Shepherd's Pie

Mel's Shepherd Pie   I love Mel's Kitchen Cafe Blog.  Sooo many good recipes and yummy things to eat.

Shepherd’s Pie

Yield: 8 servings

 

Prep Time: 20minutes mins

Cook Time: 1hour hr 10minutes mins

Total Time: 1hour hr 30minutes mins

Ingredients

Potato Layer:

• 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 4-5 cups)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ - 1 cup milk
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 egg yolk

Meat Filling:

• 2 - 2 ½ pounds ground beef, turkey, lamb, or sausage (or a combination of any)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 large carrots chopped small, about 1 cup
• 2 cloves garlic, finely pressed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 ¼ cups low-sodium beef or chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 teaspoon fresh
• ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, or 1 teaspoon fresh
• ½ cup frozen corn kernels
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan with cooking spray (I've also used a slightly smaller ceramic casserole dish with good results, too, just makes the layers slightly thicker).
• Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes or so (it will depend on how large or small the potatoes are cut) until the potatoes are tender.
• Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Mash the potatoes lightly. Add the butter, milk (start with 1/2 cup and add more if needed), Parmesan and cheddar cheeses, salt and pepper to taste, and garlic powder. Mash together until smooth and creamy. Stir in the egg yolk until combined.
• For the meat and vegetable mixture, in a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the ground meat, onion, carrots, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are starting to soften, 5-7 minutes or so. Drain any excess grease from the mixture.
• Sprinkle the flour over the meat and cook over medium to medium-high heat for a minute or so, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato paste, broth, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer gently for 10 minutes.
• Stir in the corn and peas.
• Pour the meat mixture into the prepared pan. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top all the way to the edges of the pan creating a seal over the meat mixture. Sprinkle the 1 cup cheddar over the top of the potatoes.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes until the edges are golden and the casserole is bubbling. Let it rest out of the oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Multi-Tasking: the ingredient list looks daunting but I promise this all comes together quickly. While the potatoes are boiling, I start the meat and vegetable mixture - multi-tasking is your friend.

Meat: you can use a variety of different ground meats here. I've made this once with just ground turkey and another time with a combination of ground beef and sausage. Yum! Danielle, who sent me the recipe, uses ground lamb and sausage which would also be delicious (ground lamb is a bit hard to find where I live).

©Mel's Kitchen Cafe — https://www.melskitchencafe.com/shepherds-pie/

Lemon Pie from Phyllis McBriade

 

Strawberry Pie (from Simply Pie)

6 c. strawberries, washed and hulled 3/4 c. sugar 3 T. cold water 2 T. lemon juice 1/4 c. cornstarch 1/4 t. vanilla Prepare a crust if desired. Can be used as a topping, such as for German pancakes. Just add a bit more water. Set aside 3 1/2 c. strawberries. Roughly chop remaining strawberries, then mash. In a bowl whisk together water, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Add crushed strawberries into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar, then stir in cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture becomes darker and translucent. Remove from heat and stir until it stops boiling. Stir in vanilla. Slice remaining strawberries onto cooled pie crust, then add in cooked strawberry mixture and combine until sliced strawberries are coated. (or if making a sauce, just stir in the remaining strawberries and chill) Let pie cool in fridge for 4 hours, serve!!!

Lola's Lemon Pie Filling

2 c. water
5 T. Cornstarch
1 cup sugar (could do a little less)
2 eggs
1&1/2 -- Lemons Juice
1/4 t. salt
2 T. butter
Grated rind of 1 lemon

Boil water with grated lemon rind and then strain.  Pour lemon water over sugar, cornstarch and salt, which have been thoroughly mixed.  Cook in double boiler until thick.  Add egg yolks, and cook.  Take from fire and add lemon juice and butter.  

