Zippy Shepherd's Pie

I made this last night for dinner.  We were so full it really hit the spot on a deary spring day.  We haven't seen the sun around here for over a week - which is unusual.

Ingredients

• 1 pound potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup or 1/2 can beef broth ( used vegetable)
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped (I used a can of diced tomatoed and pureed with hand blender because someone doesn't like chunks of tomatoes in their dinner)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain, and return to pan.
2. While potatoes are boiling, heat oil in a large skillet. Cook ground beef with onion, red pepper, and garlic until beef is evenly brown. 
3. Stir in beef broth, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and curry powder. Bring to a boil, and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. 
4.  Stir into skillet the tomatoes, peas and corn. Cook until thickened; season with salt and pepper. 
5. Preheat oven on broiler setting. Add milk and butter to cooked potatoes, and whip until smooth and creamy. 
6. Spoon a thin layer on bottom of dish.  Add meat mixture and spoon potatoes over meat mixture. Sprinkle top with shredded cheese.
7. Place under broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and speckled with brown.

Too much Turkey!!! The perfect solution

EASY Turkey Corn Chili

Cube up the left over turkey  1-2 pounds
3 can's of great northern beans
1 can rotel tomatoes
14-20 oz veg stock (can use chicken)
1 T oil (olive is what I used but any veg oil works)
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
optional chopped up jalapeno peppers (up to  4 oz but depends on if you want it spicy)
2 t cumin
1t oregano
1/2 t cayanne pepper (can leave it out if you don't want spicy)
1/2 t salt
1-2 cups of corn (i use frozen but thrown in whatever)
about a cup of sour cream
about 2-3 cups of shredded cheese (cheddar or montery jack will work)

Place oil in skillet and cook up the onions and garlic over med  high heat.  Once somewhat translucent throw in the spices, and the rotel...heat up corn (can be thrown in or in a separate pot). Cut up your turkey and throw that into the skillet as well with the broth.  transfer to crock pot or (can start out with a larger pot type dutch oven if you don't have a crock pot)  Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the sour cream and cheese.

cook for an hour...add cheese and sour cream and once melted and heated through...serve

Traditional pfeffernusse

Pfeffernusse is German for pepper nuts.  My husband's great grandmother used a thimble and a tooth pick to cut these out so they were the size and crunch of a nut...Labor intensive.

I use a sawed off Funnel.

The recipe is a total guestimate but these measurements worked for me this year with gluten free flour.

MELT TOGETHER
2 cups corn syrup (grandma used 1 cup dark and 1 cup light)
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
COMBINE ALL DRY INGREDIENTS
about 7 cups flour
spices are all heaping spoons
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
*dissolve 1 teaspoon baking soda in a little warm water
Melt together syrup, sugar, butter.  Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl (best to use a large tupperware with tight fitting lid)  Now combine all ingredients and add soda last.  Mix well ...knead dough if necessary. Place in warm place covered for 8 days...grandma used to knead the dough every day but i found if I used a tight fitting tupperware I could skip that part and the dough would be pliable to roll out.

Roll to 1/4" think and cut with funnel.  I had small sticks cut to make sure the 1/4 inch was uniform.  yields anywhere from 850-1200 cookies.

Chocolate Cream Pie OH MY!

Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup whipped cream

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together egg yolks and sugar. Mix in cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Add milk and stir gently.
2. 
   
3. Pour mixture into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in butter or margarine and vanilla extract. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into pastry shell. Chill before serving. Garnish with whipped cream.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Place the heavy cream in a chilled mixing bowl.Whip until the whisk begins to leave tracks in the bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla and whip until the cream holds a medium peak. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top. Chill the pie until ready to serve. Note: If you're not planning on serving the entire pie at once, top individual slices with a dollop of whipped cream just before serving.

If it will be a while (more than 8 hours) before you serve wait to top or just serve with a spoon 

gluten free cooking

One of the reasons I quit blogging is that I found I have a gluten sensitivity that causes some pretty severe inflammation.  It's not always a great experience to cook gluten free.  Lately more flour substitutes and recipes have inspired me to begin up again.

On another note, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  She has gone down hill fast and it's terrifying to watch...especially knowing there is a decent chance that I may end up with the same fate.   Every day that I have a brain fart freaks me out...