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!

Berry Cheesecake Parfaits

Berry Cheesecake Parfaits

Courtesy of Kraft Foods

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1 package (3.4 oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding mix

1 1/2 cups thawed Whipped Topping, divided

24 Vanilla Wafers, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups seasonal berries

Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; mix well. Whisk in 1 cup whipped topping.

Layer 1/2 of the chopped cookies in the bottom of 8 serving dishes. Add layer of berries. Add layer of cheesecake mixture. Repeat layers. A small amount of the extra 1/2 cup of whipped topping on the top of all the parfaits. I also added a couple of berries for the final accent on the top.

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Chocolate Walnut Tart

Chocolate Walnut Tart
Courtesy of Taste of Home Magazine

Pastry for single crust pie (9 inches)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Press pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9 inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom; trim edges. Sprinkle walnuts and chocolate chips into crust. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Pour into crust.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until top is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

I made individual sized tarts - because I couldn't find a 9 inch tart pan... I got 4 out of the pastry crust. I didn't use all of the other ingredients because it was a bit too much for the smaller shells... I'd say next time to cut the nuts and chocolate down by a 1/4 cup each. The remaining ingredients - I'm not sure how much to cut down, but I did have a bit leftover.Pin It Now!

Broccolini with Carmelized Shallots

Broccolini with Carmelized Shallots
Courtesy of Cooking Dunkin Style

1 bunch Broccolini, rinsed and woody stems removed - chopped in large pieces
2 large shallots, sliced
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (I added this to the recipe)
Fresh finely grated Parmesan

In a non-stick skillet, heat your olive oil over medium heat. Add your shallots and cook them until carmelized. This may take a few minutes, be patient and stir constantly. Add more oil if needed. (I was trying to cook mine at the same time as making another dish - so mine might have gotten darker than intended... but they tasted great!)

Remove the shallots from the pan and deglaze with the white wine scraping up all the bits on the bottom of the pan. I added the butter at this stage because I was afraid the wine would be too much for us - we're not big wine drinkers.

Add the broccolini and put a lid on to steam until it is tender.

Sprinkle with shallots and parmesan to serve.Pin It Now!