Shepherd's Pie and Turkey and Stuffing Casserole

 This past week I feel like I made a bunch of Sunday dinner type of recipes- except  I didn't really make any of these on Sunday.

The first recipe was a Shepherd's Pie. I haven't made one of these in years- but the last one I made I really liked so I was really looking forward to this one. I even went to the meat market to grab some lamb so I could make it with the lamb instead of beef. I eat ground beef for most recipes that require meat so it was good to switch it up. This was good but I feel like it would have been better with extra seasonings like Thyme/Rosemary. I made it on a Monday too...and it felt like a little too much work for a weekday. But it was still pretty good! This recipe came from the Unofficial Harry Potter cookbook.

Next up, a Turkey and Stuffing Recipe. Except I subbed out the Turkey for Duck. I didn't feel like hunting for Turkey Pieces and I found the duck on sale in a local store. I thought it was uncooked but it was already cooked. I tried to crisp the skin the wrong way on the stovetop ...I should have just cooked it in the oven and broiled it. I know for next time. Then I just made the stuffing- I'm not a fan of stuffing. But I figured I would try it again just to be sure. And..yeah. Still don't like it. It's just seasoned and moistened baked bread with aromatics. I would rather eat any other starchy side than stuffing. But if you do like it I guess it's a good recipe.

Definitely not the best thing I have ever made....

And that's all for the last week! 

Bacon Beer and Butternut Squash Soup and Asian Pesto

 I thought I was going to get behind this week for some reason with trying out new recipes...and somehow I didn't. And that's with constantly trying to clean out and rotate things out of my freezer/pantty..I have really been doing a great job with that. Yay me!

Anyway, today I just have two simple recipes. More butternut. I feel like I have been eating a lot of butternut squash these past couple of months. Maybe this will be the last one for awhile? I'm kinda ready to move on to something new. Anyway...I love butternut squash soup. I've made a few. I think my favorite are usually the ones that are on the sweeter side. This isn't. A very savory soup with the bacon and beer. I used beef bacon- of course. And I did use the entire amount of beer since I have a lot of beer to use and get rid of. I don't think I'm a fan of bacon in soup though. It makes it a little too smoky and savory so I'm not sure I would do it again. Or maybe it was just the combination with the beer. This was just an OK soup. Something easy to warm up and take to work. I prolly shoulda added parsley or green onion for garnish but it was late and I was feeling lazy. 

Next up, a fun twist on traditional pesto. I love pesto. It's the easiest things to make and it's worth making fresh rather than opening up a jar. It uses some basil, mostly spinach, orange juice and zest plus a few asian sauces like hoisin, chili sauce, soy etc.   The book suggested it with white fish so cooked some and threw this on top and let it continue cooking. Then put the whole lot on some rice. I think I have discovered my favorite way to cook frozen fish-which I have usually hated. 

And that's all for this week! A pretty healthy week for me which is always nice...now I'm ready to make junk food.

Turmeric Chicken and Steak N Mushroom Pie

 Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! 

The way things are going in this season of the US, I'm kinda surprised it's still a Holiday. I'm just praying we make it through these next three years somehow. 

But on to what's been cooking in my kitchen.

Turmeric Chicken- This is just like any other curry/butter type chicken recipe. Different but kinda the same. I followed the recipe very loosely and somehow ended up adding way too much turmeric. I was just shaking that bottle right in. I try to add turmeric to most of my freestyle recipes because it has so many health benefits and it's very anti-inflammatory which I can definitely use more of. This was a good, easy weekday meal. Although by the time I made it I was feeling very lazy so I through it over leftover rice and veggies. 

Next up, a steak and mushroom pie. I have made so many "pie" recipes from the Unofficial Harry Potter cookbook.  I am still cooking through the Great Hall recipes and this chapter seems particularly long. I think of the ones I have made- this is my least favorite. It's still good and even better after it sits a day- it's just I would make the Meat and Potato or Chicken and Mushroom over this if I wanted a pie. First off...they take forever. The crust is super easy since I just make it in my food processor. The crust always comes out amazing. Flaky...great flavor. And I always have leftovers that I throw in the freezer to make a mini weekday pot pie  This is also originally a steak and kidney pie. I'm not going through the bother of finding kidneys though so I went with mushroom. I also think this recipe could use some other seasoning besides salt and pepper- maybe some thyme or rosemary. It needed another flavor.  I served with fresh green beans. But didn't take a pic of the cut pie. 