Mr. Seely (from when I worked at 'S&W Fine Foods') Custard Apple Pie

1 - #303 can of apple sauce
1/4 - 1/2 t. cinnamon
4 medium eggs
8 oz.cream or milk

Beat 4 medium eggs into 8 oz. of cream or milk (or combination).  Then mix apple sauce with eggs and milk mixture.  Place in baked pie shell or graham cracker crust.  Bake in preheated oven at 400 dgrees for 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool and serve with cream or ice cream. 

Aunt Margaret Johnson's Apple Pie

7 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 8 cups)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 T. flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. grated lemon peel
1/4 t. salt
2 t. lemon juice
Flaky pastry 

About 2 hours before serving or early in day: 1. In large bowl with rubber spatula, lightly toss first 8 ingredients and set aside. 2. Prepare flaky pastry. On flour surface with floured rolling pin, roll larger pastry ball into a circle 1/8 inch thick and 2 inches larger than 9 inch-pie plate Line plate with pastry. Trim edges, leaving 1 inch overhang. Spoon apple mixture into plate and dot with butter and set aside. 3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll remaining pastry and cut a few slashes or a design in center of pastry and place over filling. Trim edge also leaving 1 inch overhang. Even out filling and then trim edge (leaving l inch overhang). Fold overhang under. Flute edges. Bake 40-50 minutes. (Dee Ann: All I have to say is thank you and yum!!)

Mrs. Durgen's Strawberry Pie

Double Crust to make 2 pies

2 cups flour
1 t. salt
2/3 plus cup Crisco
1/2 c. cold water

Mix flour and salt.  Add Crisco using a pastry blender or fork.  When completely mixed, add cold water and blend thoroughly.  Divide crust in two and roll each out between two pieces of waxed paper.  Remove top waxed paper and form into 9 inch pie pan.
Bake creust at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling

2 PUS cups strawberries (whole or sliced) to fill the bottom of each pie crust.
2 PLUS cups of crushed strawberries
2 C. water
2 C. sugar
8 T. corn starch
2 T. lemon juice

In baked crust, place sliced or whole strawberries

Pre-mixed, corn starch with small amount of water, for thickening.
In a pre-cooked 9 inch pie shell, place strawberry halves or wholes, filling up the botto of the crust.
Bring crushed strawberries, water, and sugar to a boil, and stir until clear and thick.
Stir in corn starch thickener.
Add lemon juice

Pour over sliced whole strawberries and refrigerate
Top with whipped cream or ice cream

Pie Crust -- Martha

Ingredients:
2 ½ Cups sifted flour
1 tsp salt
1 Cup Crisco Shortening
1 egg
1 Tbls vinegar
¼ Cup ice water

Directions:
Cut in shortening into flour. Beat egg, add vinegar and ice water (I add an ice cube to
the ¼ cup water to make sure it is really cold before I add it to the egg and vinegar).
Mix in egg mixture to the flour mix. Work together with wooden spoon and hands till all
mixed together. Do not over work.

Makes one double crust or 2 single crusts. Single crusts bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes.

Peach Pie -- Becky

5 large peaches 1 cup of sugar 3 Tbsp corn starch 1/2 cup water 1/2 tsp almond flavoring 2 Tbsp butter Slice 3 peaches into a cooked pie shell. Mash 2 more peaches and add sugar, corn starch and water. Cook 5 minutes until it boils. Add the almond flavoring and butter. Pour over the sliced peaches. Chill. Serve with whipped cream.

Apple Crumb Pie (favorite apple pie)

 Pastry for singe-crust pie (9 inches)
6 cups-- peeled, sliced apples (abt 7)
2 T. butter
4 t. lemon juice
½ c. sugar
1 T. all-purpose flour
½ t. ground cinnamon
½ t. ground nutmeg

Topping:
½ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. sugar
¼ c. cold butter

Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; flute edges.  In a bowl, combine the apples, butter, and lemon juice.  In a separate bowl , combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix together.  Spoon into the pastry shell.  For topping, combine flour and sugar in a bowl, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over filling. 

