Easy leftover recipe

There are a few things in life I am incapable of making anything but a huge amount of. Soup. Pasta. Mashed potatoes.

So yesterday, I stared at a large amount of mashed potatoes, and wondered what to do with them. Then, of course – Shepherd’s Pie!

This is easy, cheap, and if you cook a lot, you probably already have the ingredients in your freezer/fridge.

I made this in a bread pan since there are only two of us, and we didn’t need even more leftovers. But you can just increase the amount to any size.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

About 4 cups of mashed potatoes

2 sprigs green onions

4 uncooked Grands biscuits

1 cup shredded cheddar

2 leftover cooked burgers, or about 1/4-1/2 pound of meat

1 cup whole mushrooms

Use 1 tbsp butter to heavily grease pan. Spread mashed potatoes to fill 1/2 the pan. Add 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top. Layer mushrooms and green onions on top of this (cut up mushrooms into pieces first). Layer meat on top of this. (We had 2 leftover bison burgers, and I laid these on top uncooked. However, you could layer crumbled up cooked burgers, or ground beef, turkey, chicken … anything you have in your fridge) Flatten biscuits and spread on top. (It took 4 for me, but if you are using a larger pan it will take more) Cover as much of the top as possible. Break up remaining tablespoon of butter into small pieces, and lay on top. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees until top is golden brown. If you used precooked meat, the casserole will probably be done in about 20-25 minutes. If you use raw meat, it will take up to 45 minutes.

Homemade focaccia recipe

The crafting posts will return at some point soon, but I’ve been on a bit of a cooking kick recently. And anything made from scratch qualifies for this blog, so enjoy the food posts for a bit. 🙂

What you will need:

2.5 – 3 cups flour
1 package active yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup very warm water
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1 sprig green onion from garden

Mix one cup flour, sugar, salt, garlic powder and yeast in a bowl. Add olive oil and cup of very warm water. Mix with electric mixer for 2-5 minutes. Stir in additional flour (1.5-2 cups) until dough forms and leaves the side of the bowl

On lightly floured surface, knead dough for 6-8 minutes, until dough is elastic. Grease bowl with olive oil, and put dough in bowl. Turn so that all sides of the dough are greased. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until dough has doubled in size  – about 1 hour.

Gently push dough – if indentation remains, dough is ready. Divide into two, and place on lightly greased pizza pans or cookie sheets. Stretch dough to desired shape, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic wrap. Brush dough with olive oil, and then sprinkle with grated cheese. Cut green onion into small pieces and sprinkle on top of dough.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Variations: You can put any yummy toppings on this bread. It would be perfect for some fresh herbs from the garden – think basil, rosemary, thyme, dill, oregano – anything. Carmelized onions or fresh tomatoes would also be delicious.

Loca for local

Last weekend, Matt and I checked out a great grocery store that was like a non-chain Whole Foods, with an emphasis on local groceries. For those in the Kansas City area, check out the Green Acres Market in Briarcliff Village. We certainly couldn’t afford to do all of our grocery shopping there, but we did get some fun things to try.

Our shopping loot:

Locally raised bison burgers

Locally made cheese (Shatto) – cheddar and havarti

Kalmata olives

Locally made pierogis

Locally made sourdough bread

Speaking of which, let’s talk about Shatto milk. This company is amazing. Their products are incredible, their marketing amazing, their packaging beautiful, and their taste outstanding. Plus, they are antibiotic/hormone free, locally made … incredible. Try their strawberry milk, their cheesecurds, their ice cream, their butter, their artesian cheeses … you can’t go wrong. They cost just a bit more but it’s worth every penny. Their milk tastes better than any other milk you have ever had. Plus, your milk comes in beautiful glass bottles that you can either return for a deposit or keep for so many useful things. We use them as vases and to water the flowers.

For those of you in the Kansas City area, stop by this market! It’s the perfect place to try something made right in KC, and to experiment with new foods for cooking.

And by the way, going to this store made me realize that my dream job would be to open an all local foods grocery store in the City Market. Ahhh heaven.

Comfort food for snowy days

It’s snowing like crazy outside, and we’re well on our way to at least 8 inches of snow. This weather means staying inside all day Sunday (not such a bad thing :)), and making a cozy meal of cheesy garlic beer bread and chicken vegetable soup. Mmm.

View out the kitchen windows while cooking:

Where one of our gardens is in the spring. *sniffle*

On to the important part: the food.

Beer bread recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium or large mixing bowl, mix 2 1/4 cups self rising flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 beer. Mix well. Batter will be lumpy and wet.

Pour into well greased bread pan.

Smooth batter a bit. Batter should fill just more than 1/2 the pan.

Then, if you want it to be extra delicious, top with about a 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, and just a few dabs of butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or so, or until the loaf is golden brown.

Let loaf rest in bread pan for a couple of minutes, then turn upside down - loaf should slide right out. Put right side up on cutting board.

Slice. Heaven.

Serve with any yummy soup. This is my version of the “kitchen sink” soup, made with homemade spicy chili chicken stock, frozen cubed potatoes, cream of chicken soup, corn, green beans, chicken, milk and cheese, salt, pepper, garlic and deliciousness.