And that's all! Not a bad week in the kitchen for me..not at all! 

Banana Cake with Macadamia Nuts and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

 It's already that time for another foodie post. I started off this am making some whole wheat banana blueberry pancakes- just kinda winged the recipe. And they came out really good. I had a banana that was really about to go bad.

These are the recipes I didn't wing...kinda.

I feel like banana bread recipes always pop up for me. Every food blog their first recipe tends to be Banana Bread. Technically this is banana bundt cake but I didn't feel like making it in a bundt pan. And I wanted to half the recipe. I made a few other changes like adding the macadamia nuts- they bake up really strange in bread. The texture gets a little soft and crumbly. I think I prefer pecans or walnuts but I'm glad I tried something different. I also used wheat flour and I swapped out some of the butter for oil.  And I almost forgot I used less sugar- about 3/4 cup. And added a ton of vanilla extract. The final bread was amazing...but could have used an extra banana. 

Then I made a sun dried tomato pesto. I also made a few changes here- forgot to buy tomatoes so I used tomato paste. Used dried oregano instead of fresh. I couldn't find sun dried tomatoes in oil so I just used the dried stuff and added extra olive oil. I love pesto- especially homemade. Anything is a jar will not compare.  Also added extra garlic. This was just like a basil pesto but with some tomato flavor. So easy to make and so good. I originally started it in the Vitamix and then switched to the food processor because it just wasn't processing since I halved the recipe. I think I'll have plenty leftover to put in the freezer to eat another week.  Served with pasta and chicken bites. Yum!  This recipe is similar but exact to the one in my Vitamix book.

And that's all...it was a good week for me as far as recipes go! 

English Ketchup and Butternut Squash Pasta Salad

 Too soon for another food post- but it's that time anyway. May as well start myself a food blog. I guess I have just been cooking and shopping so much more than usual. I think mostly because it's winter (the roads are red today) ..and it's cold. So it's the perfect weather to get in the kitchen. 

So this is what I made this past week. 

English Ketchup

Who knew there were recipes for ketchup? It never really crossed my mind as something to make until the Unofficial Harry Potter cookbook showed me the way. It's actually really easy and while it was bubbling away on the stove it really smelled like ketchup.  And it has quite a few spices but I couldn't detect them much in the finished product. I halved the recipe thinking I would just make a little bit and I truly made a little bit. It was very concentrated tho. To go with it I made my first batch of homemade fries that I had to triple fry to get them to crisp and brown up. But they were amazing! If they weren't so terrible for you, I would be making them again this weekend. To go with it, I made hot wings- baked. I made them with Louisiana Hot Sauce. I've been buying a different hot sauce anytime I need some and testing them on wings- I loved these. They weren't spicy but they had really great flavor.  I probably could have plated it better but I was cooking and eating as I went.

Next up, Butternut Squash Pasta Salad. This came out so good but you really have to taste and add or else you can end up with something bland. I roasted the squash in the oven because that's how I prefer to cook it. I used Pecorino Romano cheese instead of Parmesan because I needed it for something else and it's my favorite cheese discovery this year. I added a lot more than stated in the recipe. I also added a lot more sage, salt, and pepper than stated as well and kept adding and tasting until it tasted good. And it's probably one of my fave pasta dishes I have made in a long time. I don't know that the dried cranberries really add anything but it sounds fancy. Served with Salmon. I didn't half the recipe like usual and it made a ton so I will probably be eating it for dinner for the next few days which I am not mad at. 

And that's all for this week! 

Thai Green Curry Sauce, Crock Pot Steak Bites, and Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl Bread

 I'm waiting for the smell of fresh baked bread to hit my nose. Chocolate Swirl Bread. Which I'm not sure will make it into this post or maybe once it's all baked up I'll add it in a few hours. In the meantime---- this is what I made in the last few days.

