Lentil, Mushroom & Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Recipe adapted from: thekitchn.com

Ingredients:

- 5 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed
- 1 cup brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
- 3/4 cup dry steel cut oats, gluten free
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound mushrooms, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning  
Preparation:
 
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick each sweet potato several times with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very soft to the touch. Set aside to cool.

In a medium pot, combine the lentils, oats, bay leaf and salt with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are soft but not mushy, stirring occasionally to keep the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Discard bay leaf and drain mixture into a colander.

While the lentils and oats are cooking, finely chop half of the mushrooms and set aside. Cut the remaining mushrooms into quarters. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the quartered mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook until browned and soft. Add the chopped mushrooms, onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent. Lower heat to medium and add the lentil and oat mixture, followed by the vegetable stock, wine, tomato paste, soy sauce, paprika, and parsley. Taste and add salt if needed. Simmer mixture for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add a few grinds of black pepper.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel sweet potatoes with your hands and place in a medium bowl. Use a fork to mash them into a smooth paste and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Evenly spread the lentil mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish. (For thicker layers, use a 9x9-inch pan.) Spoon the sweet potato mixture on top and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling at the edges.

Notes & Tips:
This is Gluten Free, Vegetarian and  from what I know it's Vegan too. I made this to take to a friend who is feeling under the weather, who is a gluten free eater. So I divided this into 2 round aluminum disposable baking dishes (I think they were the 9 inch ones). You could always add ground beef if you'd like to make it a meat dish. Mat and I try to eat meatless one meal a week so this was ours. I used my Tupperware Quick Chef Pro to chop all of the veggies. So quick and easy! This recipe can also be made in advance (just keep the filling and roasted sweet potato mash separate) until you're ready to assemble and bake. The original recipe also says it can be frozen unbaked (just bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees after thawing)!

Soy Maple Salmon with Cauliflower

Recipe adapted from:

Erica McMannes 

Ingredients: 

• 2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup 
• 1 Tablespoon orange juice (fresh squeezed if you'd like)
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 4 5-ounce salmon fillets, (preferably wild salmon)
• 4 cups cauliflower florets (1 head chopped)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth, or water
• 1 Tablespoon canola oil
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoon dried cranberries
• 2 Tablespoons chopped almonds or pistachios (I used pecans)
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 Tablespoon parsley (I used basil)

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Mix soy sauce, maple syrup, orange juice, 2 of the garlic cloves and 2 Tablespoons of water in large bowl. Add salmon, turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
3. While that is marinating, put the cauliflower in microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap (or Tupperware's stack cooker. Microwave until tender, about 6 minutes.
4. Coat rimmed cookie sheet with canola oil. Drain salmon, season with salt and pepper. Place skin side down on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until salmon flakes when you put a fork in it. 
5. Heat olive oil in large skillet, heat oil and remaining garlic until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower and broth, cranberries, nuts, orange zest parsley, salt and pepper stir to heat through. Serve cauliflower with fish. 

Notes & Tips:

I thought this was a great recipe, healthy and very easy. The wild caught salmon really has a much better flavor than anything farm raised or flash frozen. Obviously, I didn't go catch the salmon myself. I was glad this recipe had a built in side dish. I served it with Parmesan couscous. Without the couscous this is gluten free. 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Recipe adapted from: 

Heatovento350.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
   
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 bag frozen mixed veggies (I used Kroger brand)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
   
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

1. Cook chicken however you like. I steamed mine in my steamer from totally frozen with steak seasoning sprinkled on it for 30 mins.
2. Shred chicken. (I used my Kitchenaid mixer to shred mine, just make sure you put a towel over the mixer so you don't have flying chicken).
3. Add butter to a large pot, add celery, onion and carrots along with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add flour and spices. Cook and stir one minute.
4. Stir in broth and milks, cover the pot, and bring soup to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.
5. Stir in chicken and let simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
6. Divide soup among serving bowls.

Notes & Tips:

The original recipe called for parsnips, which sounds good to me, but as I didn't have any I added the frozen veggies to bulk it up. You can also lower the fat in this by subbing the cream for whole milk and the whole milk for skim. I wouldn't use all skim milk though, I feel it would make the soup kinda watery. I served this with biscuits. The original recipe called for puff pastry adornments, but honestly if I was going to go that far, I'd just make chicken pot pie.