Bake at 375 degrees for abt. 60 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the apples are tender.  Use a metal pie ring so the fluted crust doesn’t burn or use tin foil to make one.  Cool on a wire rack.   Yields 6 to 8 servings.

 

 

Gluten-free Chocolate Pie

Meringue Shell
2 egg whites, room temperature
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. cream of tartar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. finely chopped nuts
1/2 t. vanilla

Filling
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
1 (8 oz.) milk chocolate bar with almonds

For meringue shell:  In a medium bowl, beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until frothy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Fold in nuts and vanilla.  Spread into a greased 9-inch pie pan, building up on sides of pan.  Bake at 300 degrees F. for 50 minutes.  Cool completely.

For filling:  Whip cream with vanilla; set aside.  Break up three-fourths of a chocolate bar into pieces and melt in top of double boiler or microwave in a glass bowl.  When chocolate is just lukewarm, fold into whipped cream and vanilla.  Pile chocolate filling into cooled meringue shell.  Grate remaining chocolate to garnish pie.  Chill in refrigerator at least two hours before serving.  Makes 1 pie.  (from Lion House Pies)

Sandra's Pie Crust

2 1/4 c. flour
3/4 t. salt
2/3 c. butter-flavored shortening
8-10 T cold water

1.  In medium bowl, using a pastry blender, cut shortening into dry ingredients until lumps are about pea size.

2.  Sprinkle water, 1 T. at a time into a small amount of flour mixture.  Stir quickly, pushing moistened dough to side of bowl.  Turn bowl away from it and continue sprinkling water into mixture until all combined and dough sticks lightly together.

3.  Form into two balls and roll out one of them on a flour covered board or pastry cloth.

4.  Line a 9 inch pie plate with pastry, being careful not to stretch or tear pastry.  Trim.

5.  After filling, roll out the remaining pastry.  Lightly dampen the edge of the pastry in pan and carefully arrange top pastry over fruit.  Press firmly to dampened edge of bottom pastry.  Trim and crimp.  Cut vent holes with sharp knife.

Hula Pie

1 9-inch chocolate cookie piecrust
1 half gallon macadamia nut ice cream (Seems like a lot of ice cream, but you’ll be piling it high.)
4 ounces chocolate fudge topping
1 shot of espresso or strong coffee
6 ounces macadamia nuts
Whipped cream

1. Bring fudge topping to room temperature.

2. Scoop ice cream into prepared pie shell, smoothing it into a rough dome, orbombe, as high as you’d like.

3. Warm espresso or coffee and mix into chocolate.  Use a warmed knife to spread topping even over ice cream bombe.

4. Freeze until ready to serve.

5. Cover top of pie with a layer of whipped cream and chopped macadamia nuts before serving.

Can’t find macadamia nut ice cream in your local store? Just substitute good vanilla ice cream—soften it just a little and mix in chopped mac nuts. We actually prefer this option to store bought mac nut ice cream, as the flavor is more balanced and the texture of the nuts will remain firm, not soggy. 

If you’d prefer to make your own pie crust, too, simply mix chocolate wafer crumbs (about a cup and a half) with a little sugar and about ¼ cup melted butter. Press the mixture into a pie pan.

Peach Pie (in a pre-baked pie crust)

• 1 cup Water
• 1 cup Sugar
• 4 heaping Tbsp. Corn Starch
• Yellow Food Coloring
• ¼ cup fresh Lemon Juice
• Pinch of Salt
• ¼ cup Butter (1/2 stick)
• 6 Peaches, peeled and sliced
• Precooked 9 inch Pie Shell

Combine water, sugar, cornstarch, food coloring, lemon juice and salt in a medium saucepan.  Whisk until combined.  Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thick (and hard to stir.)  Remove from heat and add butter, stir until melted and combined.  Add peaches and gently fold to coat.  Pour into precooked pie shell.   Refrigerate for 4 hours to set.

