1. Either prepare your Risotto or use leftover Risotto (if there is such a thing) and add 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and combine. If the recipe isn’t sticky enough, add another 1/2 cup parmesan cheese as an additional binder. NOTE: if you are preparing your Risotto fresh, make sure you let it cool down before adding the cheddar cheese so it does not melt into the mixture. The goal is to melt that oooeeeyyy gooooeeeyyy goodness while bathing in the vegetable oil.

   

   

2. Every time I do this next step I get all warm and cozy inside.  😀 Turn on your deep fryer and set the temp to 375 degrees. My deep fryer happens to be my favorite gift of all time! If you do not have one, no prob! Simply fill a deep pot about halfway full with vegetable oil, just enough to cover your Risotto Balls when frying. Turn your heat to medium(ish) and test your oil to see if the temp is high enough by adding a few breadcrumbs, if they start to sizzle and float on top you are good to go.

   

3. On a shallow plate, I use the lid of an old storage container, combine 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, garlic powder to taste, pepper to taste and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese to make the coating for the Risotto Balls.

   

4. Take a handy dandy ice cream scoop (so versatile) and scoop up your first Risotto Ball and form it into a perfect delicious ball.

   

   

5. Roll, roll, roll your ball gently down…oh wait, gently in the breadcrumb mixture to coat. Place aside on a plate and repeat.

   

   

6. Ever so gingerly place your Risotto Balls into the nice hot vegetable bath and fry until desired crispiness about 5 minutes.

   

   

7. Remove your Risotto Balls after their vegetable oil bath onto a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle them with a little salt while they are nice and warm. Place them Lovingly on some warm marinara sauce and sprinkle with a little more parmesan cheese to taste and ENJOY!!!  😛

   

   

   

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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. 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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1. Place your chicken strips in a zip top bag with 2 tbsp flour (add more if needed) and a tbsp of the pepper for seasoning. Zip that bag and shake, shake, shake to coat all of the chicken.

   

2. Sauté your chicken strips in the olive oil on medium heat 3-4 minutes per side to brown them and create a nice crust to seal in the delicious juices. Remove from the pan and put aside.

   

   

   

3. Remove pan from the heat and lower the heat to low. Put the pan back on the heat after the temp lowers (about a minute) and add 2 tbsp butter to melt, when the butter is melted whisk in 2 tbsp flour to create a roux which will thicken your scampi sauce. Add your chicken stock and bring the heat back up to boil the stock. Boil the stock and roux for 3-5 minutes then lower the heat to medium. Add your chopped garlic & red bell pepper and remaining pepper and put your chicken back in the pot. Add salt to taste. Cook the chicken through about 15 minutes and check doneness before serving. Bell Pepper should have a nice bite but be softened. Add cooking times in 5 minute intervals if chicken is not done yet or peppers have not reached your desired consistency.

   

   

   

4. In the meantime and while the chicken is getting ready for its debut. Boil your water (add a tbsp of salt if desired to the water) and add your pasta. Cook according to package directions and when done turn off heat and keep in water to keep pasta warm. Add a dollop of butter or two to the water.

   

5. When ready to serve add 2 tbsp butter and the parmesan cheese to the scampi sauce and mix them in and watch those flavors meld!

   

6. Finally plate that gorgeous masterpiece! Take desired amount of pasta from the heated water and twist on the plate. Add a few pieces of the chicken and pour that delightful scampi sauce over the pasta, top with those bright red peppers and maybe a little more parmesan cheese, why not! DIG IN!!!  😀

   

I encourage you to leave a comment or a success experience you have had!! The Leave a Reply fields are optional, if you want to remain anonymous just fill in the comment section and hit post! Thank you for sharing your experiences and remember “no [wo]man is an island.”