Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is one of my favorite comfort foods.

I hate winter weather, but winter food is the best. Soups, casseroles, stews, ... I love them all.

I made this for a bunch of my friends from grad school one night and everyone ate it up, so the amount of food in the pictures is double the amount in my recipe. Sorry for the confusion.

You will need: 1.5 lbs of ground beef, 1 large onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1 large carrot, 1 cup of frozen peas, 1 Tbsp of corn starch, 1-2 cups beef broth, 1/2 cup of red wine, 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, 2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, 3/4 cup grated Parmesan,  2.5 lbs of red potatoes, 2 Tbsp butter, 1/2-1 cup of half and half, 1 bay leaf and salt and pepper, to taste.

Dice the large onion.

Mince up the garlic.

Start browning the ground beef in a large saucepan.

Add the onions and garlic.

Stir everything around and mash it up until the beef is browned and crumbled.

In the meantime, wash and dice the potatoes and throw them into a large pot...

Cover the potatoes in water...

And bring them to a boil. I like to add the salt at this point. I'm not sure why.

Dice up a carrot...

And throw it in with the beef. I swear my carrots are normal. I just haven't gotten the hang of making them appear that way in photos.

Now pour in 1/2 cup of red wine. Let the liquid reduce.

Mince 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary...

Pull 1 Tbsp of leaves off the stem of the thyme and give them a rough chop...

And chop 2 Tbsp of fresh parsley.

Add them to the beef mixture...

Along with the bay leaf.

Now pour in 1 cup of beef stock and let the mixture simmer. If it gets too dry, pour in more stock.

While the meat mixture is simmering, your potatoes should be fork tender so drain them...

And pour them back into the pot.

Add 2 Tbsp of butter...

And 1/2 a cup of half and half.

Mash!! If the mixture is too thick to mash, add more half and half. But be careful. You want the potatoes to be really thick.

Now grate 3/4 cup of parmesan...

And stir it into the potatoes. Check the potatoes for seasoning. Then eat 3 spoonfuls because potatoes are delicious.

Look how thick! That's exactly how you want them.

Now back to the meat! Mix together 1 Tbsp of corn starch and 2 Tbsp of beef broth until there are no lumps of corn starch. Then slowly pour the mixture into the meat while stirring constantly. This makes for a nice thick sauce. Unfortunately, I needed 2 hands for the corn starch part so I didn't have a hand to take a photo. Then throw in 1 cup of frozen peas.

Look at the pretty colors! Now is a good time to play Marco-Polo with the bay leaf and take it out.

Now if you want to go for individual servings, scoop some of the meat mixture into a ramekin...

And throw on some mashed potatoes.

Now use a spoon to make lots of peaks and valleys in the potatoes.

Now throw the ramekins in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes until the peaks brown like this!

If you don't want to go the individual route, do the same thing in a large oven safe dish, which is what I did when my friends came over. I had about 10 people over and I only own 4 ramekins.

Am I good at math or what?

Yum! This is one of my favorite kinds of meals to make because it's all in one. You don't have to worry about side dishes.

A perfect winter meal to share with my fellow classmates.

Shepherd's Pie

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs of ground beef
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 Tbsp of corn starch
• 1-2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup of red wine
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced
• 2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, minced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2.5 lbs of red potatoes, diced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2-1 cup of half and half
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper, to taste.

Instructions:

1.  In a large saucepan over medium heat, crumble and brown the beef with the garlic and onion.
2.  Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil.
3. Add the carrot, wine, and herbs to the ground beef. Allow to reduce by 1/2 then pour in 1 cup of beef stock and allow the mixture to simmer. If it gets too dry, add in more broth.
4.  When the potatoes are fork tender, drain them then throw them back into the warm pot. Add butter, 1/2 cup of half and half, and Parmesan.  Mash the potatoes. If they're too thick to mash, add some more half and half but keep the potatoes nice and thick. Set aside.
5. Mix together the corn starch and 2 Tbsp of beef broth until there are no lumps. Then slowly pour the mixture into the beef while stirring constantly. Add in the peas.
6. Grab a large oven safe dish or several ramekins and evenly distribute the meat mixture and then top with the potatoes. make some nice spikes with the potatoes then throw it under the broiler until the potatoes have browned. Enjoy!

Asian Steak Salad with Rice Croutons

I came up with this salad a few months ago while studying for my Advanced Linear Algebra final. I wrote it in the corner of a piece of scratch paper I was working problems out on. Needless to say, it was lost for awhile. But I found it! And I'm happy I did because this salad is so good.

