1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta of your choice according to package directions. I always add a palm full of kosher salt to the boiling water I do believe it adds taste and if I need the pasta water to loosen up the sauce at times it is already pre-seasoned.

   

2. Chop up your onions and shred your cheese.

   

3. Now we can get this party started! In a nice big cast iron pot or whatever oven safe pot you got, melt 4 tablespoons of the whipped butter on medium heat. Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, whisking with each addition to combine the flour and butter to make a roux (sauce thickener). Now add the milk one cup at a time as well, whisking again with each addition. Now the arm workout comes in. We want a smooth sauce so keep on whisking until you achieve a no lump sauce. When you are lump free, add the mustard powder, cinnamon, bay leaf and onion. Stir those ingredients together, turn the heat up a smidge and boil for about 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. After you have boiled the sauce to thicken it, lower the heat to medium-low and add that glorious cheese, stir to melt and simmer for about 5 more minutes.

   

   

   

4. In the meantime, melt the remaining whipped butter in a pan and add the breadcrumbs. Coat all of the breadcrumbs.
5. Remove the bay leaf from your sauce. Take your drained macaroni and add it to the beautiful bechamel cheese sauce and combine them together coating all of your macaroni. Sprinkle the breadcrumb and whipped butter mixture evenly over your macaroni and sauce and do the same with the parmesan cheese. Bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Turn the oven off and set your broiler to high, broil the topping for about 2-3 minutes until it is nice and golden brown.

   

   

   

6. Remove from the oven and let your bubbly, delish goodness rest for about 5 minutes (if you can restrain yourself  😉 ) Plate and Enjoy!!  😀

   

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1. In a wide saucepan, on medium heat, add 3 tbsp of the olive oil and the whipped butter. When the butter is melted, add 3 of the minced/chopped garlic cloves and saute for about a minute, watching the garlic so it doesn’t burn. Add the flour and mix it in with the butter and olive oil with a whisk. Add the chicken stock and continue whisking until there are no lumps. Turn the heat up to high to boil and thicken the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste and continue whisking for about 5 minutes or until your sauce is the consistency or thickness you enjoy.

   

2. Turn the heat back down to medium and add the bell peppers. Cook them for 20 minutes for a firm, yet chewy bite. Add the fresh chopped parsley and parmesan cheese. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste.

   

   

3. In a frypan, on medium heat, add the remaining tbsp of olive oil. When heated add the remaining minced/chopped clove of garlic and saute for about a minute. Add the shrimp and cook them about 2-3 minutes per side until they turn from grayish to a nice pink color. Shrimp cook very fast.

   

4. While the shrimp is cooking, cook the angel hair pasta according to package directions. After it is cooked, turn off the heat and leave it in the water to stay warm.
5. When ready to plate, use a pair of tongs to take out a generous portion of pasta and twist it for presentation in a nice themed bowl. Add your scampi sauce and shrimp on top. Garnish with a little more parmesan if you please and a little fresh parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!!!

   

   

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1. Brown your ground beef, chopped onion and minced garlic all together. This method really enhances the flavor of the ground beef. Season with a little salt and pepper. Do not drain the fat. You won’t hear me say this often but fat in this dish truly adds flavor and moisture.

   

2. Add the flour to the beef mixture and combine. Then add the beef stock and bring to a boil for 5-7 minutes to thicken the sauce.

   

   

3. Once the stock has thickened to your desired consistency add in the sweet peas and stir all together. Add some more salt and pepper to season to taste. Layer on the bottom of an oven safe baking dish. Set aside and shred your potatoes.

   

4. Layer the seasoned (with a little salt and pepper) shredded potatoes over the beef mixture, covering every nook and cranny. Pour the melted butter over the top. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the top. Bake for 45 minutes. I assure you the meat underneath will not dry out, remember from the step above, fat is flavor and moisture. Remove from the oven and turn your oven to broil on high. Spread the cheddar cheese all over the top and place the dish under the broiler until the cheese melts. WATCH it closely during this step.

   

5. And finally oh finally, serve your family a heaping plate of that Pie and Enjoy!  😀

   

Not My Mum's Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2lbs Ground Beef
• 1large Onion
• 3cloves garlic
• 2cups Beef Stock
• 4tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 1bag Frozen Sweet Young Peas
• 4large Idaho Potatoes-Or whatever Potatoes you like
• 1cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2cup Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/2cup Melted Butter

Instructions

1. Brown your ground beef, chopped onion and minced garlic all together. This method really enhances the flavor of the ground beef. Season with a little salt and pepper. Do not drain the fat. You won't hear me say this often but fat in this dish truly adds flavor and moisture.
2. Add the flour to the beef mixture and combine. Then add the beef stock and bring to a boil for 5-7 minutes to thicken the sauce.
3. Once the stock has thickened to your desired consistency add in the sweet peas and stir all together. Add some more salt and pepper to season to taste. Layer on the bottom of an oven safe baking dish. Set aside and shred your potatoes.
4. Layer the seasoned (with a little salt and pepper) shredded potatoes over the beef mixture, covering every nook and cranny. Pour the melted butter over the top. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the top. Bake for 45 minutes. I assure you the meat underneath will not dry out, remember from the step above, fat is flavor and moisture. Remove from the oven and turn your oven to broil on high. Spread the cheddar cheese all over the top and place the dish under the broiler until the cheese melts. WATCH it closely during this step.
5. And finally oh finally, serve your family a heaping plate of that Pie and Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

I have to admit the texture of the potatoes was not at all what I was used to and threw me off a bit. But then after the second or third helping I got used to it! However, here is My Mum's Shepherd's Pie, just substitute with the Mashed Potatoes. Two options with one recipe—Win-Win!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. In a pan over medium heat add your oil and whipped butter. When your butter has melted add the chopped onion and sautee for 3-5 minutes. Add your flour to combine and coat the onions. When the onions are all coated add your beef stock and whisk everything to combine and remove any lumps from the flour. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes to thicken the sauce. Stir often. Reduce heat and add your chicken, frozen brussel sprouts, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Combine and let simmer for 5 minutes while you prepare your baking dish.

