To finish off the week, I thought I would try a Foodie Friday post. This event is hosted by Gollum at http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com. Now, please be gentle, I'm a mediocre cook at best and my photo skills are poor, but I am learning a lot from you ladies every day. I have never been a fan of Shepherd's Pie, so I thought I would look for a new recipe. I found this on the internet, and it was a hit with me AND my kids, so I can't ask for more than that.
To begin, you need a pound (or so, I think I used about a pound and a half) of hamburger, 1/2 Pkg Onion Soup mix (or some actual onions, but I am lazy), 1/2 C beef broth, 1/2 C heavy cream, 1 T Worcestershire sauce, 1 T flour, 1 C of frozen peas, a bag of shredded potatoes (found mine in the dairy case with the eggs), a bag of cheddar cheese. 1/4 C Mayo, some paprika and chives if you got 'em. Preheat your oven to 350.
Brown the hamburger and add the onion, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Once cooked, add the flour to thicken slightly, continue to cook over med heat.
Add the cream:
It's hard to take a photo with your right hand while pouring with your left, so I am proud of this:
The cream will make a nice gravy and everything will thicken up really well so there will be no runny meat juice (blech!) Turn off the heat, and spread the mixture in the bottom of a baking pan. Toss the peas on top of the meat. In a bowl, combine the potatoes with about half the cheese, the mayo and chives. Stir and spread over the peas. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese, then the paprika, and bake for 45 minutes (or if you used a large pan like mine, only bake for 30-35 min or it will dry out).
Take it out and let it "set" for about 10 minutes.
When it's done it looks like a big cheesy hashbrown. Yummy! But here is my downfall, if I were a good cook, there would be side dishes or a nice salad. I just figure since there are peas in it already I can get by.
Lastly, the final step:
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
I love the sloped ceiling and all the windows, even though the view is just the back of someone's else's house. At some point I hope there will be some nice trees out there. I would love to put a chandelier in this room someday. It is not wired for an overhead light though, so could be $$$.
Above is the view in from the top of the stairwell. (My living area is on the 2nd floor, the garage and daughter Manda's room are downstairs). The natural light back there is just great. Below is the opposite view, from sunroom toward the stairwell. See my kitchen cabinets???
Below is the kitchen in total. It is small, even smaller than my apartment kitchen, but I will make do. I am picturing this finished with my future island angled across the front, which will be painted black to match the appliances. I upgraded to can lights in here.
Below is the countertop, not yet installed but just hanging out down in my daughters bedroom for now. I think this dark color coordinates well with the cherry cabinets and black appliances. It is a laminate, I conserved budget on this as well as other things that could be upgraded later (like flooring), and opted to spend more on things that would be harder to add - like my sunroom!
From the top of the steps, this is the dining area to the right. It is pretty small, but so is my table. I want to try my current cherry hutch on the long wall. The window here will look onto my deck, so I will be sure to have a nice plant hanging right outside it.
I got a moving company to come over yesterday and give me an estimate. The guy said I had really nice pieces, a lot of breakables and 'special handling' stuff. Ha-ha, I told him I don't own anything valuable except maybe my computer, pretty much everything is second hand. My most expensive piece of furniture cost under $400. I guess I just have good taste in old junk!