You will need: spinach (or your favorite salad greens), edamame, sliced mushrooms, 1 large carrot (or several small ones), 4 cloves of garlic, 5 green onions, 2 inches of ginger root, 1 5 oz can of sliced water chestnuts, 1 Tbsp horseradish mustard, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp sesame oil, 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp canola oil, 1 Tbsp Sriratcha sauce, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (not pictured), 1 Tbsp honey, 2 lbs steak (I used sirloin but I recommend a flank steak), 1/2 cup of rice (not pictured), 1 Tbsp of butter (also not pictured), salt ,and pepper.

First, let's make the marinade/salad dressing/

Cut off 2 inches of ginger root...

Peel it...

And grate it.

Throw it in a jar.

Next mince up 4 cloves of garlic....

Sprinkle it with a little salt...

And mush it with the side of your knife to make a garlic paste.

Toss it in with the ginger.

Next add 2 Tbsp of sesame oil to the jar....

1 Tbsp of horseradish mustard...

1 Tbsp of Sriracha...

1/3 cup of soy sauce (I use low sodium soy sauce)...

1 Tbsp honey....

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar....

And 3/4 cup of canola oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Screw on the lid and give it a good shake! Tada! Marinade and dressing.

Pour 2/3 cup of the marinade into a large Ziplock with the steak and let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Now let's work on the toppings!

Slice off the ends of 5 green onions...

And slice them on an angle...

Slice the whites and the greens.

Cook a package of edamame according to directions then drain them...

And rinse them.

Now the fun part! Split open each pod. There will be 2-4 beans inside.

Pick the beans out and throw them in a bowl. Discard the pod.

Continue to do this with the rest of the pods.

You'll end up with a bowl full of beans. Set aside.

Chop the carrot into matchsticks (or in my case, pop sickle sticks).

Drain the can of water chestnuts. Set aside.

Cook the 1/2 cup of rice according to package directions.

When the rice has finished cooking, mush it down with a flat spoon.

Melt 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp canola oil over medium heat.

Grab large spoonfuls of the dense rice and carefully plop them into the oil.

Once one side has browned, give them a flip.

When the other side has browned, set them on a paper towel-lined plate to drain and set them aside with the other salad ingredients.

Now the steak is ready to go! Toss it the pan you used for the rice croutons but kick the heat up to medium-high.

When one side has browned, give it a flip. The time for this varies with how done you like your steak. I like mine pretty rare so I let it go for 2 minutes or so on each side.

Once the other side has browned, remove it to a cutting board to "rest". Cover it with some tinfoil to keep it warm.

While the steak is resting, assemble your salad. Throw some spinach on a large plate...

Followed by carrots...

Onions...

Mushrooms...

Edamame...

And water chestnuts.

Set some rice croutons on the side of the plate...

And cover the greens with some of the dressing.

Thinly slice the steak against the grain...

And fan it out on top of the salad.

Delicious! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Asian Steak Salad with Rice Croutons

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• spinach (or your favorite salad greens)
• 1 package frozen edamame, cooked and shelled
• sliced mushrooms
• 1 large carrot (or several small ones), julienned
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 5 green onions, sliced on the diagonal
• 2 inches of ginger root, peeled and grated
• 1 5 oz can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 Tbsp horseradish mustard
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 Tbsp Sriratcha sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 lbs flank steak
• 1/2 cup of rice, cooked according to package directions
• 1 Tbsp of butter
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Combine sesame oil, 3/4 cup canola oil, sriratcha sauce, mustard, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour 3/4 cup of the mixture over the steak and set in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours.
2. When rice has finished cooking, pack it down into the pan. Remove spoonfuls of the dense rice and carefully plop it into a skillet with the butter and remaining canola oil over medium heat. Turn the rice over when browned on one side. When browned on both sides, remove it to a paper towel lined plate.
3. Turn the heat on the pan up to medium-high and add the steak. Cook until browned on both sides, or until desired doneness.
4. Remove the steak to a cutting board and tent it for 10 minutes to allow it to rest. Then cut it into thin slices against the grain.
5. To assemble salads,  pile the spinach on a large plate followed by carrots, mushrooms, green onions, edamame, and water chestnuts. Place some rice croutons on the side and cover the greens with the leftover dressing. Fan the slced steak out on top of the salad.
6. Enjoy!