If you’re looking for another way to use up those holiday mashed potatoes, this just might be it. This is not your average shepard’s pie.This has ground beef and sausage you could also add some sliced zucchini as well, I did not add them as I did not have them on hand but next time I will! I added extra sausage for this one! This is a recipe that needs to be made ahead of time. I made this the night before I was going to bake it and it made for a very easy dinner, add a salad and you’re done!
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup shredded italian cheese blend cheese
2 cups mashed potatoes
8 ounces lean ground beef
8 ounces ground sweet italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes undrained
1/2 of a 6 ounce can of tomato paste
ground pepper
paprika optional
DIRECTIONS
Stir half of the cheese into the mashed potatoes and set mixture aside. In a large skillet cook ground beef, sausage and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off any fat. If you were going to use zucchini now would be the time to add it (about two cups). Add tomatoes, tomato paste and pepper into meat mixture and bring to a boil and simmer about 5-10 minutes.
Put the meat mixture in to your round baking dish and spoon mashed potatoes over the top, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and paprika if desired. cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours but up to 48 hours.
Preheat oven to 375. Remove plastic wrap, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 5 more minutes. Let stand for five minutes before serving.
Enjoy,
This is my version of a New England style cranberry sauce. The major difference with my cranberry sauce is that I use apple cider as well as real maple syrup! I hope your family enjoys it as much as my family does!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup of apple cider
1 cup of white sugar
1 (12 ounce package) fresh cranberries
Juice AND zest of one orange
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1 cup dried Craisins (I sometimes use the pomegranate flavor)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Tablespoons real maple syrup
DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan boil apple cider and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to simmer and stir in cranberries,orange juice and zest, apple, dried fruit, pecans , salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup. Stir well and let simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
Some like it HOT! This is very, very HOT! BUT…You can use jalepeno’s or any other milder pepper in place of the ghost pepper! My family likes heat. Robby likes it a little too much! My friend’s of ours grow an amazing garden and part of their garden is a variety of hot peppers. This includes ghost peppers! If you are not familiar with ghost peppers they are CRAZY HOT! I will tell you a story about Robby and a couple of his friends that happened a couple years ago. Robby and his friends got their hands on a ghost pepper (I have no idea where it came from) but it ended up becoming a dare on who was going to eat it ! Oh my! This all came about during a sleep over at MY house and after Jim and I went to bed. Well…needless to say the poor soul that lost the bet spent a portion of the night throwing up as it was so hot! Hmmmm….SORRY! Not a good way to start a post about food is it?! Well, what can I say…teenage boys! I still love them!
INGREDIENTS
2 ghost peppers (I took the seeds out)
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
handful of cilantro
6 cloves of garlic
1 onion
salt to taste
pepper to taste
juice of two limes
DIRECTIONS
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until you get your desired consistency.
Note: This gets hotter the longer it sits, you can add a 1/2 tsp. of sugar if needed!
Store in the refrigerator.
Enjoy,
After having my sister-in-law Lisa’s crispy grilled chicken wings, I set out to make crispy wings in the oven. I have found success with this and LOVE IT! This is more of a method as you can use ANY sauce you want to coat the wings. This can be done with Lisa’s buffalo sauce. I am currently working on another sriracha honey sauce and will add that recipe after I work on it a little more and get the recipe exactly where I want it!
Make this for your next football get together or any gathering you may be having. You will not be disappointed as I have already made these two more times, and they disappear really fast in my house! This recipe can easily be doubled and I recommend it!
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds chicken wings
1 cup of honey
1 pinch (or more if you want it spicy) red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 Tablespoon baking powder
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place a cooling wire rack on top of the baking sheet and spray liberally with non stick spray. Put the wings in a bowl and add the baking powder, coating all of the wings with a thin coat of powder shaking off any excess and placing the chicken on the prepared pan. When all of the wings are coated and on your pan place the pan on the LOW rack in your oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes turn the oven up to 425 degrees, move the pan to the middle rack in your oven. Bake for 20 minutes, turn wings over and bake for another 20 minutes. While the wings are baking mix the remaining ingredients together and set aside. When the wings have finished cooking for the second 20 minutes, brush the honey mixture on the top of the wings and let bake 1 minute, turn wings and coat the second side with mixture, cook one minute and repeat this step one more time. Remove from oven and serve warm.
Enjoy,
This dish is packed with flavor. This has just a handful of ingredients that you can change up to your families spice level and add more veggies Perhaps some bell peppers, change up the cheese to various combinations, cheddar, Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend as I have used…change the salsa to a green salsa , so many possibilities with the dish! We really enjoyed it and I loved that is was quick and easy after a long day at work!!!
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces spiral pasta
1 pound ground beef or hot Jimmy Dean sausage
1 cup chopped onion
1 (16 ounce ) jar salsa
4 cups Mexican cheese blend
2 Roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 jalapeño sliced, optional
1/4 cup cilantro optional ( I left this out as Mr. MCYM does not like it)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a three quart baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking heat a large skillet over medium heat add your ground meat and onion breaking up the meat as you cook. Cook until meat is browned and onions are tender, drain any excess fat from the skillet. Stir in your salsa and tomatoes. Combine well. Add your beef and salsa mixture to the pasta. Combine well and pour into your prepared baking dish. Top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve warm with a side salad and a crusty bread.
Enjoy,
