Bangers & Mustard Mash

You just can't NOT have a beer when eating something called "Bangers & Mash". They just go together! (Besides, I beasted it in my hour long Body Combat class tonight, so I'd say I more than earned it!) :-)

Ohhhh boy this was yummy... This was the first time I have ever put Dijon mustard in my mashed potatoes - this is genius! It was like everything around me became just a little bit brighter. I didn't use the whole-grain mustard or dry mustard. I kind of half forgot to get those two items and half didn't bother adding them to my grocery list because I didn't have any other uses for them right now and didn't feel like buying them. The potatoes turned out just fine! Quite amazing, actually! Since I left out the other two types of mustard, I added a little extra Dijon mustard. The potatoes were so incredible! Everyone everywhere should always add Dijon mustard to their mashed potatoes from now on.

Before I leave the potatoes, I used skim milk instead of whole milk, and I didn't do the whole process of placing the potatoes in a heat-proof bowl and keeping them hot after I finished making them. I just planned everything out so that the potatoes and sausage would be done at the same time.

The sausage was also really good! I bought Smoked Turkey Sausage (the turkey helped make this meal a little healthier), so it had a lot of flavor on its own. Dinner was late tonight, so I didn't feel like messing with the grill, so we just heated the sausage up on the stove. The sausage and potatoes were both very delicious!

Well folks, I think this is going to be a short post tonight. I'm exhausted! All you need to know is that this meal is amazing and you should give it a try when you have a big appetite!

Bangers & Mustard Mash
Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?
Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers in 2010.

Yield: 4-6 servings

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup whole milk
4 ounces crème fraîche
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds fresh veal or chicken sausages

1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with 1 tablespoon of salt and enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander and return them to the saucepan. Add the butter, milk, and crème fraîche and beat the potatoes in the pan with a handheld mixer until very smooth and creamy. Add a little extra milk if they're too stiff. Mix in the Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, dry mustard, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper. Place the potatoes in a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water and keep hot for up to 30 minutes, until ready to serve. (You may need to add more hot milk from time to time.)
2. Meanwhile, prepare a grill with hot coals or heat a gas grill to medium-high and cook the sausages for about 5 minutes on each side, until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate, wrap with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
3. To serve, mound a generous portion of potatoes on a dinner plate and top with grilled sausages that have been cut in half diagonally.

Texas Ranch-Style Stew

I have never been much of a soup/stew/chili person, but I have been giving such dishes more of a chance over the last few years. This stew was a huge winner in my book!

This dish was bursting with flavor! I like how the recipe instructed to cook the onion, green pepper and garlic in the same pan as the meat was being browned. That really added a ton of flavor to the meat! This dish is already healthy, but I decided to use ground turkey rather than ground beef which made it even a little bit more healthy.

For the beans, I got country-style baked beans, which added a terrific slight sweetness to the stew. It wasn't overly sweet though. It was a nice balance to the chili powder and everything else. Fantastic blend of flavors!

Not only was this stew incredibly delicious, but it was very easy to put together as well! A perfect meal for a cold winter day. This was too amazing and easy not to try!!

Texas Ranch-Style Stew
Taste of Home: Everyday Light Meals
Published by Reiman Media Group, LLC in 2010.

Prep time: 10 minutes  Cook time: 25 minutes  Yield: 6 servings

1 cup small shell pasta
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (5 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium V8 juice
1 can (15 ounces) ranch-style beans or baked beans, undrained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) southwestern diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta. Stir into stew.

Swedish-Style Turkey Meatballs

I have to say, I was pretty dang pleased with myself tonight! This recipe was great! It was a night of firsts for me. This was the fist time I have ever made homemade meatballs, the first time I have made Swedish meatballs, and the first time I have ever even HAD Swedish meatballs.

Because I have never had Swedish meatballs before, I don't have anything to compare this recipe to. But, it tasted delicious! I like ground turkey over ground beef, so I was excited that that was what the recipe called for. The recipe was really easy to follow, even for someone like me who has never made meatballs before. I really don't have any extra explaining to do. If you just follow exactly what the recipe says then you will be good to go!

If you do not have the Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus Spice Blend, then you can find Allspice in any grocery store. One note that the cookbook shares: "As the flour and butter are whisked in the Skillet, the browned bits left over from cooking the meatballs are incorporated, adding flavor. Whisking until the mixture forms a smooth paste prevents lumps from forming in the sauce." And there really was a lot of flavor in this dish! The spices and onion mixed together with the ground turkey produced some very tasty meatballs!

The recipe suggests making boiled fingerling potatoes to go with the meatballs. I have never heard of a fingerling potato and had to google it! However, like many things so far, my grocery store did not have fingerling potatoes. I just got some russet potatoes instead and cut those up and followed the same directions for the fingerling potatoes. I also sprinkled some salt, pepper and parsley on the potatoes right before I served them.

