Shepherd's Pie

Shephard's Pie is one of John's favorite dish to prepare whenever he feel like cooking. It is an English dish with meat, vegetables, and topped with mashed potatoes. I called this a casserole of leftover meat, dressed the next day with vegetables and mashed potatoes. You can used leftovers from your next Thanksgiving dinner, i.e., turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. For added flavor, I've added some of my favorite spices, cumin, and turmeric.

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)
1¼ lbs ground lean beef
4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 Tbsp. butter, softened (for potatoes)
1 onion, chopped finely
½ cup carrots, chopped
½ cup peas (optional)
½ cup corn
½ cup celery, chopped
1 cup milk (or beef stock)
1 cup shredded mozarella cheese (optional)
½ cup tomato sauce
1 cup tomatoes, sliced
1 Tbsp. worchesthershire sauce or A-1 sauce
1 tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. rosemary
olive oil for cooking
salt and pepper
9" x 13" baking dish
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook potatoes in salted water until soft (about 20-30 minutes).
2. Sauté onions in some oil until softened. Add carrots and celery and fry for about 10 minutes.
3. Add beef and cook until meat is slightly browned, but not burnt. Add spices, tomato paste, tomatoes, worchesthershire sauce and simmer on low heat for about 8-10 minutes. Lastly stir in the peas  and/or corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add more milk if you like it to be more moist. Set aside.

4. Drained potatoes and mashed finely with butter, season to taste with pepper and some salt.
5. Spread beef mixture in baking dish, then layer the mashed potatoes on top followed by shredded cheese, if used.

6. Bake in oven until cheese is bubbling and/or potatoes are golden brown (about 30 minutes).
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Pot Roast

Pot Roast is one of my favorite dish to make--especially if I want something simple with little preparation. I called this my one-pot-meal!

Ingredients:

3 lbs Chuck Roast or Rump Roast

2 bay leaves

1 onion, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. Worstershire sauce

2½ cups Homemade Beef Broth or 2 cans beef broth

3 of each carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas (skinned and cut into bite sized chunks)

4 red potatoes, quartered

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Method:

1. Wash beef and pat dry with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper and coat lightly with flour.

2. Heat some oil in heavy pot add onions, bay leaves and brown beef on both sides. Add stock to cover meat and let it come to a fast boil. Turn heat low to simmer for an hour or two, making sure the meat do not stick to the pot and the meat is tender. Baste meat with the juice to prevent from drying.

3. Add root vegetables at the last cooking hour and simmer to cook. Mix cornstarch with a little water and pour over mixture to thicken gravy. Remove meat and vegetables on a platter and serve with horse radish if preferred.

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