Thai Green Curry Sauce. I made this with the paste- which actually was really good but got diluted way too much in all the coconut milk. It was still pretty decent, I just think I would use way more paste if I made something like this again. It also desperately needed some heat to me. I made crab cakes to go with and it came out good. No complaints but probably wouldn't do this exact thing again.  Not one of the prettiest plates I have ever made either. I had a lot of leftover sauce that went really well on whatever vegetables I made in the last few days which was nice- green curry peas, green curry carrots, green curry broccoli. 

Then I did crock pot steak bites. I almost skipped this recipe but I'm glad I didn't. I read a few complaints about lack of flavor...so I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Food is too expensive to be making it bland and boring. I used chuck roast and cut it up. Then I made sure to sear it, cause that makes flavor. Then in the same pan I cooked red onion and garlic in wine before adding that to the crock pot. I also put in a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Then I let it cook for hours on low.. This would have been perfect of mashed potatoes but I had leftover rice to get rid of. Then I just added peas and dinner was done...I probably could have plated this better too. Ah well. I would definitely make these again.

And that's all for now. Might be back later once my bread is done though....

Back to add my bread. This was easy and has a lot of hands off time..mostly you just wait a lot of time in between steps. Mine came out really nice...finally made a loaf that did not stick to the pan. It has whole wheat flour so it's an extra filling snack. It's probably time for me to replace my whole wheat flour- I can taste the oils are starting to turn. I used a bitter chocolate- I think this might do better with a sweeter chocolate. It reminds me of a chocolate pastry with nuts and made me wish I was eating that rather than this. I probably would not make again because I would rather make a loaf of bread and spread Nutella or whatever on a few slices. You end up with something more versatile anyway since you can use it for more things.  

Ok, now that's really all! 

Citrus Marinade, Gravy, and Coffee Rubbed Roast

 It's definitely too soon for another food post- but I have some stuff piling up and before it gets too out of hand- figured I would get the past week of stuff I made posted.

Starting with a citrus marinade. This had all types of goodies- orange, parsley, vinegar. It's really so easy to make your own marinade and usually they come out better than anything you can get in a bottle at the store. I made this marinade for some chicken legs and let them set overnight. But it didn't really impart much flavor except a little ginger kick. 

I also made the gravy recipe from my Harry Potter cookbook. I've never been into gravy since I was a kid and I'm still not really. This wasn't bad- and I think I'm really getting the hang of making gravy- but it's not something I would make unless I come across a recipe for it. I made mashed potatoes, gravy, and crab sauce to go with it. And then heated up some leftover mac and cheese. A very nice Sunday dinner. 

Then I made a coffee rubbed roast. The original recipe calls for pork but I switched it with some leftover chuck roast I had hanging out in the freezer. It was just a small piece because I was skeptical. It was so easy I was able to mix up the rub and get the roast in the slow cooker on my lunch break. Then come dinner time I just had to make the sides. I have leftover coffee rub which I am sure would be amazing on lamb and other types of meat.  I just made rice, sweet potatoes, and spinach as sides.

And that's all! Until next time....

Morrocan Beef Stew, Blueberry Sunrise Yogurt Smoothie, and Apple Muffins

 Last post for me today. Just wanted to share what I made the past week. 

Starting with Moroccan Stew. I can't recall ever making anything Moroccan so I was excited for this. I'm not sure how authentic it is...but it was pretty good. It kinda reminds me of a Christmas spiced type of stew. Usually I don't like any dried fruit in stew type food but it surprisingly went really well with this. I served with cous cous and veggies. I really like it- but for me it's probably not something I would make again.

Next up- a smoothie. I didn't completely follow the recipe. I added spinach. And used plain yogurt with vanilla extract added. I always try to make sure I eat a lot of antioxidant rich food and this is a good way to get a ton since blueberries have quite a bit. Can't go wrong with a fruit smoothie! 

