Beef Gravy over Mashed Potatoes

I have been craving beef gravy and mash potatoes lately.  Like the horrible absolutely amazing  kind they served for school lunch back in the day.  I think I caught a whiff of something walking by a diner one day and it's been stuck in my nose ever since.  My roommate was some how given a bunch of russet potatoes, so I had everything I needed to make this happen with no time to waste. 

I searched online for a couple recipes and decided to go with the one that would require me to make the gravy from scratch, so it was a white gravy.  It was good, but I think I wanted a brown gravy flavor.  Noted for the next round.  I got fancy with my potatoes and mixed up some creamy garlic mashed potatoes from the Food Network.  Absolutely delicious, although maybe too much garlic for this recipe.  I made enough for dinner for me and my roommate Sunday evening and lunch for the rest of the week.  It took some time, but it was really simple to make and I love not having PB & J's for lunch every day.   

Beef Gravy over Mashed Potatoes 

8 to 10 servings 

Mashed Potatoes

• 3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes 
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt 
• 16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half 
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 6 ounces grated Parmesan 

Beef Gravy

• 1.5 Pounds of Hamburger 
• 1 Medium Onion chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 cups milk

1. Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size.  Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, brown the hamburger and the onion in a large skillet until cooked.  Drain off the fat and set aside. 
3. Return the skillet to the heat and add the melted butter then the flour with the salt and pepper.  Once it starts to clump up, add the milk and stir until the gravy begins to thicken, about 10 to 15 minutes. 
4. Once the gravy thickens add the beef and onion back in to the skillet. 
5. When the potatoes have finished cooking, drain them and set aside.  In the pot heat the half and half with the garlic over medium heat until simmering, stirring frequently. 
6. Add the potatoes back the pot and mash them with the garlic and cream mixture. 
7. Pour the gravy over the mashed potatoes and serve. 

Enjoy! 

Chicken Pot Pie

Look at those tasty veggies! 

Ok- I must appologise for my mini hiatus.  I  have posts lined up to go, but just haven't finished them to get them online.  It has been a busy couple of weeks with Architecture for Humanity NY  stuff going on and other architecture related events.   I promise to try and get myself back on track!  
Today I bring you a yummy recipe from Real Simple  that I have been holding on to from the February 2009 issue.  It was cold around here for about, oh... five minutes?  In that time I was so excited for hearty, warm comfort foods like this Chicken Pot Pie.  In fact I really want it to get cold again for two reasons: I want to have an excuse for more meals and soups like this and I have a trip to Montana planned at the end of this month to do some skiing and snowmobiling- I NEED SNOW!  Oh and I want to wear my amazing warm and fuzzy winter boots and this 40 degrees weather is too warm for such things.  They require cold.  Freezing.  Snow.  I might be going through withdrawals...
Sorry, I'll get back to the recipe, I just really love snow.  OK- so, even though this recipe is a bit time consuming with all the vegetable chopping and cook time it is completely worth it.  I made it on a Monday and it was my lunch for the rest of the week.  (I love not having to think about what I am going to take for lunch every day or what dive near my office I will be getting lunch from!)  I thought about making my own crust, but since I knew  I would be making this on a week night, I stuck with the store bought crust.  Unlike the recipe, I used both crusts, (two came in the package), for a top and bottom, I have a soft spot for crust.  One think I kind of screwed up, was I did not cut the carrots small enough.  Everything tasted fine, but the carrots were still a bit crunchy after all of that cooking and baking.  I substituted dry thyme for fresh since I didn't have any.  I hope some of you are still able to enjoy your winters and can whip this up, because it is so tasty.  
Chicken Pot Pie
Makes 6 to 8 servings

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped (about 1 pound)
• 4 carrots, diced (about 1 pound)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups  milk
• 1 10-ounce package frozen peas
• 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 9-inch store-bought pie crusts, thawed if frozen

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Cook the chicken in a pot of simmering water until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes; let cool, then shred.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, 6 to 8 minutes (do not let them darken). 
3. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  
4. Add the wine and cook until evaporated, about 5 minutes. 
5. Add the milk and simmer until the sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. 
6. Stir in the chicken, peas, thyme, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  
7. Place one of the crusts in a shallow 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish.  Transfer the chicken and vegetable mixture to the dish.
8. Lay the crust on top, pressing to seal the crusts together.  Cut several vents in the crust.  Place the pot pie on a baking sheet and bake until bubbling and the crust is golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Enjoy! 

Zucchini & Pea Risotto

 Sunday's are excellent for spending some time cooking dinner.  I try to make something that takes more than 20 minutes once a week and Sunday is normally the only day that I have the time or patience to do so.  Yesterday started a bit slow after celebrating the end of the world not happening, but I had been wanting to make this Spring Risotto with Peas and Zucchini since before I hurt my elbow from my Great Food Fast cookbook.  

