Beef Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuits

Sean always finds great recipes from Food & Wine- such as this pot pie which was delicious and comforting.  We made a few minor changes, and halved the recipe to make just one large pot pie.  This isn't your typical pot pie with actual pie crust, rather it is topped with cheddar biscuit batter that bakes along with the pie filling.  It is much easier than going through the process of making a pie crust from scratch, in my opinion.  And the result is delicious fluffy biscuits on top of the savory chunky filling. Yum!

Ingredients:

Pot Pie Filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3/4 lb carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3/4 lb celery root or parsnips, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 1/4 lb ground beef
• 2 Italian sausage links, removed from casing
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 5 oz frozen peas (about a cup)
• salt and pepper

Biscuit Topping: Follow our cheddar garlic biscuit recipe, eliminating the garlic and reducing the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the oil.  Saute the carrots and celery root or parsnips with 1/2 teaspoon of salt for about 10 minutes, turning the heat to medium-high.  As you can see in the picture, we used celery root which had an amazing flavor, so I would definitely recommend it if you can find it at the store. 

When the vegetables have softened and are slightly browned, add the ground beef and sausage with an additional 1/2 teaspoon of salt, breaking up the meat as it browns.  Sprinkle in the thyme and rosemary.  We used a handy fresh herb grater that we got as a Christmas gift to mince and add the herbs.  Cook for about 10 minutes, until all the pink is gone and most of the liquid has evaporated. 

Stir in the flour and cook for 2 more minutes.  Next add the milk and chicken stock, and simmer until thickened.  (5-7 minutes)  

Stir in the peas and cook a couple minutes longer, tasting for more salt and pepper.  Pour the mixture in a 9x13 deep baking dish. 

While the vegetable beef mixture is cooking, prepare your biscuit batter, following our recipe for cheddar biscuits as I mentioned above.  

Place 12 even scoops of batter on top of your pie filling in the casserole dish.  We used an ice cream scoop, and then added a little more to each one with the rest of the batter that was left.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the biscuits are turning golden brown on top.  Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.  

Sloppy Shepherd's Pie

This dish looks like a normal shepherd's pie, but is made using leftover sloppy joe for the meat layer.  After eating sloppy joe for dinner and then lunch the next day, I was ready to transform the remainder into a new dish.  This sloppy joe recipe was made with lamb and turkey, and included chipotles in adobo to give it some smokiness and spiciness, onion, garlic, carrot, tomato sauce & paste, and a bit of brown sugar.  It was sweet, savory, and spicy- great on a bun as a sandwich, but equally as delicious as the base of this shepherd's pie.  For the vegetable layer I added in some peas and more carrot, and for the mashed potato layer on top I used a variety of potatoes with some cheddar cheese for extra yummy flavor.  The savory mashed potatoes balanced out the spice and sweetness from the sloppy joe.  Overall, this is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients: (makes one 9x9 casserole, 4 giant servings)
2 cups prepared sloppy joe
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrots, finely diced
1 cup peas, thawed if using frozen
4 medium potatoes (I think it was about 2 lbs- I used two red, one russet, and one golden)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:
Peel and dice the potatoes into one inch cubes.  Place them in a pot of hot salted water and bring to a boil.  Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender but be careful not to overcook.  I think it took around 10-12 minutes, but not quite sure.  Meanwhile, bring a skillet to medium heat, add the olive oil, and then the carrot with 1/2 teaspoon salt.  

Saute for about 10 minutes until the carrots have softened, and then add the peas for about 3 minutes longer.  

Remove from eat for assembling the pie, and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  When the potatoes are done, drain them and return to the pot.  Add the butter and let it melt.  Stir in the milk and yogurt, and mash the potatoes, mixing as you go.  

You may need to add more milk if the mixture seems dry.  Add 3/4 cup cheese and mix.  Taste for salt and pepper.  

To assemble the pie, use a 9x9 or similar sized casserole dish.  Layer in the sloppy joe, vegetables, and then potatoes.  Don't make the top smooth- create peaks and texture with the potatoes which will make some parts brown before the rest.  Sprinkle the last 1/4 cup cheese on top.  

Place into the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes.  For the last 2 minutes, turn the oven to broil to brown the top.  Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn.  When it's browned, remove and let it cool for about 5-7 minutes before slicing in.  Each layer has it's own unique flavor, and together it all tastes amazing.  Enjoy!

Quick Asian Pickles

We often forget how easy it is to make quick pickled vegetables.  This is a great alternative to canning pickles when you know you will eat them all relatively quickly.  After a recent purchase of diakon, a white root vegetable most often used in Asian cooking, we decided to make some quick pickles.  Daikon looks like a giant carrot in shape, but has a pungent smell and tastes like a cross between a radish and a turnip.  Along with it, we sliced up carrots and a cucumber to add to the pickling mix.  

Using rice vinegar gives the pickles a different flavor than the usual white or apple cider vinegar.  We also sliced up some Thai chiles to give the pickles a little heat.   The end result makes us wonder why we don't pickle more often!  These were great as an acidic complement along side a red curry dish with rice, but they are also great to snack on.  The longer you let them sit, the softer they will get and the more the flavors will infuse.  If you use hot chiles like we did, they will get progressively spicier too. As a note, the word "quick" is used here relative to how long normal pickles take.  This still takes some time, but is manageable in a a couple hours as opposed to a couple days.

Ingredients:
3 carrots, sliced into thin sticks
1 large English cucumber, halved, seeded, and sliced
1 daikon, peeled, halved, and sliced (if you can't find daikon you could use another cucumber)
2 tablespoons salt
1 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1-3 Thai chiles, minced (or other hot pepper) 

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the vegetables and the salt.  Let it sit for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  This releases the liquid of the vegetables and you will see it building up in the bottom of the bowl. 

Meanwhile, combine the rice vinegar and sugar into a bowl and whisk.  Let it sit until the sugar dissolves, and add the chiles.

Drain the vegetables well.  In a large gallon-sized zip-lock, combine the vegetables with the vinegar mixture.  Squeeze the air out and seal the bag.  

Let the bag sit in the fridge for an hour before serving.  You can leave them in the bag for up to a couple weeks- but ours definitely didn't last that long!  As I said, the longer they sit the more the flavors will infuse, the softer the pickles will be, and the spicier they will taste if you used hot chiles. If you like pickles, these will not disappoint!  They are super easy and definitely worth the effort.  Try the recipe with other veggies to mix it up.  Enjoy!

 

Spicy Maple Rosemary Carrots

We usually just eat carrots fresh in salads or by themselves as a snack.  But recently we had a ton of carrots to use up and so we decided to roast them to have as a side dish along side meatloaf.  I decided to make a sweet and spicy flavor profile to complement the savory meatloaf.  To incorporate some freshness I added rosemary to the carrots as well. The maple and cayenne really work well together, and this is a super easy side dish to throw together for any meal.  

Ingredients:

1 lb carrots (more or less)

3-4 tablespoons maple syrup (agave nectar, or honey would work too)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon rosemary, roughly chopped

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground all spice

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Peel the carrots (unless you are using baby carrots)  Slice into 2 inch pieces, or leave whole if they are on the smaller side.  In a bowl, toss the carrots with the syrup and olive oil.  Sprinkle the spices in and mix well.  Salt and pepper to taste- I would recommend about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  

Spread the carrots out on a foil covered baking sheet (easier to clean up) and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until you can easily insert a fork into one of them.  The smaller they are, the less time they will need.  Enjoy!