   

2. In a baking dish, line the bottom and as much of the sides as you can with one of the pie crusts. Add the filling evenly. Place the next pie crust on top covering as much of the pie filling as you can. In a bowl, beat an egg with a little water or milk to make an egg wash for the crust. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top of the crust in a nice even layer. This helps to really brown the crust and add a nice richness. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pot pie and turn the broiler on the oven to high. Brown the top to your desired color and crispness but watch it closely so it does not burn. Remove from the oven and let it set for 5 minutes.

   

3. Last but not least, serve a nice bowl full and Enjoy!!!  😀

   

1. Bring your stew meat out of the fridge and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes while you prepare your flour/dredging mixture. This will take the chill out of the meat and is better for the browning/searing process. In a plastic bag combine the flour, one tbsp of the pepper, garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Add your stew meat, seal the bag lid and shake it all about. Do the Hokey Pokey if you like, this is a no judgement zone.  Make sure to coat all of the meat. Set the meat aside. In a cast iron pot or any regular pot, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and heat it up on medium heat. Add about half of the meat and brown on all sides. Depending on how many pounds of stew beef you are searing, please do this step in batches to keep the heat of the oil nice and hot and ready for searing. After all of your meat has been seared, remove from the pot and set aside.

   

   

2. Add the remaining two tbsp of olive oil to your pot and add your diced onion. Let the onion cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the garlic. Saute the onion and garlic together for another minute or so, add a little more flour from the dredging mixture, about 2-3 tbsp and combine with the onions and garlic. Add the sherry to deglaze the pan, picking up all of those oniony, garlicy bits off the bottom of the pan. Add your stew beef back into the pot and add the beef stock and stir all the players together. Bring to a boil for about 3-5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Lower the heat to low or just above, cover your pot and let that meat do what it does best cook low and slow for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

   

   

   

   

3. This step is purely optional! But I thoroughly recommend it! Pour yourself a glass of wine and read a good book.  😀

   

4. Now that the 2 hour mark has arrived. It is time to add the veges. I cut the veges pretty small because I want them to cook a little bit quicker as your family is pretty much probably starving by this time and the smell in your kitchen that has permeated the house is probably driving them crazy. I know every time I went to stir the beef my husband would say “when is dinner going to be done Woman?” To which I politely replied (politely, that’s funny), soon honey, soon.  😛 When the veges have been added to the pot, add a tbsp of the dried parsley, crushing it in your palm first to release the oils. Add more salt and pepper to taste and let them simmer for 30 minutes.

   

   

5. At the 30 minute mark, ladies and gentlemen start your grits. Follow the directions on your grits package but basically boil 4 cups of water. When the water is boiling slowly add your grits and a pinch of salt or two and whisk away. Turn your heat to low and let the grits thicken for about 10-15 minutes, whisking occasionally. When they are to your desired thickness, add the butter and cheese and a little salt and pepper and combine.

   

   

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   When all is said and done it is as always time to plate. Put a little (or a lot) of those cheesy grits to line the bottom of your bowl and add to your heart’s desire the beef tips, veges and gravy, sprinkle with a little dried parsley and Enjoy! Cheers to Family and the lost, hopefully to be found again, coveted tradition we call Sunday Night Dinner.  🙂

   

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1. Cut up the onion, and peppers into strips leaving them on the bigger side because they can get pretty small after a time in the Crocker. Add them to the Crocker and season with some salt and pepper to your liking. Add the chicken broth and stir all together.

   

   

   

   

   

2. In a bowl add your beef and a little flour, salt and pepper and combine to coat. Add more flour if needed and the same with the salt and pepper. Remember: you can always add more but it is harder to take it away.

   

   

3. Place your beef on top of the veggies, put on the lid and set your Crocker to your desired time, I set mine to 8 hours. Wait about 30 minutes for the meat to get acclimated to the rising temp and stir all together before you head out the door. Just set it and forget it!

   

   

   

   

4. Upon your return, add some olive oil to a pan, heat to medium and add your mushrooms and pepper to taste. I saute my mushrooms separately because I like them with a little bite and if they go into the Crocker with the rest of the veggies for eight hours, they mush up. When they are sautéed to your liking, remove them to a bowl and set aside.

   

   

5. In the same pan you sautéed your mushrooms add the butter and 2 tbsp flour and whisk together to make that all important binding roux. Take ladles of the juice from the Crocker and add them one by one whisking after each addition until you have the amount of sauce you want and the desired thickness of the sauce. Season a little more with salt and pepper if desired and remove from the heat. Stir in your sour cream and watch the magic happen!

   

   

   

6. Easy cheesy in a pot of bowling salted water add your egg noodles and cook according to package directions.

   

7. Here is the best part! Deciding how you want to stylize this meal–just beef and veges or do you want to Beef Stroganoff it, dress it up a little. Or maybe a little of both? Simply add your egg noodles on the bottom of the plate or bowl to create a nice bed, add your meat mixture and add the stroganoff sauce on top and then top with the mushrooms. Or add no sauce, either way it’s all good!

   

   

   

   

   You really can’t go wrong any way you choose to style your beef! ENJOY!  😀

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