Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie
Courtesy of About.com (edited by Kim Hawkins)

4 large potatoes, cut in equal pieces
1 pound ground beef
3 carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 bag frozen corn
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, boil potatoes for mashing.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Depending on the fat content of your meat - you might want to drain off the fat before continuing on with the recipe. (We drain anything with more than 10% fat)

Add onions, carrots, and celery to the skillet and let them cook until soft - 5-10 minutes. Add the corn to the pan, and allow to heat up. Mix the flour in the pan and mix with the meat and vegetables. Mix the ketchup into the meat and vegetable mixture. Turn off the heat and let it sit until you get your potatoes ready.

Once your potatoes are ready, drain the water. Mash with the butter and sour cream. Add 1 cup of the cheese to the potatoes.

In a large casserole dish, layer in all of the meat and vegetable mixture. Layer the mashed potatoes on top, add the remaining cheese to the top of the potato layer.

Place the casserole into the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!Pin It Now!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Sopapilla Cheesecake
Courtesy of: Kacy Bunte & Beth Bailey

2 to 3 cans of crescent rolls
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray, press 1 can of crescent rolls into bottom of inch pan - it make take 1 /12 cans to cover bottom of dish. Mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla until very creamy. Spread over rolls in pan. Cover with other can of rolls. Melt butter and spread onto top crust, sprinkle all the cinnamon sugar on top to this. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Can serve at room temperature, but I think it’s better chilled. Kacy brought this to our small group game night last night, and we actually ate it warm and at room temperature. It was such a hit that none of it was left... we all kept going back for a little bit more. Yummy and really easy!

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Honey Pecan Chicken

Oh my goodness - this was soooo good!!

Honey Pecan Chicken

Courtesy of dLife.com (Diabetes Life)

1 cup Chex Wheat Cereal, crushed (I used whole wheat breadcrumbs but next time will go for the cereal)

1/3 cup pecans, chopped

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

6 boneless chicken breasts (I used 1 really large one and it made us about 5 meals)

1 pinch salt & pepper (to taste - soy sauce is salty so be careful with the salt)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

I chose to pound out my chicken so that it would cook more evenly and quickly.

Use a shallow bowl or plate to mix the cereal crumbs and the pecans - mix until combined. In another bowl mix the honey and soy sauce - whisk together until combined.

Season the chicken as desired (I actually forgot this step and it wasn't noticed in the final product), dip both sides of the chicken into the honey mixture, and roll in the pecan mixture to coat. Arrange the chicken in your baking dish.

Bake for 12-15 minutes on each side or until the chicken is done.

Note: I was glad that I pounded the chicken because my pecans were perfectly browned... but if I hadn't done that step - they might have gotten too brown.

I served this with my new favorite Parmesan Cous Cous and my sauteed spinach.

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Chicken Florentine

Chicken Florentine
Courtesy of dLife.com
Yield: 8 Servings


8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (seasoned with salt & pepper)
1/3 cup all purpose flour (I added salt, pepper, and garlic powder to mine)
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 oz spinach, chopped frozen (I used fresh sauteed with onion & white wine)
2 cups grated or 8 slices mozzarella
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Coat the chicken breasts with flour mixture. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the chicken about 5 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Move to oblong dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. (I didn't spray my dish and had zero problem)

Cook spinach according to the package instructions, and squeeze to drain well. (If you use fresh spinach - saute until wilted with a little butter, white wine, and onion). Top each chicken breast with the cooked spinach and 1/4 cup or 1 slice of the mozzarella cheese.

Add the chicken broth to the same pan used to saute the chicken, then add the wine and lemon juice, scraping the pan to remove the drippings, and stirring until heated. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is done. The cheese should be melted and the chicken heated thoroughly.

Make Ahead: Prepare early in the day, refrigerate after step 8, and bake it when you're ready... a guaranteed hit in any home.Pin It Now!