Steak & Guinness Pie

I decided to try and make my husband an Irish meal for St. Patrick's Day this year. I'm not Irish at all, but he is. Neither of us like the traditional St. Patrick's day fare of "Corned Beef & Cabbage" so I went on the hunt for a meal with Guinness. He likes Guinness to drink, and I like it to cook with. So when I found Jamie Oliver's recipe I thought it looked like a winner.

Besides the fact that this isn't the prettiest meal I've made, it was certainly delicious. I swapped out the puff pastry for my pie dough because my husband requested it that way (he loves my pie dough) and added a few more carrots and celery then what was called for. But besides that, I followed the recipe as it was. I have to say, when I saw that the recipe called for cheese I was a little hesitant but it added SO much complexity and depth of flavor. I absolutely loved the cheese in it. I got an imported Irish Stout cheese and it was very strong, but lent itself perfectly to this pie. This was a meal my husband and I both loved and I'm pretty sure I'll be making it again next year!
Ingredients
Adapted from: Jamie Oliver

olive oil
3 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
30g butter, plus extra for greasing (This is 2 tablespoons)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (I used 4 small carrots)
2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped (I used 2 sticks)
4 field mushrooms, peeled and sliced (I omitted)
1kg brisket of beef or stewing beef, cut into 2cm cubes (I used venison)
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 440ml can of Guinness (no lager, please!)
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
200g freshly grated Cheddar cheese (I used Kerrygold Dubliner with Irish stout cheese)
500g best-quality ready-made all-butter puff pastry (I used 1 recipe Pie Dough)
1 large free-range or organic egg, beaten
Directions

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. In a large ovenproof pan, heat a glug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry gently for about 10 minutes – try not to colour them too much. Turn the heat up, add the garlic, butter, carrots and celery and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of salt and a level teaspoon of pepper.

Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in the Guinness, stir in the flour and add just enough water (I used about 2.5 cups) to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours. Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back into the oven and continue to cook it for another hour, or until the meat is very tender and the stew is rich, dark and thick. A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if it’s still quite liquidy, place the pan on the hob and reduce until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese, then season carefully and leave to cool slightly.

Cut about a third of the pastry off the block (or half of the pie dough). Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll both pieces of pastry out evenly with a floured rolling pin to the thickness of a pound coin. Butter a deep pie dish, then line with the larger sheet, leaving the edges dangling over the side. Tip the stew into your lined dish and even it out before sprinkling over the remaining cheese. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg.

Cut the other rolled sheet of pastry to fit the top of the pie dish and criss-cross it lightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the top of the pie and fold the overhanging pastry on to the pastry lid to make it look nice and rustic. Brush the top with beaten egg, then bake the pie directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is cooked, puffed and golden. Delicious served simply with peas.

Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

Confession: I decided I wanted to make this after having watched the movie Julie & Julia. After seeing this movie, I was totally inspired to make a Julia Child's recipe since I've never done so and the beef bourguignon looked like something I could actually handle.

This was simply really, really, really good beef stew (well, in my case a venison stew since I used venison). It was certainly much more complex then the beef stew that I usually make in the crock pot. It required careful timing and a good deal of prep work, but it certainly was a very manageable recipe. But I honestly have to say that my favorite part of the whole recipe was the brown braised onions. OH MY GOSH. Amazing is all I have to say. Those onions were melt in your mouth, perfectly cooked, flavorful perfection. I found myself picking the onions out of the stew to eat them by themselves. Yum.

But this really was a great recipe. I had a lot of fun making it, especially knowing how many other people have made it before me. Oh, and of course I skipped the mushrooms in this. Because we all know how I feel about mushrooms.

I found the link to the recipe on Pantry Raid and instead of typing the whole thing out, I'll just link you to the PDF so you can see the recipe right out of the book, and so I don't mess anything up by typing it. Enjoy!

Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

Brown Braised Onions

Brown Sugar Glazed Meatloaf

Last weekend I was totally uninspired to make anything great for my Sunday Night dinner. I usually try and make something new and exciting on Sunday nights, but really couldn't think of anything. So I looked around at what I had and just decided to make a meatloaf, but I wanted to try a new version. So I went online and found this recipe, had everything, and made it.

