2012

We are sitting here watching 2012. HORRIBLE, Our opinion of course.  Every sequence with John Cusack is him barely escaping some death and disaster. Now even in the end... he escapes death.  Why, why. KILL HIM,  what is going on with this movie and people. It stole so many  pieces from other movies that were supposed to be the AHHH they lived moment.  I was glad about one thing (SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen it stop reading now).  I was glad when they were going to "The Ship" it turned out not to be a spaceship but those arc things.   Not that it made any more sense.  right after ALL of that, everything stopped.  No more destruction, or disaster, just calm waters

UFH! and people wonder why I don't go to the movies anymore.

Tonights Dinner

I made Shepard's Pie tonight.  It is one of my FAVORITE dishes.  I do hate all the peeling and chopping, but good Shepard's Pie is SOOO worth it.  People, MAKE this.  To me it's more of a Sunday meal but any day works.  I also made bread with it, I was going to make a salad and am glad I did not.  The bread and pie filled me up.  One bowl.

Enjoy!

For lamb and vegetable filling

• 10 oz pearl onions
• 4 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 lb boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 5 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/3-inch-thick slices
• 2 medium turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

For mashed potato topping

• 2 lb russet (baking) potatoes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• Special equipment: a wide 3-quart heavy flameproof casserole (about 2 inches deep; not glass); a potato ricer or a food mill fitted with medium disk

Prepare filling:
Blanch onions in a 2- to 3-quart pot of boiling salted water 1 minute, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain onions and peel, trimming root ends with a paring knife. Wash leek slices in a bowl of water, agitating them, then lift out and drain in a medium-mesh sieve.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pat lamb dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Put lamb and 3 tablespoons flour in a sealable plastic bag, then seal bag and shake to coat lamb.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in casserole dish over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown half of lamb, turning, about 6 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Transfer browned lamb and garlic to a plate with a slotted spoon and repeat with remaining lamb and tablespoon garlic (do not add more butter).

Add wine to casserole dish and deglaze by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute, then stir in tomato paste and boil, stirring, until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add broth, water, thyme, browned lamb with any juices that have accumulated on plate, onions, leeks, carrots, turnips, remaining teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over moderately high heat, then remove from heat.

Cover dish with lid or foil and braise lamb and vegetables in middle of oven, stirring once or twice, until lamb is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.

Make topping while filling cooks:
Peel and quarter potatoes. Cover potatoes with salted cold water by 1 inch in a 4-quart heavy pot, then simmer, uncovered, until very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Bring cream, milk, and butter to a simmer in same pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until butter is melted, then remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper. Force hot potatoes through ricer into hot cream mixture and stir gently to combine. Keep warm, covered.

Assemble and broil pie:
Preheat broiler.

Make a beurre manié by stirring together remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and remaining 2 tablespoons flour in a small bowl to form a paste. Spoon 1 cup cooking liquid from casserole dish into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in beurre manié, then simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Gently stir sauce into lamb and vegetables.

Spoon potatoes over lamb and vegetables and spread evenly with a fork, making a pattern with tines. Broil about 3 inches from heat until top is golden, about 3 minutes.

Veggies Simple recipe

Some days Sabrina will ONLY eat veggies.  She is not big on meat and sometimes if a recipe has meat in it she will not eat it.  I made this recipe for her when she is like this. She loves this and gobbles it down.  I will have to remember to put the broccoli and parsnip version on.

Recipe: Veggie Mash

1. Sweet Potato

1. Parsnip

1/2 a butternut Squash

1. Leek white parts ( cut up to the solid green part)

1/4 cup olive oil (reserve 1 tbsp for leeks)

2 tsp garlic minced

1/2 cup broth ( you can use any type I use Veggie)

Peel and chop up veggies

place veggies and garlic on a cooking sheet

drizzle olive oil (minus the 1 tbsp for leeks)

cook in a 375 degree oven for 3o minutes or until veggies are soft

while veggies are roasting mince leeks

Saute in a 2qt sauce pan till tender (or translucent)

When veggies are done put in sauce pan with leeks

( Here is a weird thing I do, I put a quarter of the broth in the saute pan with the leeks, let it cook down then add the veggies and the remaining broth)

mash up ( I try to leave some chunks)

season salt & pepper to taste

Enjoy!

I think she loves all those sweet tasting veggies and the fact that they are roasted add even more flavor.

The Thing About Making Meals For Infants and Toddlers

I love, LOVE making Sabrina's food.  But man! Do I hate all the chopping.  Since she has to have things a certain size (and we want to be certain) I chop and chop and chop and STILL I get these nasty stains (sorry could not resist).  I made this Lasagna for her, actually last week, when I started writing this post and fell asleep each time I started).  She loves this, the first night I made it and she had it I was worried she didn't, Bobby didn't know that was her dinner and started feeding her something else.  I gave him the lasagna, he got her to eat 3 bites and that was it, she didn't want anything else.  I didn't know he had already fed her.  Well 2 days later he fed it to he again and since any time she has it she eats it up.  Oh yeah, this makes a good sized sheet of lasagna, so I chopped it into meal sized sections and froze.  This should not sit in the fridge for more than a few days and should not be left frozen for more than 30 - 45 days.

Recipes for your vegetarian baby - Pumpkin Lasagna

1 lb butternut pumpkin/squash, peeled and chopped

1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

9 sheets of instant lasagna

8 oz (2 cups) grated Cheddar

*homemade tomato sauce

*To make the tomato sauce, combine fresh chopped tomatoes, garlic and Italian herbs to taste.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg F, 180 deg C.

Boil or steam the pumpkin until tender, then mash.

In a skillet/frying pan, heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic until soft.

Stir the onion mixture into the mashed pumpkin, mixing well.

Place 3 lasagna sheets in a long, deep oven dish (greased).

Top with half of the mashed pumpkin, then a sprinkle of the grated cheese and 1/3 of the tomato sauce.

Repeat the layers, and finish with the last pasta sheets, cheese and remaining tomato sauce.

Bake for about 30 mins, until the pasta is done.

Chop as necessary, refrigerating any leftovers for up to 2 days of freezing for up to one month.