And last up....Apple Flax muffins. I changed a lot for this recipe too. I didn't feel like buying and adding flax so I subbed Almond Flour. I always tend to have a lot of that on hand for some reason. I also didn't use the full amount of wheat flour. I used a bit of all purpose because I wasn't sure they would be as good. I think this recipe coulda handled full whole wheat. They were OK. Not a lot of apple flavor. I definitely prefer blueberry muffins over this- but nice to try something different. 

And that's all! 

Oatmeal Molasses Bread, Dijon Crusted Salmon and Buttered peas/Glazed Carrots

 I've seen the light. I've been making coffee more often and finally using the moka pot I had to have. I don't really drink much coffee and mostly stick with tea. And when I have made coffee it tends to be instant (don't sleep on instant- it's not bad at all!) . Then I stumbled upon attempting to make coffee with pre-ground coffee until I discovered a coffee grinder hanging out in my garage. I bought some coffee beans, ground them fresh, made coffee and I have seen the light. The only bad thing is the beans go so fast. I'm still a tea girl but it's good to switch it up. 

Anyway I need to make my next shopping list and clear the last weeks list out of my phone. So these are the things I made in the last week or so.

Oatmeal Molasses Bread- I love making bread and every time I bake a loaf I wonder why I don't do it all the time. But really, who has time for that? I'm glad I made this one though, it was perfect to snack on throughout the week. But I don't think I would make it again. It was one of those- nice to try once type of things. I had it for breakfast with some eggs the day after I baked it. I prolly should have added some fruit  because the plate could have used some color. But it was still good.

Next up Dijon Crusted Salmon. This was super easy. And pretty good. Every time I make salmon I'm always at a loss for what to do with it. I'm not sure why. I've made tons of different recipes that I can never remember. I need to save this for one of those times I am drawing a blank. The only thing I would change about this is to add some parm cheese to the bread crumb mixture. I also added olive oil instead of spraying with cooking spray. I would make this again. I made cranberry  sauce and have about two teaspoon of rice leftover from yesterday so I added that to the plate too! 

With it I made the veggie side dishes from my Unofficial Harry Potter book. Buttered peas- which are good. I always just steam peas and eat them plain. This makes them taste so much better though.  Think I'll do this again next time I make peas. Then there are glazed carrots with cinnamon. They were on the sweeter side since you add syrup. I think I prefer a more savory carrot side dish to be honest. But it wasn't bad. 

And that's all! Now to get my next shopping list together....

Sweet Potato Fries and Cilantro Lime Sauce + Thanksgiving Dishes

 I feel like I have been cooking a lot this past week. I'm surprised I haven't just reached the point where I start burning things. I also spent a good majority of today cooking. I'm waiting on my bread to finish rising so I can bake it up. 

In the meantime...this is what I made this past week.

Sweet Potato Fries 

First Fry 

And done! 

I have never made fresh fries. It's crazy- but true. And if I had known how easy it was I would have never bought the frozen fries. I'm thinking I might never buy them again. Fresh is always best. This came from the Unofficial Harry Potter book and it really was a recipe for plain fries. But sweet potatoes are in season and I love sweet potato fries. So I subbed sweet potatoes. You just cut them and double fry. So easy. I served with a fish sammich. 

Next up, Cilantro Lime Sauce. Except I skipped the Cilantro. I hate cilantro. Basically it's a sauce with Basil, Parsley, Lime, Jalapeño ( I forgot the Jalapeño), chicken broth, Balsamic Vinegar, honey  and a few other things blended up. It was actually really good. You are supposed to cook it with white fish. I ended up frying up fish nuggets (first time frying fish)- they came out really good. The sauce didn't do quite what I wanted it to do so I mixed it with a little mayo as a dipping sauce. I also drizzled it into my lentil soup. If you love basil you would love this. And now I know how to fry fish. I would definitely make this or something like this again. It's a great way to add flavor to whatever you are cooking and I loved it drizzled into soup.

Then for Thanksgiving I made a sweet potato pie. I love Sweet Potato Pie...it's a Thanksgiving favorite for me. My Dad makes the best sweet potato pie. Followed by my sister. And now I can say I make a  great one too! I want to make another for Christmas...I think the only thing I would change is using less sugar. Otherwise it was so, so good! I made an all butter crust which makes all the difference when you make a pie. 

