion. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.

4 In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.

5 Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.

Serves 6.

Broccoli Beef Recipe

from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
• 3/4 pound broccoli florets
• 2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or smushed through garlic smusher
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Method

1 Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes

2 Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

3 Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

4 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

Chicken Peanut Curry Recipe

from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken pieces (or you can use bone-in for added flavor), cut into 1 1/2 inch wide chunks or strips
1/2 cup flour
4 Tbsp curry powder
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground peppercorns
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 serrano chili peppers, seeded, de-veined, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup peanut butter (if using freshly ground peanuts, add 2 teaspoons of sugar)
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
8 green onions, chopped, greens included
1/3 cup each finely chopped mint and cilantro
2 limes cut into wedges

Method

1 Rinse chicken and pat dry. In a small sturdy paper bag, combine the flour, curry powder, salt and pepper. Shake well. Add the chicken pieces and shake to coat well.

2 Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat. Add chicken pieces. Cook 5-10 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces) tossing occasionally to cook chicken evenly. Add the ginger, garlic, chili pepper and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the saucepan. Cook for 3 minutes, scraping the pan with a spatula and stirring to combine everything well.

3 Add the peanut butter, stirring quickly to incorporate it with the chicken. Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of broth slowly, stirring continuously to maintain an even texture. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Right before serving, add the coriander and green onions. Salt to taste.

4 Serve with rice. Top each serving with fresh cilantro and mint. Squeeze a little lime juice over it as well.

Serves 6-8.

Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce Recipe

from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 5-pound roasting chicken, cut into serving pieces (bone-in, skin on)
• Flour, salt and pepper
• 1 cup grapeseed oil, or canola oil (or other high smoke point oil)
• Butter
• 1/4 cup rich chicken broth
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper

Note: If you don't have some homemade chicken stock available, you can simmer the giblets (gizzards and heart, not the liver) and neck in a cup or two of water to make some stock.

Method

1 Put a cup of flour, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper in a brown paper bag. Piece by piece, put a piece of chicken in the bag and shake to coat the chicken with flour mixture.

2 Preheat the oven to 350°F. On the stovetop, in a large frying pan, heat oil to medium high heat. Place the chicken pieces in the pan. Watch the oil carefully, you don't want the oil to be so hot as to burn the chicken, you just want to lightly brown it. Brown the chicken pieces on all sides, turning when necessary.

3 Butter a roasting pan generously. Arrange the chicken pieces in it, pour broth over it, and bake at 350°F until the chicken is tender and cooked, about 40-50 minutes for pieces from a 5-pound chicken. You know that the chicken is done by poking a thigh with a meat fork (the thigh meat is dark meat and takes longer to cook than white breast meat). If pink or red juice runs out of the hole made by the fork, the chicken is not done. If only clear juice runs out, the chicken is done.

4 About 20 minutes before the chicken is expected to be done, start cooking the onions and mushrooms. In the same frying pan as was used to cook the chicken, empty the pan of all but 2 Tbsp of oil. Add the onions to the pan and sauté on medium heat until softened. Add the crushed garlic clove and the mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are no longer crisp. Remove and discard the garlic, and add the sour cream and the heavy cream to the onions and mushrooms. Lower the heat. Keep warm, but do not boil. Salt and pepper to taste.

5 When the chicken is done, remove from oven. Serve on a platter with the mushroom sauce spooned over it, or served on the side.

Serves 6 to 8.

Serve with noodles, rice, or Spanish rice.