I am definitely going to have to make this again very soon! It is too delicious not to!


Swedish-Style Turkey Meatballs
Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner, Volume 2
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2009.

Total time: 25 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

1 medium onion
2 slices day-old French bread (1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs)
1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Plus Spice Blend or all spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp butter
1 can (14 oz) beef broth
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Boiled Fingerling Potatoes (optional, see below)

1. Finely chop onion and bread using Food Chopper. Combine onion, bread crumbs, turkey, egg, spice blend, salt and black pepper in Classic Batter Bowl; mix gently but thoroughly with Mix 'N Scraper. Heat oil in (12-in.) Skillet over medium heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Using rounded Medium Scoop, form turkey mixture into 20 meatballs. Place meatballs in Skillet; cook 6-8 minutes or until browned, turning once using Small Slotted Turner. Remove from Skillet; set aside.
2. Add flour and butter to Skillet, whisking to form a smooth paste using Silicone Flat Whisk. Slowly add broth and cream, stirring constantly; cook 1-2 minutes or until sauce comes to a simmer. Return meatballs to Skillet; cook, covered, 4-5 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink in the centers.
3. To serve, divide meatballs and sauce among serving plates; serve with potatoes, if desired.

Boiled Fingerling Potatoes
Slice 1 lb fingerling potatoes in half lengthwise. Place potatoes, 1 tsp salt and enough water to cover in Large Micro-Cooker. Microwave on high 10-12 minutes or until fork-tender.

Taco Ring

Hello! Welcome to my food blog! I decided to start off this website with one of my favorite things to eat. I have always been a huge fan of tacos, but this was my first time making the Taco Ring. Although the picture makes it look a bit complicated, it was actually relatively easy to put together! I even finished everything within the recommended prep time and cook time (which hardly ever happens for me).

This recipe calls for 3/4 pound lean (90%) ground beef. I substitute ground beef with ground turkey every chance I get. Tonight I used 93/7 lean ground turkey, but if you want to cut even more calories, go with the 99% fat free ground turkey. I often use that when I make spaghetti and it's delicious! However, ground turkey comes in 16oz packages (the recipe calls for 3/4 pound), so you will have some meat left over. Oh well, ground turkey sandwiches for lunch tomorrow! Another substitution I used was baby spinach leaves instead of lettuce - pretty yummy!

The most difficult part of the recipe was when it came time to pull the points of the crescent roll dough over the filling and tuck it under the wider parts of the dough. I rolled out each triangle as I put the circle together, which helped make the points a little longer. As long as you are careful and take your time, the tucking wasn't too bad. I'm sure it would get a lot easier the more you do it!

The bake time is 20-25 minutes. For my oven (a standard apartment oven), 20 minutes was just right. Those 20 minutes provided plenty of time to prepare the vegetables, or that part could be done ahead of time if desired. I unfortunately don't have the V-Shaped Cutter, so simply using a knife to cut little edges around the bell pepper sufficed. In my opinion, this is purely for presentation. If you are trying to impress someone, then the edged bell pepper full of salsa looks great! Otherwise, it might not be worth the time and effort. :-) I bought olives that were already sliced to save some time, and if you don't have a Food Chopper then just simply dice up the onion. (The Food Chopper is a wonderful tool to own though!)

The sour cream is optional. My husband is not a fan, so we left that part out. He says, "Why would you want sour cream?" Good point. I still think it is delicious!  Now your Taco Ring is ready to go, and quite delicious! It took me 55 minutes from beginning to end, so it may not be the best meal if you are crunched for time. I would say it is definitely worth it to make at least once!

Taco Ring
The Pampered Chef Main Dishes
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2000.

Prep time: 30 minutes  Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

3/4 pound lean (90%) ground beef
1 package (1-1.25 ounces) taco seasoning mix
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons water
2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 medium green bell pepper
1 cup salsa
3 cups lettuce, shredded
1 medium tomato
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives
sour cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook ground beef in Large Skillet over medium heat 7-9 minutes or until beef is no longer pink; drain. Remove pan from heat. Stir in taco seasoning mix, cheese and water.
2. Unroll crescent dough; separate into triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on Classic Round Stone with wide ends overlapping in center and points toward outside. (There should be a 5-inch diameter opening in center.) Using Medium Scoop, scoop meat mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered.) Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Using V-Shaped Cutter, cut off top of bell pepper. Discard top, membranes and seeds. Fill pepper with salsa. Shred lettuce and chop tomato using Utility Knife. Chop onion using Food Chopper. Slice olives using Egg Slicer Plus. Place bell pepper in center of ring; arrange lettuce, tomato, onion and olives around pepper. Using Easy Accent Decorator, garnish with sour cream, if desired. To serve, cut with Slice 'N Serve.