And I also made mac and cheese. This is only my second time making a mac and cheese. I had to change up the cheeses from what I wanted because I could not find sharp cheddar and a few of the other cheeses I wanted to use. This one ended up being cream cheese, pecorino romano, gouda, and a lot of pepper jack. It was pretty good but I was missing the sharp cheddar.  This was it before the top was browned. It looks so much better with the brown top. I wish I had a bowl now....

And that's all for this week...

Brazilian Black Beans, Orange Ginger Chicken, and Brownies with Hazelnuts

 Already that time to make another food post...I was gonna wait but I really need to make a Thanksgiving list for tomorrow. I am trying to really convince myself to go to the grocery store tomorrow and not put it off until Sunday. Especially since I wanna make sure they don't sell out of something I might need. 

So this is what I made this week- Brazilian Black Beans. Which were meh. I think an authentic version of this would probably be great but I did leave some stuff out which probably affected the flavor negatively. I probably coulda used some smoked Turkey instead of the pork but I just left it out entirely. So these were just basically really healthy black beans. I had some leftover potatoes that I really needed to use so I boiled and then roasted them. I know the plate is missing a real veggie- I ate them before I plated. Overall, not bad. Just too healthy and a little boring.

Next plate looks better....this was also adapted from a pork recipe. I was gonna use it to make a whole chicken but then I decided to just do wings. Basically I made a sauce and cooked it down- it had orange juice, honey, ginger and a few other things. I didn't let the chicken get as crispy as I usually do but they still came out really good. I wish I had made another batch.....

Last up, brownies. I think I have made this recipe before. I can tell you a good brownie recipe is hard to come by. This is a little more involved than just using a brownie mix (I haven't used one since middle school though). I love a fudge-y brownie and this fits the bill perfectly. It makes a  brownie complete with a shiny cracked top. I have a bunch of hazelnuts left over  from something else so I added some to give it crunch. I wish I had added more. They were perfect. I am thinking about making another batch on Sunday. Either that or a mini batch of carrot cake cupcakes because I have some frozen cream cheese icing I need to use up. 

And that's all! Not a bad week for me in the kitchen at all....

Chili Lime Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

 And one more quick post- because I need to make my next grocery list. I am a terrible grocery shopper and rarely buy enough to last throughout the week. By Friday I'm always staring into a bare refrigerator. I usually do still have things I can make- like I can make a quick pizza, or do breakfast for dinner. Or make a quick pasta. But I almost never do. I need to get better at that. The bad part about it is I always come home and put away everything absolutely confident I bought enough for the week and never find out until mid-week I didn't. It's like my special talent. 

Anyway...I made Chili Lime Chicken. I intended to buy chicken legs and thighs but of course they were out of thighs. So I just used a jumbo pack of chicken legs. This was really a pork recipe that I decided would do fine on chicken. And not really. I didn't think using Chili Powder would give enough flavor to my chicken. Nor would the lime juice.And I was right. It sounds better than it came out. It wasn't bad and I was happy to eat the leftovers most days- but wouldn't make it again. Serviced with mashed potatoes and red "Halloween carrots". 

Next up, Mashed Potatoes that would grace the Great Hall. I am still in the potato section of The Unofficial Harry Potter cookbook. This recipe was for some mashed potatoes. I loaded it up with all suggestions...they weren't any different than any of the other mashed potatoes I would make. I had a roast or eye of round or some type of meat that had been sitting in the freezer so I pulled that out and made it. I was glad to get it out my freezer since I've been doing a freezer clean out anyway.

And that's all! 

Ricotta Gnocchi and Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

 I am so happy it's November. Has it just been a rough year for everyone with October being especially horrible? Anyway, I'm glad to say goodbye to October 2025- good riddance and hoping November is a better month. 

