MadCookery

There are few foods more comforting than a cottage pie. Cheap and easy to make it is the perfect fall and winter dish. The problem is that making a proper one can be very time consuming and better for a lazy Sunday afternoon than a weeknight meal. Earlier this week I decided I wanted to make a Cottage pie for dinner on a Monday evening and decided that I would do it in under an hour, the results were excellent, not greasy at all, and complete in about 40 minutes start to finish. I was amazed at how easy it actually was once I broke it down into parts. First there is the potato topping, second the beef and vegetable mixture, and third the gravy. By managing time and cooking each simultaneously and replacing the traditional heavy creams with stalk it becomes a easy weeknight meal.

To use this same recipe to make Shepherd’s Pie just replace the ground beef with Lamb.

Ingredients

• lbs of ground Sirloin or <10% fat ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 2 cups of cabbage, diced
• 3 large russet potatoes (approximately 2.5 lbs) , peeled and cubed
• 4 tbl butter
• 4 tbl flour
• 2 cups of low sodium beef broth or stalk
• 1/4-1/2 cups of low sodium chicken broth or stalk
• 1 tbl sour cream
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tbl ground Ancho Chili powder
• 3 tsp Cayenne pepper
• salt
• black pepper
• Smoked Paprika (sweet or hot would also work)
• 2 tbls Olive Oil

Instructions

STEP 1: Make the potato topping

1. peal and cube the potatoes

2. Boil in salted water for 15 -18 minutes until soft

3. Add 1 tbl butter

4. ¼ cup chicken stalk

5. 1 tbl sour cream

6. Mash with a potato masher adding chicken extra chicken stalk as needed to reach the desired consistency

7. Salt to taste

STEP 2: Make the Meat and Vegetable filling (while potatoes are boiling)

1. brown the ground beef in 2 tbl Olive Oil until it just starts to brown

2. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, and 2 tsp Cayenne pepper and cook for 4 minutes

3. Add Cabbage and continue cooking until carrots are just starting to soften (another 3 – 4 minutes)

STEP 3: Make the gravy (while the meat and vegetables and potatoes are cooking)

1. Melt 3 tbl of butter over medium heat

2. Whisk in the flour, Mustard Powder, Ancho Chili Powder, and 1 tsp of Cayenne Pepper

3. Cook, whisking frequently, until just starting to turn tan (2 -3 minutes)

4. Slowly whisk in the beef broth, bring to a boil over High heat, reduce heat and let simmer until Meat and Vegetables are done

STEP 4: Add the Gravy to the Filling

1. Mix the gravy into the Meat and Vegetable filling. Add Beef Broth, if needed, to adjust consistency

2. Salt and Pepper to taste and cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat

STEP 5: Assemble the Cottage Pie

1. Spread the Meat, Vegetable, and Gravy Mixture in a buttered or greased casserole dish (or if your frying pan is oven safe, remove from heat and spread out evenly in the pan)

2. Spread the potato mixture over the filling evenly

3. Sprinkling liberally with paprika

STEP 6: Finish

1. Preheat the broiler on high

2. Place the assembled cottage pie approximately 6 inch under the broiler and broil until the top of the potatoes are crisp and browned (10-15 minutes)

3. Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

Roast chicken is one of those dishes that is an absolute must in any cooks arsenal of recipes. However, it can easily go wrong and often takes much more time than necessary for less than perfect results. Here is a quick and simple method to get a perfect roast chicken, with tender juicy meat and crisp skin, every time

Ingredients:

• Whole chicken
• 1 stick of butter (do not substitute margarine), softened
• 2 tbls fresh rosemary, minced
• 4 stalks whole fresh rosemary
• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• salt
• pepper
• Canola oil

Instructions:

1. Whip together the butter, minced rosemary, and garlic until well blended and soft

2. Butterfly the chicken by cutting out the breast bone laying it out flat

3. Brush the bottom of the butterflied chicken with Canola

4. Salt and pepper the bottom of the chicken liberally

5. Spread out the rosemary stalks on a roasting pan and place the chicken, bottom down on top of them

6. Carefully pull up the edges of the skin on the breasts and legs and shove the butter mixture evenly under the skin.

7. Brush the top side of the chicken with Canola oil and salt and pepper

8. Place in a oven preheated to 450 degrees until the thickest part of the breast reaches between 168 and 172 degrees (45-60 minutes)

9. Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let stand for 5-10 minutes

10. cut into quarters and serve