Shepherd's Pie (My Mom's Way)

Every once in a while I break down and buy ground beef. I know, I'm a cheapskate! I can't help it! It's how I've trained myself. But there was a thought in the back of my mind all day saying, Mom's shepherd's pie is so much better with beef... I've made it with ground turkey before and it was still really good. But today I just had to have it Mom's way.

Ingredients

3-4 large potatoes (These are for your mashed potatoes. You also need milk and butter (duh) but I don't know that anyone knows the actual amounts.)
1 pound ground beef or turkey, drained well
1 small onion, diced
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can green beans, drained well
1 tablespoon oregano
3/4 cup water or beef broth
cheddar or monterrey jack cheese
parmesan cheese (optional)
salt, pepper and garlic powder

Directions

1.Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Boil your potatoes, drain and mash with milk and butter. Season with garlic salt and pepper. You can throw a little cheese in too. I used mozzarella because I was low on monterrey jack.

3. Brown the hamburger with the diced onion. Season the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Drain well.

4. Add tomato paste, green beans, oregano and beef broth to hamburger. Mix well. If the mixture is dry, add a little more broth.

5. Pour mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes.

6. Top potatoes with cheeses.

7. Bake for 20 minutes.

   

  

Omg it was sooooooo good!!!!

Sherylyn

Spicy "Thai" Noodles

Adrianna and I have been cooking together for years. This, however is our first recipe we have cooked together for the blog. "The Homemaking Fashionists" on location (Adrianna's house)!

Spicy "Thai" Noodles

Ingredients

1 box of linguine or spaghetti
1-2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 carrots peeled and shredded
3/4 cup chopped peanuts
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare noodles according to package directions. Drain well.

2. Heat oils and crushed red pepper in a small sauce pan for 3 minutes. Strain red pepper and reserve oil.

3. Whisk honey and soy sauce in with the oil.

4. Toss together with noodles.

5. Top each bowl with green onions, cilantro, carrots, peanuts and sesame seeds.

So we had to modify the recipe a bit.. We forgot to get sesame seeds. And neither of us had a wire strainer so we tried to get some of the pepper out with a slotted spoon, much to our avail. But they tasted great! If you plan to leave the pepper in, you should only use 1 tablespoon because it was still pretty hot with just one. I'd imagine if the pepper had been strained like the recipe recommended, it wouldn't have been as spicy. The original recipe also instructed us to chill the noodles in the refrigerator over night and serve cold... but we were hungry right away. And I thought the noodles were good served warm. I think these noodles would be great with chicken.

The Most Exciting Announcement EVER

Hello friends. I have some very exciting news! Starting today, "The Homemaking Fashionista" will have a co-writer! My good friend Adrianna is going to enlighten you with her immense knowledge on a subject that most homemaking fashionistas are quite interested in: thrifty child rearing! Obviously I can't give any advice on the kiddos since I have none of my own. Well, I could give advice but imagine it would all be wrong. When Bette Davis Jr. is annoying me I put her in the back yard. I guess you can't do that with kids. Anywho, Adrianna is the mother of a beautiful 18 month old little girl named, Olivia, whose hobbies include (but are not limited to) eating, pooping, talking, scowling, watching Nemo and sleeping.

Adrianna will also update on DIY tips, cleaning ideas, organizing suggestions and frugal YET gourmet meals! Seriously, fabulous meals that Juliet Child herself would gladly pull up a chair to your dining room table for, or TV tray in the living room.


Adrianna is a very busy lady. So don't expect to hear from her too many times a week. She is a full time mom, wife, student, Nobel Peace Prize award winning researcher, celebrity gossip aficionado and last but not least a Certified Nurses Aide.

As far as the "fashionista" part, Adrianna is somewhat lacking in the "style department," her words, not mine. Scrubs are only so stylish. But with the help of me, The Homemaking Fashionista, we plan to rectify her ways and lead her onto the road less traveled. Stay tuned....

Adrianna is very excited to be part of this blog. She looks forward to your feedback and comments as well as your suggestions for blog ideas. Keep us posted!

Sherylyn