Figured I would start the month with a food post. I made a few things this past week. Starting with roasted potatoes- I haven't made roasted potatoes in quite a while. Which is a shame because I LOVE them. It's just they don't make good leftovers. Or maybe I should look up how to reheat them. Anyway, these were good. Rosemary and Garlic complement red potatoes really well. Served with baked salmon and carrots and peas for a really healthy plate. This was a recipe from my Unofficial Harry Potter book. But basically just red potatoes tossed with garlic and rosemary in Olive oil. They take forever to crisp up but so good! 

Next up, Gnocchi. I am not sure if I had ever had gnocchi before this....maybe on an airplane. IDK. But I have always wanted to make it. This one is super easy because you just mix flour and ricotta. You don't have to fuss around with potatoes but I do really want to try a potato version. I tossed mine in some pesto I made and froze a couple weeks ago. I have made homemade pasta before-  but I think this is the perfect beginner pasta recipe. You can shape them..but I couldn't be bothered. 

And last up- I finally made a green smoothie with the kale I grew. I am gonna make another one today because it was so good! I need to start a new kale plant. This one had frozen strawberries, canned pineapple, frozen banana and pineapple juice. So good! 

And that's all- now to figure out what my next two recipes will be...

Potato and Cheese Pierogies and Shirley Temple Cupcakes

 These food posts come around fast..mostly I'm just happy I have been sticking to making the two new recipes a week with no burnout in site. Yay me! 

First up..I made Perogies. I grew up eating the frozen variety as a kid and only just now found out they are Polish in origin. I've never made anything Polish so that was exciting for me. But to be honest it is exactly the type of thing I HATE to make. I can't stand making any type of dumpling thing- it's mostly the assembly that I don't like doing. I can make the dough and filling no problem. These were really good. I pan fried them with onions- after boiling them. I don't think they tasted great as leftovers. I think that might be due to the wheat flour. They were also surprisingly filling. They were stuffed with a potato, cheese, and sauerkraut kraut filling. Cottage cheese included. I had a lot of filling leftover so the other day I added flour and pan fried them for little potato pancakes. They were worth making but I don't know if I want to make them again.

Then I made Shirley Temple cupcakes. They sounded more exciting than they were. I made the grenadine syrup. Didn't have much pomegranate flavor and it discolored the cupcakes but maybe it was just the brand of syrup I bought.  I didn't get the pretty pink color the original food poster got. They also really just came out citrus flavored. They were good though. Perfect texture and stayed soft for days after. I also made the icing...and it also came out a little funny colored so I added food coloring. But it still looks a bit off. They weren't bad. I just expected something a little more flavored than a citrusy cupcake. I was too lazy to pipe the icing so I just threw it on the cupcake. 

And that's all for this week! 

Pizzadillas, Mett, and Boiled Potatoes with Herbed Vinagrette

 Ahh, time for another post of what I cooked this week. It comes around fast. I've been cooking and cooking and surprisingly- not ready for a break yet. I didn't make much too involved this week...just quick things.

Starting with Pizadillas. I made this one night when I got home from work. It was good and easy. Also nice to pack for lunch the next day. I made some really quick pizza sauce to dip it in. The only thing I did wrong was forget to put the red onions in. I definitely bought one specifically for the recipe. I'll just have use it for something else. It's not a good sub for pizza (I did miss pizza crust!)  but has nice pizza flavor and can be quicker and easier than making a real pizza. 

Then I tried Mett. Not real Mett. I saw this on social media about a year ago. It's a thing to eat raw pork sandwiches here in Germany. I really don't eat pork and I can't imagine eating it raw. But I am ok with raw beef- specifically Steak Tartare. I saw this in my local store and decided to give it a try. I didn't like it. It tastes like how you would thing raw ground beef would taste with a lot of salt and onion flavor. Not my thing. But good on me for trying something new! 

And last up- boiled potatoes with Herbed sauce. These were ok. But I prefer roasted potatoes so I wouldn't make this again. Also the dill sauce was...different. I prefer rosemary or something else on potatoes. I served with Salmon. And I really should have added a green vegetable but laziness hit. So that was my final plate.  I am probably about to be in potato overload as far as recipes go- I'm in the potato part of the Unofficial Harry Potter cookbook.  

And that's all for this week!