Beef Bourguignon

Recipe adapted from: Julia Child's Joy of Cooking

Ingredients

One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon (or 6 slices of thick cut bacon)

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 carrot, sliced

1 onion, sliced

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 teaspoon thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

18 to 24 white onions, small

3 1/2 tablespoons butter

Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)

1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Cooking Directions

-Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). -Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
-Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. -Add it to the lardons.
-In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.
-Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
-Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.
-Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust).
-Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.
-Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.
-Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.
-Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
-While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
-Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.
-Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.
-Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.
-Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.
-Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.
-Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.
-When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.
-Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.
-Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
-If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.
-Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.
-Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley. 

Notes & Tips:

Ok... so where to start. I've always wanted to make this and have admittedly been a tad intimidated to make it. But I bought the ingredients because we thought we were going to have guests for dinner. That fell through and I almost backed out, but I figured I had all the good stuff so I'd go ahead and make tonight a special night anyway. I started this recipe at 11:50am, and we ate at 6pm. There was LOTS of hands on time, there was also a 3.5 hour period where it just simmered. It was very very good, you could taste the wine and the rich beef flavor. I'm not sure I will be making this anytime soon, but it is truly something every cook should attempt. I served this with roasted potatoes and crusty bread.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Recipe adapted from: Six Sisters Blog

Ingredients:
1 (6 oz) pkg. chicken flavored low sodium stuffing mix
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon prepared, Dijon mustard
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces (I steamed mine)
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 cups cooked, chopped ham
6 slices of extra thin Swiss cheese

Preparation: Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Prepare stuffing as directed on package.  Mix soup and mustard in medium bowl; stir in chicken, broccoli and ham. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with cheese slices and stuffing.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through.

Notes & Tips:
The original recipe said to boil the chicken but I seasoned mine with garlic salt and pepper and steamed it. You could certainly use leftover chicken if you have it. Really any way you cook the chicken would be just fine. Also, I did not cover it while cooking so that the stuffing could get crispy. I served this with a chopped salad.
 

Chilie Rellenos Casserole

Recipe adapted from: Winnerdinners.com

Ingredients:
3 7-oz. cans whole green chiles
1 pound cheddar cheese, grated
1 pound jack cheese, grated
4 eggs
1 13-oz. can evaporated milk
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
3/4 cup salsa

Preparation:
Wash the chiles, removing the seeds, and dry on paper towels, (DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!). Grate the cheeses. Reserve 1/2 cup of each of the two cheeses, mixing them together in a small bowl. This will go on top of the casserole later, so you can place it in the refrigerator for now. In a medium-sized casserole dish, approximately 8 x 11 (9 x 13 is too big), layer 1/2 of the chiles, all of the cheddar cheese, the remaining chiles, then all of the jack cheese. Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks and add the evaporated milk, flour and salt, beating until frothy. Beat the whites separately for about a minute. Combine the two egg mixtures and beat for a few seconds longer so that they are well-mixed. Pour the egg mixture over the chiles and cheese. Bake at 300 for 1 hour. Then spread the tomato paste over the top. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese you placed in the refrigerator. Bake 1/2 hour longer. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes & Tips:
I added the salsa to this recipe because I felt like the tomato paste by itself was a little too thick. I really enjoyed this casserole. It came out looking different than I imagined, I think I thought it would look runnier, but really it was nice and firm. It does take a while to cook, but really I think it was worth it. You could certainly add meat if you wanted, but we used this for our meatless meal this week. I served this with Spanish rice.

Mustard Greens and Pumpkin Pasta

Recipe Adapted From: www.artsy-foodie.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sauteed chopped mustard greens

• 1 cup cooked pumpkin

• 1 cup lowfat sour cream

• 1 cup shredded mild cheddar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 16 oz pasta (I used Shells)

Preparation: 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Sauteed the greens with garlic and olive oil until wilted. Place the cooked greens, pumpkin, sour cream, cheddar and salt in pot and heat until cheese is melted and ingredients are well blended. Pour into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over pasta. Mix well and transfer to serving dish.

Notes: 

I left my sauce ingredients in the pot and used an emulsion blender to get the sauce smooth. This was absolutely wonderful! Daven ate lots of it which is always good when he eats his veggies. I served it with oven fried chicken and mashed sweet potatoes. 

Photo Credit: 
www.artsy-foodie.com