I use a classic meatball recipe to make 2 batches of meatballs-24 meatballs in a batch. One to freeze for another quick, easy to go to meal and the other one to use for soups, appetizers, this recipe and many more go to meals. They freeze well, can be made ahead of time and one multiple prep session can yield many great dishes. This recipe makes 48 small to medium meatballs (I am usually tired of rolling in the end so the meatballs tend to get bigger).  😉 Double up the recipe ingredients for crockpot meatballs or the like and now you have a party!  😀

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!

1. In a food processor or blender, blend your onion, garlic and one tablespoon of the canola oil until you have a smooth texture.

   

2. Combine your ground beef and onion/garlic mixture. Form into about 3 inch diameter patties about 3/4 inch thick. A little bigger than “slider” size. Take your thumb and put a little imprint in the middle of the patties. When grilling the juices will gravitate to the center of the patty. Sprinkle each side of the patties with a little salt and pepper.

   

   

3. Turn the heat on your grill to medium-high. Use a grill brush and brush the remaining canola oil on the grill. Use a little more if needed. This will help prevent the patties from sticking as the grill will be on a high heat.

   

4. Grill the patties on medium-high heat for 5 minutes on each side with the lid open. Lower the heat to medium and grill for an additional 5 minutes on each side with the grill lid closed. The total grilling time is 20 minutes. This may seem long to frequent grillers but believe me you will have a juicy, well done burger without the “normal” well done texture.

   

5. Turn the heat off and add your cheese. Shut the grill lid and let that cheesy goodness just use the residual grill heat to melt it. Serve on a nice soft bun or sans bun if you are low carbing it, with the condiments of your choosing and most of all 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. To make the “stuffing” sauté your chopped onion in olive oil on medium heat until they are translucent about 5 minutes. Add your chopped green olive and sauté for another 2 minutes to meld the flavors. Take your pan off the heat and add the breadcrumbs and mozzarella cheese. Combine and let the mozzarella slightly melt to bind the “stuffing” together and set aside. As always add pepper and salt to taste but be very careful with the salt because the green olives are very salty, that is why so few are used in this recipe. But the taste is incredible!!!

   

   

   

2. Butterfly your chicken breasts, or in other words slice them in half, being careful not to slice all the way through. Season them liberally with some pepper (remember what I said about the salt in step 1). Now stuff those babies with the stuffing. Bring the two edges together and insert 3 toothpicks into each breast to keep them together during the baking process. Lastly wrap those gorgeous breasts with the 2 slices of bacon to keep that outer chicken nice and juicy, the stuffing, believe me, will take care of the inside in just the same way! Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

   

   

   

   

3. Time to get that glace ready! My demi-glace though not made with two different stocks as customary, is super easy and just as tasty in my humble opinion. In a pan, add 1/2 cup of the beef broth to start (add more if you like a wetter sauce) and turn the heat to medium. Add your mushrooms to cook for about 5 minutes and then turn the heat up just a bit to boil the broth and reduce it a little. When the sauce is reduced to your liking and the mushrooms to your desired consistency add the beautiful whipped butter and allow it to melt into the glace. This will create that ultra creamy, dreamy sauce to compliment that delicious moist chicken. Season with pepper to taste and a pinch of kosher salt (I did add salt to the glace) to elevate the flavor.

   

   

   

4. To crisp the bacon turn your broiler to high and broil on each side about 3-4 minutes or until desired bacon crispness. This step will not, I repeat will not dry out the chicken.

   

5. Finally plate those babies up! Remove the toothpicks from the chicken and discard. Pour some of that creamy mushroom glace over the top and add your desired vege on the side. So, So, So Tasty! Enjoy!  😀

   

   P.S. I also made chocolate chip cookies with a surprise filling. I used this Land O’ Lakes Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, with a few tweaks. I used whipped Land O’ Lakes butter instead of regular and I also up the brown sugar portion to 1 cup and lower the regular sugar to 1/2 cup. It was a tip I tried one time and loved it so much I do it all the time. I also left out the nuts, that is your choice. I then took a portion of the dough flattened it out and added the Oreo cookie surprise, took another portion of dough and sandwiched it on top. I baked them about 14 minutes give or take and there is only one left!  😛

   

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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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