 

Zucchini has started to be a staple in my kitchen.  There are so many wonderful things to make with it.  This was no exception, it was so good, even tonight as a leftover. I'm sure I've said it before, but I am picky about my leftovers, so you know it was good.  I only made a few modification to the original recipe part due to what was in the kitchen. It also took more than 30 minutes to get all the broth added.

 

Ingredients

• 16 oz. chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 smallish medium zucchini cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped- divide in half
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup grated paramsan cheese
• 1/3 cup grated asiago cheese

Directions

1. Heat broth and 2 1/4 cups water; keep warm. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add zucchini and half of garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until zucchini is golden, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer zucchini to a plate.
   
2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onion and remaining garlic; cook until soft, 5 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Raise heat to medium. Add rice; cook, stirring, until translucent around edges, about 3 minutes. Add wine; cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes.
   
3. Cook, adding 1 cup hot broth at a time (stir until almost all liquid is absorbed before adding more), until rice is tender.
   
4. Add zucchini and peas; cook until peas are bright green, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining tablespoon butter and cheeses. Serve, topped with more cheese.
   
   Enjoy! 
   

Beef and Corn Quesadillas

I have had a meeting after work every night this week except last night.  I wanted to make something that did not require pulling it from a plastic bag and putting it in the microwave.  The problem is that I did not think ahead at all and did not want to leave my apartment once I was in it, so whatever the recipe was, I had to have all the ingredients.  I pulled out the cookbooks and binder of recipes in search of something.
I kept finding things that I could make minus one ingredient that was not that random, I just didn't have them on hand, like peanuts. I ended up flipping through my latest Real Simple and finding a recipe for Beef Quesadillas. I didn't have all the ingredients, but it gave me some inspiration for my own recipe.  I mixed up some of the veggies I had on hand and needed to use before they went bad and added extra spices.  They turned out to be really good and I have enough for lunch tomorrow.  I think the measurements below are close to what I mixed in, but I didn't measure anything.

 Beef and Corn Quesadillas

• 1/4 Red Onion, diced
• 1/4 Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1/2 Box (about 5 oz) Frozen Corn
• 12 oz Ground Beef
• Cayenne Pepper
• Salt & Black Pepper
• Mike's Dried Chili Mix 
• lots of Cheese
• Taco Shells

1. Warm about a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and add onion, pepper and corn.  Mix over medium heat for about 5 minutes. 
2. Add the beef, about a 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1/2 tsp chili mix. Cook, breaking up the beef with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes more. 
3. In a clean skillet warm about a 1/2 tablespoon of oil on medium low heat. Toss in a taco shell and spin it around to oil one side, then flip it over to oil the other.  Allow one side of the sides to slightly brown.  
4. Flip over the shell and add in about a 1 cup of the beef mixture and 1/4 cup of cheese on half of the shell.  Fold the other half of the shell over. Allow the shell to brown on one side before carefully flipping it over to brown the other. Once the cheese is melted remove it from the pan and cut into quarters. 

Enjoy!

Last Dinner Creation in South Dakota

 Tomorrow is my last full day in South Dakota until who knows when.  I am really going to miss the kitchen that is larger than my kitchen and living room combined in New York.  I am also going to miss a kitchen filled with many random ingredients and utensils and gadgets that your lucky if you use once a year, but I still want them. And not doing anything days on end, although I must admit that I am starting to get cabin fever.  Especially since a little blizzard ruined my night out for New Year's Eve. 
Anyway, back to the subject, all three of us older kids will be leaving on Monday, and my pickier-than-me little sister was on a "date" tonight so we decided to make tonight the last "new" meal of my trip.  She claims to be suffering from all these "different" meals that she has had set in front of her the last two weeks.  (Sunday's dinner will be calm and nice like the tocos last night.)
 Tonight I made something with peas, garlic, and onions. Mixed together.  I present you with Chicken and Dumplings. We changed a few things, but this was base recipe.  We thought we had some red and green peppers to add in, but my brother finished them off last night.  It was really good and even my brother ate it with out added more salt and pepper or salsa or sour cream.  I especially like the dumplings, I think I am going to add sage to some simple biscuits.
 

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen green peas
• 4 cups cubed cooked chicken
  DUMPLINGS:
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 3 tablespoons butter, chilled
• 3/4 cup milk

1. In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, basil and pepper until blended. Gradually add broth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute; reduce heat. Add peas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
2. For dumplings, in a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and basil. Cut in the butter until it resembles small crumbs.  Stir in milk with a fork until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls into mounds over chicken mixture.
3. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Cover and bake 10 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean. 

  

Enjoy!