Guinness Shepherd's Pie

In preparing for a recent snow storm, I felt like a hearty meal, and it was a toss up between Beef Stew and Shepherd's Pie. I quick pinterest search yielded this yummy recipe, and it did not disappoint. We recommend serving with a pint of Guinness and some French's Fried Onions on the side.

Guinness Shepherd's Pie 

Ingredients

For the mashed potato topping:

• 1½ lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 TBSP unsalted Butter
• ½ Half and Half (you can sub milk if you choose)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

For the filling:

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, cut into ½ inch dice
• 2 small Carrots, cut into ½ inch dice
• 2 large cloves Garlic, finely minced
• ½ tsp dried Thyme
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• ½ tsp Black Pepper
• 2 TBSP Tomato Paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 cup Guinness stout
• ½ cup frozen Sweet Peas

Directions

Mashed Potato topping:

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water, add a tablespoon or two of salt, cover and bring a boil. Cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Drain and mash with a potato ricer or with a fork until no lumps remain.
3. Add the butter, half and half (or milk) and mix until the potatoes are completely smooth.
4. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Filling:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F. and have a 1 quart baking dish nearby.
2. In a large skillet, over medium heat drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the onions and carrots until soft, about 7-9 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add the ground beef, breaking up into small pieces and cook until no longer pink.
4. Season the ground beef mixture with the dried thyme, salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds, then mix in the worcestershire sauce.
5. Pour in your Guinness, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the sauce has thickened about 15 minutes.
6. In the last two minutes, stir in the frozen peas.
7. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and top with about mashed potatoes, spreading to the edges to create a seal, and fork spike the top.
8. Bake for 25 minutes – the topping will be lightly golden form a crust.
9. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Base Recipe and photo credit: http://girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

Asian-inspired Slow-cooker Meatballs

I found a similar recipe while trolling Pinterest for new crock pot dishes.  The asian-style glaze sounded so yummy, and I love any recipe that calls for plum flavoring, but I've made a few modifications from that first attempt and am thrilled with the result.  Enjoy!

Asian-inspired Slow-cooker Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Ground Beef *
• 1/3 c Panko Bread Crumbs
• 3 scallions, white and light-green parts, finely chopped (dice remaining dark green shoots for garnish)
• 1 Egg, large 
• 1 TBSP Soy Sauce 
• 1TBSP Ginger, finely chopped 
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 TBSP Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 c Barbecue Sauce *
• 1/4 cup Chinese Plum Sauce or Duck Sauce
• 1 TBSP Plum Jam *
• 2 TBSP Hoisin Sauce 

Directions

1. Combine beef, panko, scallions, egg, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a large bowl.
2. Mix gently but thoroughly by hand. Roll into 1-inch balls.
3. Heat oil in saute pan.  Sear meatballs until browned but not cooked through. 
4. Allow meatballs to drain on paper towels.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, plum sauce, plum jam, and hoisin sauce.
6. Mist slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add meatballs. 
7. Pour sauce over meatballs. Gently stir to coat.
8. Cover and cook on low 4 to 5 hours., or until meatballs are cooked through.
9. Serve with rice, and your favorite vegetable. Garnish with remaining scallion.

Vermont ingredient recommendations: Boyden Farms Natural Beef, Gringo Jack's Vermont Maple BBQ Sauce, and Blake Hill Preserves Perfectly Plum Jam

Photo credit: myrecipes.com

Black Bean Soup

I used to buy a fantastic black bean soup mix at our local market, but it stopped appearing on the shelves a couple of years ago. So I tried to replicate the flavor at home yesterday, and we were quite pleased with the results.

We ate ours with some Cabot sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese mixed in, plus tortilla chips.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 1 Garlic Clove, diced
• 3 Carrots, diced
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried Cilantro
• One 8 oz. can Diced Tomatoes with Mild Green Chiles
• Two 14-16 oz. cans Black Beans (do not drain or rinse)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in large soup pan over medium heat.
2. Add diced onion, garlic, and carrots. Saute 2 minutes.
3. Add cumin, cinnamon, and cilantro, then stir well. Saute 1-2 minutes more.
4. Add can of diced tomatoes, stir well.  Cook 5 minutes.
5. Add black beans and stir well. Cook until almost boiling (about 5 minutes.)
6. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Serve warm w/tortilla chips.

Serving suggestions

• Stir in Cabot Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese.
• Stir in a dollop of sour cream.
• Add to scrambled eggs along with some cheddar cheese.
• Fold into tortillas with cheese (and chicken if you like) to make quesadillas.

Ninja Ice Cream

Don't worry...this isn't a recipe for Ninja flavored ice cream (eeuuww!) but for ice cream made with our new Ninja NJ600 Blender.  Our previous blender, after 15 years of faithful service, started cracking and so we started researching for a new model.  After reading Consumer Reports ratings, and user reviews across several websites, we decided the Ninja was the best fit and value for our smoothie-making needs. We are thrilled with our new blender thus far, and pleasantly surprised that it came with a recipe for making ice cream.  We just made some scrumptious raspberry ice cream and are now frantically freezing more fruit!

Ninja Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen fruit of choice (berries, peaches, etc.)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2-4 TBSP sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in blender
2. Blend on "3" or high until thickened (occasionally scraping down sides

Makes 3-4 servings

Waffles!

As a post-Christmas gift to ourselves, we bought a waffle maker from King Arthur Flour, and we couldn't be happier with these warm, heart-shaped treats. 

Below are two recipes that came with the maker. We've only made the "Quick Waffles" but they were great!

Quick Waffles

Ingredients

• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup melted Butter *
• 1 TBSP Vanilla
• 2 cups Flour *
• 1 TBSP Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions

1. Beat whole eggs in a bowl until thick
2. Beat milk, melted butter, and vanilla into eggs
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt
4. Sift into egg mixture, and mix well
5. Spoon a ladleful onto pre-heated waffle maker
6. Cook 2-3 minutes until lightly browned/steam stops escaping
7. Recommend serving with real Vermont maple syrup*

Note: These can me transformed into Cinnamon-Apple Waffles by adding 1 peeled/shredded apple and 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the batter.

*Vermont/New England ingredients recommended: Kate's Homemade Butter, King Arthur Flour, Slopeside Syrup

Chocolate Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
• 6 TBSP Sugar
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 cup Chocolate syrup
• 4 TBSP Butter, melted
• 1-1/2 cups cake Flour (sifted)
• 3 TBSP Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions

1. Combine beaten eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla
2. In a separate bowl, blend chocolate syrup and butter, then let cool
3. Stir egg mixture into chocolate/butter blend
4. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt
5. Add egg/chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until smooth
6. Spoon a ladleful onto pre-heated waffle maker
7. Cook 2-3 minutes until lightly browned/steam stops escaping