All I can say is WOW was this good!!! My husband thinks it's the best meatloaf he's ever had and he's a man who loves his meatloaf! I totally agree, this was a great meatloaf. I like it because it was different in a really good way. It's not the meatloaf your grandmother made! (Well, maybe yours did, but mine didn't)! The only thing I'll change next time is I'll add a 1/2 tsp. of ginger, just because I felt like you couldn't really taste it with just 1/4 tsp and I love ginger!

Ingredients
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I used ground venison)
3/4 cup milk (I used about 1/2 cup)
2 eggs (I used 1 whole egg and 1 egg white)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs (I used Reduced fat Ritz and also some breadcrumbs because I didn't think there was enough dry ingredients with just the crackers)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (I added this)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a standard loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix together Beef, milk, eggs, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, ginger and cracker crumbs. Using your hands, mix everything together until thoroughly combined. Press into your loaf pan.

In a small bowl mix together brown sugar and ketchup until thoroughly combined. Drizzle over the top of the meatloaf until the loaf is completely coated with the glaze.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. (after the first 40 minutes of cooking, you can remove the foil and then cook for an additional 20 minutes). Enjoy!

Venison Stew

This is one of the few things I make with my Crockpot. I rarely use my crockpot at all, but it's perfect for stew! My husband and I make this a lot during hunting season, but on Sunday we both really had a taste for it. It fills your house with such a heavenly aroma, that by dinner time your mouth is watering! So this is "our" recipe, we've been making it for years now and never really had an actual recipe, but I think it's pretty darn great! And again, you can sub beef for venison but we personally love the flavor the venison brings. And because we don't have a "real" recipe for this, all measurements are aproximate. We usually just throw in "a little of this" and "a little of that" and it works well!

Ingredients
Aprox. 1-2 lb. venison stew meat
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots chopped, or a few handfuls of baby carrots
2-3 potatoes, roughly chopped
1 Beef Stew seasoning packet (we usually use McCormick)
1 32 oz. carton of beef broth (we use Swanson)
Aprox. 1/4 cup all purpose flour

Directions
Put first 7 ingredients in Crockpot on low heat and stir until well combined. Cook for about 8 hours. I have never made this stew and have left for the day (I make it on weekends because I refuse to keep my crockpot on during the day while I'm at work), so I stir it every so often during the day. About an hour before you are ready to eat, whisk together the flour and a bit of water until it forms a thick but pourable paste. Pour into stew and mix until thoroughly combined. If you prefer a thicker gravy, you can keep adding more flour/water mixture but keep in mind that the stew thickens the longer it cooks. So we usually pour in the initial flour/water mixture, wait about 5 minutes, and then add more until the stew reaches your desired consistancy. Serve with some crusty french bread or homemade biscuits.

Cheesy Venison Casserole

My husband and I still have a lot of venison in the freezer from the deer he got this past fall. We actually butchered it together and I had fun doing it! I found it really interesting to see where the meat comes from and how you can break it down. Anyways, he said he was in the mood for hamburger helper the other day and asked me to use venison in it instead. I said I would, but I was going to make my "own" version of hamburger helper and not make it from out of the box (obviously). I didn't use a recipe but kind of came up with it as I went along and it came out really great! I love when I make things without a recipe and they actually come out good since I don't do it very often! This is perfect comfort food, and the perfect recipe for when your husband wants hamburger helper but you don't want to make it from a box! You can obviously substitute beef for venison, but I personally loved the flavor the venison gave the dish. I served this meal with some crusty french bread that I topped with Olive Oil and minced garlic, and toasted in the oven for a few minutes.

Ingredients
1 lb ground venison (or beef)
1 box of Large Shell Pasta (I used Barilla)
1 medium-large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 block (4 oz) reduced fat or fat free cream cheese
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
3 cups skim milk
1 bay leaf
1 egg
1/2 tsp paprika
1 8 oz. bag shredded 'Mexican' blend cheese (I think this equals about 2 cups)
salt
pepper
panko bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Set aside. In a large pot of boiling, salted water add shells and cook for about 12 minutes or until cooked through. Drain, and set pasta aside.

