Tag Archives: Carrots

Quick & Easy Shepard’s Pie (For the busy family!)

Posted on by

5

Shepard’s Pie is one of those really yummy dishes that taste really good, but seem like they take a lot of work to make. However, this does not have to be the case!

I’ve now learned that when I’m making a nice home-cooked meal, if I make extra mashed potatoes, then I can use them to quickly whip up a super delicious Shepard’s Pie! This means that I’m actually slightly ahead of the game called “life” since dinner for the next night is already half-prepared!

Perfect for those busy Mom’s or Dad’s on the go, here is my very easy recipe! 

All you’ll Need:

– 1.5lbs of Ground Beef
– Salt & Pepper
– 2tbsp of Soya-Sauce
– 1 small, diced Onion
Utopia Kitchen Stainless Steel 6 Piece Knives Set (5 Knives plus and Acrylic Stand)
– 3 cups of mixed frozen Peas, Carrots, Green Beans and Corn (You can use fresh vegetables in place of frozen, if you like. Frozen just seem to be a little bit faster and easier when you don’t have a lot of time!)
– 1 can of Condensed Mushroom Soup
– 3 cups of Mashed Potatoes
– ½ cup of Shredded Cheese (I’ve made this dish using both Cheddar Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese before, and both tasted great!)
– 4oz of Cream Cheese

What to do:

Step One: Using a nice big pan, start out by frying up your ground beef, onions and Soya-Sauce. Once the meat is fully cooked, drain off and dispose of the fat.

Step Two: (You can perform this step while you are waiting for step one to cook!) In a separate bowl, mix the mashed potatoes with the shredded cheese, cream cheese and pepper. Set aside.

Step Three: Add the mixed vegetables and a dash of salt to the pan with the ground beef and onion mixture.

Step Four: Add the condensed mushroom soup to the vegetable and ground beef mixture. Stir and then let it simmer for about 2-5 minutes.

Step Five: Pour the ground beef and vegetable mixture into a medium sized casserole dish, and then layer the potato mixture on top and cover.

Pyrex Easy Grab 8-Piece Glass Bakeware and Food Storage Set

Step Six: Bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes, then remove the lid and let the dish bake for another 15 minutes.

Step Seven: Serve and enjoy!

Savory Southern Stew

Posted on by

3Savory Southern Stew!

I’m so excited that it finally got a little bit cold here in Southern-Ontario! In order to celebrate, I decided to make my favorite stew and I thought…. why not share it with you! It is seriously the easiest stew to make… All you have to do is lightly saute the beef, and then throw everything into the crock pot to simmer for the day!

What you’ll need:

  • 1 cup of chopped or baby carrots
  • 1 cup of diced potatoes
  • 1 cup of mushrooms
  • 1.5 lbs of cubed beef
  • 2 tbsp of butter or margarine
  • 1 can of condensed tomato soup
  • 1/4 tsp each, of  salt, pepper and thyme

Step 1: Lightly saute about 1.5 lbs of cubed beef in a frying pan in butter and pepper.

While sauteing your cubes of beef, this is where you could add in one and a half tablespoons of flour for a thicker stew. I chose to leave the flour out, since I’ve been trying really, really hard to eat super-healthy! If you are looking for a thicker stew, after your meat is sauteed, toss it in the flour until all of the flour has been absorbed… It will later mix in nice with the rest of the contents of your stew, causing it to thicken, but by mixing it in with the meat first, you will prevent the flour from clumping!

Step 2: Add beef, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, spices, and one can of condensed tomato soup into the crock pot.

For this stew, I chose to use some of my favorite vegetables; carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and onions…. but really, you can use whatever kind of vegetables you like, or even whatever you already have on hand! I also used just a few of my favorite spices to keep it nice and simple, but you can also choose to use your favorite spices too!

Step 3: Let simmer for at least 4 to 6 hours.

I like to let my stew simmer all day long to make it extra savory! But since the meat is pre-sauteed, you really only have to make sure that your vegetables are cooked all of the way through before serving. Remember, that the smaller you chop your vegetables, the quicker they will be ready!

Step 4: Serve and enjoy! 🙂

A nice dinner roll or slice of bread with butter (plus maybe, a glass of wine)…. make the perfect accessories for this meal!