SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH GROUND BEEF AND TURKEY

(RECIPE POSTED BY DARLENE FALLS) 

I like the sweet potato version, but I am the only one at my house who does, so I made 2 kinds.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 Large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
1 parsnip, coarsley chopped
1 Cup of green beans, cleaned and in 1 inch pieces
1 Cup of corn
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp salt and pepper
2 pounds sweet potatoes, or white potatoes
chopped parsley (optional)

Brown meat in a Dutch oven until cooked, stirring frequently. Drain meat and set aside.
In same Dutch oven, add chopped vegetables and saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Return the meat to the pan. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally about 25 minutes until a rich stew has formed.
Meanwhile cook and prepare mashed potatoes.
Preheat oven to 400.
Transfer meat mixture to casserole dish. Smooth out to an even layer.
Spread the mashed potatoes over the surface and smooth with a spatula.
Bake 12-15 minutes until heated through and the bubbling around edges.

SIRLOIN TIP ROAST WITH PORT, ONION AND MUSHROOM AU JUS

(RECIPE POSTED BY DARLENE FALLS)

3 lb sirloin tip roast
1 tbsp vegetable oil and butter
Greek Seasoning, Club House ( I love this spice blend and use it all the time)

1 large onion
2 cups of mushrooms, halved
1 cup port wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard

make a rue mix...
1 1/2 tsp butter, soft
1 1/2 tsp flour---mash these together until smooth and refrigerate for 15 minutes

Rub seasoning on roast, and some pepper.
Heat oil in skillet, and brown the roast all over.
Transfer to roasting pan and roast in slow oven for about 2 hours, or until it's done to your liking.

Peel and cut onion in wedges and sautee with mushrooms until golden.
Add Port, stock, vinegar and mustard, bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes.
Whisk in the rue mix until it is thickened.
Serve with the beef.
Roast some potatoes along side the roast pan.

I served this with broccoli and cauliflower and some nice rosemary bread from the market. It was yummy.

*Monica Black DiCesare wrote:
I think I would try beef stock instead of chicken, just to enhance the flavours. Sounds wonderful though! You can't go wrong with any recipe if it has dijon and balsamic vinegar in it!!!

ROAST IN SPANISH SAUCE

(RECIPE POSTED BY DARLENE FALLS)

2 to 3 lb chuck roast
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. vinegar

Tenderize meat by piercing wiht knife.
Mix the vegetables together with the vinegar. Place half of the vegetable mixture in the crock pot and place the meat on top.
Pour the rest of the vegetables on top of the beef.
Place your lid and set on high for about 6 hours, or low for 10.
The vegetables cook down to a terrific sauce, kind of like warm gazpacho.
Don't be tempted to improve this dish by using wine or a better cut of meat. It works best with vinegar and less expensive meat.
It can be prepared hours in advance and is a nice variety from a traditional roast beef dinner.
It can also be roasted in the oven, use your own judgement on temperature and cooking time.

PORK TENDERLOIN IN A CROCKPOT

(RECIPE POSTED BY DARLENE FALLS)

2 Pork Tenderloins, rub with spice ( I used Cajun) and sear in a frying pan.
Potatoes, peeled and cubed (enough for you family)
5 Carrots, peeled and cut in pieces
2 Parsnips
1 onion
2 stalks celery
Mushrooms

In your crock pot, sprinkle 2 TBSP of flour and one packet of onion soup mix on the bottom.
Now add the vegetables and pour enough water so that you can see it just under the vegetables.
Lay the pork tenderloins on top and let it cook for the day. About 8-10 hours on low.

We had this tonight...nice flavour and the sauce was a good gravy.

CHICKEN IN PHYLLO

(RECIPE POSTED BY DARLENE FALLS

I'm not a big recipe cook, so my quantities are variable. Hope you don't find this too frustrating...

Filling:
Feta, about a cup or so, crumbled
Spinach, frozen, thawed drained and chopped etc, use the whole pack if you have a lot of chicken, use less if not so much
Dill, if fresh, about 3-4 sprigs, chopped...if dried, a tsp
Egg, lightly beaten
Lemon, zest of lemon.

Mix feta, spinach, dill, egg and lemon all together.

Chicken breasts, enough for your dinner guests...if they are very large, cut them in half.

Butterfly your chicken breasts, and place a portion of filling in each one. Trying to distribute the filling evenly amongst them all.

Phyllo dough, it needs to be defrosted, follow the instructions on the box.
Place a sheet of phyllo on the counter, delicately, and it needs to be either brushed with melted butter, or my favorite trick is butter flavored cooking spray...it's great.
Now, place another sheet of dough on that one, and butter again.
Place a chicken breast on the dough and roll up into a parcel tucking in the sides. Repeat until all the chicken breasts are rolled in the dough.
Place each on a cookie sheet and butter the tops of each chicken parcel. Cover with tin foil until the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
Bake at about 375 for about 45-60 minutes. Depending on the size.
This is delicious warm served with roasted potatoes, a mixed roasted vegetables and a greek salad.
It also makes a very attractive appetizer, sliced on the diagonal and served cold.
 

RED PEPPER STUFFED CHICKEN

(RECIPE POSTED BY DARLENE FALLS)

Let me start off by saying you are going to use a lot of dishes with this one, accept it and move on, and again, I'm not a big recipe precise quantity kind of cook...this came out of my head. Made it a few times, it's had good reviews by the guests.

Preheat your oven to 375 F
Chicken breasts, enough for everyone and some left overs
Jar of flame roasted red peppers
Asiago cheese, grated

Set up a breading station:
plate of flour,
bowl of lightly beaten egg
a plate of bread crumbs, season them Italian style...

Now drain some of the red peppers and set them up in a bowl on the counter, set out some cheese ( I just make a little pile on the counter) and butterfly your chicken breasts.
Lay a piece of red pepper in the chicken, trim to fit and then place some of the cheese.
Carefully close the chicken up to enclose the filling, dredge it in flour, dip it in egg and then coat with seasoned bread crumbs....this is fussy work, rinse your fingers after each one to keep your work clean.
Place on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
Repeat until all the chicken is stuffed and breaded. Place in oven for about 50 minutes, until it's brown and the chicken is cooked.
Very yummy served with roasted potatoes, also served it with whole grain pasta and a vodka cream sauce with artichoke hearts and a green salad and maybe some broccoli, or whatever your favorite veg is.
Sure you can buy stuff like this at M&M's, but it's not the same...

Enjoy, and happy cooking.

CLASSIC CREME BRULEE

(RECIPE POSTED BY DARLENE FALLS)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 egg yolks

 In a large bowl whisk together egg yolks and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and th mixture is a thick pale yellow. Add

 2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

and continue to whisk until well blended. Strain into a large bowl and skim the surface of any foam or bubbles.
Divide among 6 ramekins.
Place ramekins in a bain marie (large pan filled with 1-2 " of hot water) and bake until set around the edges but still loose in the center, about 50 to 60 minutes.
Remove from oven and leave in the bain marie until cooled.
Remove cups from the pan and discard water.
Chill ramekins for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
When ready to serve, sprinkle about 2 tsps of sugar over each custard . Using a small hand held torch melt the sugar. If you don't have a torch, place under broiler until sugar melts.
Re-chill custards for a few minutes before serving.