Vegetarian Shepards Pie

INGREDIENTS
2 medium/large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 medium/large white potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
green onions

Curried Lentil Filling
3 1/4 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 cup lentils
2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 cup sliced onions
2 cloves garlic
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup yellow or red bell pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 zucchini, cut in rounds
1 cup bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. Boil sweet and white potatoes 45 minutes. Strain the potatoes, reserve 2 cups of water. Pour 1 cup back into pot and mash potatoes. Add olive oil and seasoning and completely drain.
3. Meanwhile cook the lentils: Bring 3 cups water to a boil, add the bay leaf, lentils, Cajun seasoning. Cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat when completely cooked and let cool briefly. Drain out any liquid.
4. Saute onions, garlic, mushrooms, broccoli and bell peppers in olive oil in large sauce pan until onions are transparent and limp, about 4 minutes.
5. Add the reserved 1 cup of potato water, nutritional yeast, salt and curry powder and stir until everything is blended in. Add to cooked lentils.
6. Dissolve cornstarch in the remaining 1/4 cup of water and stir it into the lentil/vegetable mixture. Continue to cook for 3 minutes until sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
7. Line the bottom of casserole dish with zucchini rounds. Sprinkle 1/2 bread crumbs on top of zucchini.
8. Spoon out 4 cups of the mashed potatoes and spread across the zucchini rounds. Spoon out 2 cups of the curried lentils and spread over potatoes. Spoon remainder of mashed potatoes and smooth it out on top. Sprinkle the rest of the bread crumbs and scallions or green onions on the top.
9. Bake for 50 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

(I know it might not be the prettiest picture, it was taken as an afterthought.)

Healthy chicken tacos

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken diced
1/2 cup yellow onion diced
5 cloves garlic diced
salt
pepper
3/4 cup salsa verde
flour tortillas
Sliced mozzarella
tomatoes chopped
cilantro chopped
sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. If you don't have a taco rack like mine you can fold them over the sides of an oven safe pan. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until crisp. Dice chicken and sauté with 1/4 cup of onions (reserve rest for topping) , garlic, salt and pepper until chicken is cooked. Add 1/2 cup of salsa to chicken and warm through. While salsa is warming, line tortillas with cheese and put under broiler until cheese melts to inside. Top with chicken and another layer of cheese and place back under the broiler long enough for cheese to melt. Top with tomato, onion, sour cream, cilantro, and the remaining salsa.

**FYI I call these healthy because the tortillas are baked not fried, and the chicken is covered in a simple low cal sauce instead of a heavy sauce. You can of course leave out the sour cream or cheese if you want to.

Sweet Balsamic Chicken

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ pounds chicken

1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

½ teaspoon rosemary

5 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary, and garlic in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar.

2. Add the chicken to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

3. Preheat the over to 450 degrees.

4. Place the chicken on a baking sheet. Bake until it is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes, flipping over half way.

5. Place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil (this will kill the bacteria). Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over medium to low heat until thick, about 15 minutes.

6. Top cooked chicken with the cooked marinade.

Death on toast...errrm I mean Fried egg sammich

I had every intention of making a delicious Croque Madame for my husband this morning. However, I know he hates fork and knife sandwiches, and last time he said it was too messy for his taste. So I made the same thing only all inside the bread. This is a sandwich made with love. This isn't some wonder bread packaged ham sandwich, you have to plan to make this, and want to treat your taste buds!

2 slices fresh sour dough bread
3 slices mozzarella cheese (I had this fresh sliced at the deli)
4 slices Fresh shaved honey ham (you know off the ham that looks like ham, not off the ham that looks like a loaf of pink weirdness)
Mayo
Butter
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
*Yields one sandwich, double this if you want to make two sammies!

