"Healthy," Veggie-Loaded Shepherd's Pie

Matt has been BEGGING me to make shepherd’s pie.

I have been putting this off for years, actually…but I decided to finally give in. The bland combo of beef, potatoes, and corn just never did it for me, so I went on a cyber mission to find a “jazzier” version of this comfort dish. I came across this recipe by Ellie Krieger and immediately fell in love. It had a wonderful combination of veggies that brought more layers of flavor to the dish, and it was a healthier alternative to the traditional recipe.

I followed the recipe exactly, so I will not post it here (it is linked above). The only changes I made were adding 50% reduced fat cheese to the top, and a few small handfuls in with the potato/cauliflower mixture, and also adding scallions as a garnish.

This recipe was a winner. Partly because it was truly tasteful. Partly because it was somewhat healthy. But mostly because my husband had no idea that he was eating cauliflower! I told him a few days later, once the leftovers were gone. I’m sure now he would say that it didn’t quite taste right…but his clean plates and many helpings proved otherwise!

I apologize for the picture below, but this is a dish that really does not photograph well!

New Orleans Feast for 12!

**Disclaimer: If you are not interested in reading this novel, just scroll looking for the pictures, and read the blurbs (recipes) under each picture.

For those of you that do not know, Matt’s family started a neat Christmas gift tradition in 2006. Instead of exchanging gifts, the adults all select themed dinners out of a hat. We have 4 couples, so each couple selects three themes and we get together once a month for dinner, roating hosts and themes. We get together much more often than that, but we all do look forward to our “monthly meals” and we all get into creating an authentic, flavorful dinner.

Since I am the resident foodie in the family, it was my job to come up with the themes for Christmas ’07. I thought long and hard about it, and tried to offer a variety of themes for a variety of palates and also considered meals that would be best served during specific times of the year. The three themes Matt and I ended up with this year were Soup and Salad, Takeout Choice (where you recreate something that is typically takeout) and New Orleans. I can’t for the life of me remember what the remaining themes were that everyone else selected?

Anyway, I decided to go with the New Orleans theme for our April dinner, which we hosted last night. This was quite a challenge to me as I have never made anything of the sort, never visited the great city, and really had no clue what I was in for! After much deliberation and revising, I settled on the following menu...

Appetizers:
Creole shrimp

For the shrimp, I gathered my inspiration from this recipe, but didn’t like the butter aspect of, and reviews said it tended to be a bit oily, though quite delicious. So, I used many of the same ingredients, but did this my own way. I took large shrimp (they were on sale, in retrospect – I should have gotten jumbo), put them in a bowl, squeezed the juice of one lemon, added a little bit of lemon zest, and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. I tossed to coat evenly. I then took the spices suggested in the epicurious recipe, combined in a prep bowl, and added to the shrimp, again tossing to coat. I had Matt grill these little guys up and served with lemon wedges.

Cajun Sweet Potato "Chips"

For the sweet potato chips, I started by thinly slicing the potatoes using a mandolin. I sprayed two baking sheets with olive oil spray and then lined with the slices. I then drizzled with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with Cajun seasoning and flake salt. I baked for about 20 minutes at 400 (some didn’t need quite that long)…and once out, sprinkled with more salt and some fresh thyme. These “chips” had a nice bite, everyone really enjoyed them…even Matt’s sister, Deb, who is a self-proclaimed picky eater.

I also served a cheese and fruit selection, and some munchies for the kids, popcorn, etc.

Entrée:
Jambalaya


I decided on jambalaya, and after reading through countless recipes, went with this recipe from the Food Network. I figured that Emeril, the king of New Orleans cuisine, couldn’t disappoint. And boy did this recipe deliver! It was fairly easy, and packed such a nice, but not overpowering KICK!
I had prepped all of the veggies and meat the night before, because having this meal on a Friday and trying to race home after work to prepare everything would have been impossible. I diced the peppers, onions, sausage, chicken, ham, and garlic ahead of time, which made a world of difference in terms of ease of preparation and clean up.