Lemon Meringue Bars (makes 12)

http://www.marthastewart.com/264006/lemon-meringue-bars 

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 6 large eggs, plus 4 large egg whites
• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Make crust: Put butter, flour, confectioners sugar, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, and the salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with
   the paddle attachment. Mix on medium
   speed until well blended.
   
2. Transfer mixture to a 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Press batter evenly into baking sheet. Chill in freezer 10 minutes. Bake until golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
   
3. Make filling: Whisk together whole eggs, 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, the lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons lemon zest. Pour over crust. Bake until filling is set, 18 to
   20 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire
   rack. Keep oven at 350.
   
4. Make meringue topping: Put egg whites and 1/2 cup granulated sugar in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
   
5. Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, spread meringue over filling, swirling to create soft peaks. Bake until meringue begins to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Cut into bars. Bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 1 day.
   

http://www.marthastewart.com/264006/lemon-meringue-bars

Pie Crust from Deseret News Lion House Recipe (link follows)

Pies for Easter--Chocolate Cream Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, Fresh Strawberry Pie, and Chocolate Angel Pie  They are all from the Lion House Pies Cookbook.   Following is the yummy crust recipe that I think they have made since about 1976.  I adapted it a bit.  I used 1/2 c. butter and 2/3 c. shortening, and I made three pie crusts.  The dough wasn't difficult, but I did roll it out on a piece of parchment so I could turn it over and put it in the pie plate.  I also rolled with a bit of flour.  The link to Deseret News where they published the pie crust recipe is http://www.deseretnews.com/food-dining/recipes/detail/1,5412,1601884,00.html

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup lard
1/4 cup margarine
1/3 cup shortening
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 cups pastry flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold water

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a mixer, cream together butter, lard, margarine and shortening. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, baking powder, salt, and dry milk powder; add to creamed butter mixture and mix briefly. Add pastry flour and beat until blended. Add bread flour and mix slightly. Pour in water and beat again just until water is blended.
Divide dough into two or three balls. Roll out each ball on a floured board. Line pie pan with dough and cut off excess dough. Flute edges. For recipes that call for baked pie crusts, prick holes in bottom with fork. Bake empty pie shell at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Otherwise, fill unbaked pie shell and bake according to recipe. Makes two to three 9-inch pie shells.
Note: You can substitute 3 cups all-purpose flour for the pastry and bread flour called for in the recipe. Additionally, this dough may also be made by hand-cutting the fats into the dry ingredients.

Lemon Pie

Use a single pie crust from the pie dough recipe and cook ahead of time, being sure to poke it well with a fork to avoid shrinkage during baking.

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 1/2 cups cold water
3 eggs, separated
grated zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sugar

In 2-quart double-boiler stir together 1 cup sugar and corn starch. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in egg yolks. Mix constantly and bring mixture to boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in zest of lemon, lemon juice, and butter. Turn into pastry shell. Beat the egg whites at high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in sugar and continue beating to form stiff peaks.

Spread some meringue around edge of filling first, touching crust all around, then fill in center. Bake in 350 degrees oven 15-20 minutes or until peaks of meringue are lightly browned. Cool. OR do not add meringue, cool and cover with whipped cream when served.
from -- http://momsrecipes.nielsonpi.com/

Pie Crust -- Food Storage

1/4 cup REAL butter
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon dry milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup very cold water

Can do in food processor or just by hand.  Don't mix too much.  Mix butter and shortening together.  Add half the flour and all of the dry ingredients.  Mix.  Add the rest of the flour and water.  Roll out very thin with plenty of flour or roll out between parchment.  (Parchment paper - flour - pie dough - flour on dough and another sheet of parchment paper.) Then I roll in one direction and turn the parchment paper each time I roll forward. It is very easy.  Carefully put in pie plate and, if just making a single crust, prick with fork all over.