Butter the outsides of your bread*. In non stick skillet on medium low, place ham in pan and brown it to develop sugar in it. While your ham is browning slather both inside slices of bread with mayo**. Place one slice of cheese on one piece of bread (I broke mine in half and did it sideways, that isn't two slices). When your ham is done place it on top of the cheese and cover with second layer of cheese. Fry your two eggs keeping yolks soft and gooey inside***. Place both eggs on top of your cheese and top with more cheese. Put your second slice of bread on top with mayo inside. Melt butter in your pan and place your sammich carefully inside to fry on low heat, just enough to melt the cheese and brown up your bread. Carefully flip and brown on the other side. Cut in half and enjoy the gooey goodness!

*Real butter not margarine
**They mayo will not melt inside or turn oily. Before you assume you hate this just try the damn mayo inside, I promise you will love it!
***unless you like em over cooked then whatever do it that way, but it takes the fun out of dunking your sandwich int he broken yolk

See it starting to brown. Notice that is real ham, like actual honey ham off a big ole hunk of ham (I went to the deli counter for this and asked for just enough ham for my sammich, to ensure fresh ham).

A perfectly over easy egg

Seriously aren't you starving now.

Definition of Croque Madam & Croque Monsieur

Lime chipotle chicken

1 cup sliced onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2.5 pounds skinless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
4 minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with 4 teaspoon sauce from can
5 cloves garlic minced
1 cup chicken broth

Arrange onion, celery and carrots in bottom of slow cooker.
Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and arrange over vegetables.

In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, lime juice, chicken broth, chipotle chiles with sauce, and garlic. Pour mixture over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours

Serve over rice.

Spicy stuffed bell peppers

1.5 pounds Hot Italian sausage
1/2 yellow onion diced
5 cloves garlic diced
1/4 green bell pepper fine diced
5 Cremini or baby portobello mushrooms diced
9 slices mozzarella cheese
3 large red bell peppers
Dash red pepper flakes
1 Tsp pepper
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp grill seasoning
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350. Cut very bottoms of bell peppers off, just enough to make them stand upright on their own. Cut tops off and de-seed. Drizzle with olive oil and put in the oven for 10 minutes. In sauté pan break up sausage and add, onions, garlic, diced bell pepper, mushrooms, salt, pepper, and grill seasoning. When meat is browned add bread crumbs and coat all the meat with them. When bell peppers are done remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to touch. Place one slice of cheese over the top of the bell pepper and then push it down inside to form a bowl shape and coating the entire inside of the pepper. Add enough of your meat to fill half the bell pepper and then add a second layer of cheese (placing the cheese in there in a cup/bowl shape will make it so that your bell pepper is lined with cheese and you get some in each bite, similar to an ice cream drumstick being lined with chocolate). Place remaining meat into pepper and then place last slice of cheese over the top so it hangs over the sides. Place the peppers uncovered in the oven for 10 minutes. The cheese should melt over the top of the pepper and form a cheese lid. Remove and enjoy.

* For the mozzarella you can use either fresh or deli mozzarella. For this recipe I had the deli slice me up exactly how much I wanted. I didn't buy fresh this week simply because I wasn't making anything that would use it, and I wouldn't have been able to finish it before it expired. If you use fresh double the amount you use because the slices will be smaller and you will need to cover the same amount of area as a deli slice would.

** I realize most stuffed bell peppers are made with rice and other stuff. These are my all man meat bell peppers though, with none of the yicky girly rice and froo froo things.

** I also prefer sausage to ground beef because you get far less fat and water in the pan and don't have to do any draining, plus it is already seasoned.

Shitake Mushroom Risotto Cakes

INGREDIENTS
1 box shitake mushroom risotto
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
flour
garlic and herb breadcrumbs
olive oil


DIRECTIONS
1. Make risotto according to directions on box.
2. After it is done, stir cheese and basil into risotto.
3. Refrigerate risotto for about an hour. You want the risotto to be completely chilled, it will make it easier to work with.
4. Form risotto into small patties.


5. Take each patty and coat it with flour, coat with the egg wash, and then coat with breadcrumbs.
6. On medium heat olive oil, and cook each patty until brown on each side, about 2-4 minutes.
7. Cool on paper towel and pat to remove excess oil. Serve. Can be reheated in oven.