I only made a few small changes to the recipe.
• We could not find andouille sausage, so we used chorizo.
• I also had a few people who do not like shrimp (Matt – gasp, and one of his sisters) and one person who is allergic to shellfish (my mom, poor thing!), so I omitted the shrimp, but did leave the rest of the Creole shrimp out for people to add to the jambalaya if they wished.
• The recipe calls for 6 cups of water. I cut that down to 3 cups, and added 3 cups of chicken stock as well.
• I felt it needed a little longer than the 30-35 minutes for all the liquid to absorb. I think once the rice was in and liquid had been added, I had it cooking for closer to 45 minutes.
• I omitted the green onions, but only because I forgot about them . No one seemed to miss them, but I think they would have been a great addition to the dish.

Mixed Green Salad with Creole Mustard Dressing
I combined romaine and red leaf lettuce with orange bell peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes for the salad, and topped with a mustard vinaigrette. For the dressing, I combined a few spoonfuls of Dijon mustard, about 1 teaspoon minced garlic, salt, pepper, a *small* pinch of cayenne pepper, fresh parsley and red wine vinegar in my mini prep food processor. Once blended, I streamed in extra virgin olive oil. Once salad was dressed, I topped with some grated Parm-Reg. cheese.

Dessert:
Bread Pudding with Spiced Rum Sauce
Two famous New Orleans desserts are bread pudding and banana’s foster. I would have preferred bananas foster, since the flavors seemed more appealing to me, but since the banana dish was more labor intensive, I went with the bread pudding. I love entertaining and having people over, but I don’t like spending every minute in the kitchen. Since the bread pudding allowed me to stick it in the over and forger about it, it was my winner.

I read through multiple recipes and settled on this one from epicurious. It was simple and the end result was fantastic! I had never made bread pudding before, and actually had never eaten it, so I was a little nervous as I didn’t know what it was “supposed to” look and taste like.

I followed the recipe nearly exactly. The only addition I made was to add a few dashes of cinnamon and a few dashes of nutmeg to the custard mixture.

I baked according to the directions and my end result was a beautiful, puffy masterpiece. We were all so busy admitting the puffy goodness that I forgot to snap a picture! I am SO upset about this, it was truly a site to see! The pudding falls within a few minutes, so by the time I remembered, it was too late.

I used the accompanying recipe for the spiced rum sauce, and aside from adding a dash of vanilla extract and a dash of ground cloves, I followed it closely.

I served the pudding with vanilla ice cream and then spooned the sauce over the pudding and ice cream. Delish!

Steak & Cheese Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Chips

My husband looooves steak and cheese sandwiches, and I don't mind them either! But, we both know they are something we shouldn't really eat. I decided it might be a good idea to make them at home, that way I can control the ingredients and try to make it somewhat healthier. Here's what I did...

I browned one package of extra lean shaved steak over medium heat, adding salt and pepper as it cooked. I also sauteed sliced green peppers and white onions until soft. I prepared multigrain rolls by slicing across nearly all the way through.

Meanwhile,I began working on the sweet potato chips. I was going to make sweet potato fries, but once I came across this simple recipe in my Martha Stewart Living catalog, I couldn't resit. I sliced 2 sweet potatoes using my mandoline. Once sliced, I placed on two greased (with olive oil spray) baking sheets. I drizzled with the sliced potatoes with a little extra virgin olive oil, and then sprinkled with fresh black pepper, sea salt flakes, and dried rosemary. I baked for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. FYI - I switched the baking sheets to alternate racks half way through the baking, and it seemed to work well.

One the steak and veggies were cooked, I assembled the sandwiches. I placed the peppers and onions on the steak and topped with low fat cheese, and placed under the broiler to melt. I served along with the chips. Pretty tasty! And, while this meal is far from healthy, it is at least a better alternative than a sandwich from a sub shop!

Comfort Food - Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

My husband is a typical man. He grew up eating heavy, classic Italian dinners every Sunday. So, my rule of no starches really cramps his style! I wouldn’t say we never have starch, we actually have brown rice quite a bit, and occasionally we have whole wheat pasta…we just rarely have regular old pasta and almost never have potatoes. So, I decided to make him the ultimate comfort food meal, meatloaf with mashed potatoes. I used Emril’s recipe for Kicked Up Meatloaf, and made only a few minor adjustments. One, I omitted the veal, and simply added more beef and pork. Also, I omitted the peppers and celery from the mix recipe, and left off the bacon on the top.

Meatloaf is not my favorite meal, and certainly one I would not make if I could help it, but it was OK. My husband loved it, so I suppose it was worth it! And the potatoes, I must say, they tasted pretty darn good! Those were certainly a nice treat!