In a large skillet with high sides, cook ground venison over medium-high heat, crumbling/stirring meat every few minutes. When ground beef is almost cooked through and has very little pink left, add onion and garlic. Stir to combine, cover and cook, stirring every few minutes for about 5-7 minutes or until onions are translucent and meat is cooked completely through. Reduce heat to medium-low, add cream cheese and cover. Stir every so often until cream cheese is completely incorporated with meat mixture and has melted. Remove mixture from heat and, keeping it covered, set aside.

In a medium-large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. When melted, whisk in flour and continue whisking until the mixture becomes a very light golden color, about 3-4 minutes. Whisk in milk and paprika, add the bay leaf and turn up the heat to medium-high. When the mixture has been brought up to a simmer, lower heat to medium or medium low...you don't want the milk to boil over!!! Make sure you are whisking constantly during this whole process. Let the milk simmer for about 10-12 minutes, or until it has thickened considerably. Remove the bay leaf, and temper in the egg*. Whisk in all of your cheese and continue to whisk until the cheese is completely melted and the mixture is nice and thick.

Now, put your cooked shell noodles in the same pot as the beef mixture, and pour the cheese sauce over everything. I used most of the sauce, but not all of it. Add as much as you want, to your particular cheese liking! Mix everything together thoroughly, season with salt and pepper to taste, and pour in your greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with panko bread crumbs, and bake for about 20-30 minutes. Serve, and enjoy!


*Tempering in an egg: If you're not a food network junkie like me, you might not know what tempering in an egg means! Basically you don't want your egg to scramble when you put it in a hot mixture, so you have to bring it up to temperature gradually. Crack your egg into a very small bowl or measuring cup, then add a few spoonfuls of your hot milk mixture to it and whisk it in with the egg. Do this 2 or 3 times, adding more of your hot milk mixture each time. Then pour the whole thing back into the thickened hot milk and whisk to combine.

Brian's Venison Casserole

With Christmas cookie making, cleaning and wrapping gifts on Sunday, I was beat when it came time to make dinner. So my darling husband offered to make dinner for me! He can make one dish, and it's pretty good! So he calls it "his" casserole. There's really no recipe for it...he just throws it all together! I'm really not even sure how he thought of it. So here are the basics...but feel free to change it up to make it your own. It's great comfort food and a really good weeknight meal.

Ingredients
1 lb ground venison (we always use venison but you could easily sub. ground beef)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can of whole kernel corn
1/2 cup of peas (thawed, if necessary)
cheddar cheese...as much as you want!
aprox. 3/4 cup jiffy mix
aprox. 3/4 cup milk
salt
Pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown venison in a large skillet until cooked through. If you use ground beef, you might have to drain the fat. Venison is so lean you usually don't have to. In the same skillet as the ground venison, add chopped onion, garlic, salt, pepper, corn and peas. Cook about 5-6 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Then add about 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (or more if you want!) and stir until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine milk and jiffy mix until it reaches your desired consistency. Brian likes his on the thin side...about the same consistency as pancake batter. Pour about 1/4-1/2 the batter on the bottom of a greased 13x9 casserole dish (I use a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish). Then add your meat mixture. Sprinkle a little cheddar on top of that. Finally, pour the rest of the jiffy mix batter until it covers all of the meat/cheese mixture. If you need to make more batter, that is fine. Just make sure it covers the meat mixture.
Bake for aprox 40-45 minutes until top is golden brown. If you're unsure if the jiffy mix is cooked through, poke a toothpick in the center. When it comes out dry, it is done.

Venison Meatloaf

I feel a little silly posting a recipe for meatloaf because everyone has their "own" recipe for it and it's not exactly rocket science...but maybe you're looking for something a little different and venison just might be the answer!

Ingredients
1 lb. ground venison
1 medium onion, very finely diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
aprox. 1 - 1 1/2 cup of italian breadcrumbs
1 "squirt" of ketchup
1 "squirt" of Ranch dressing
1 egg
salt
pepper
aprox. 1/4 cup marinara sauce
grated cheddar cheese
panko bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine first 9 ingredients in a large mixing bowl by hand until thoroughly combined. In a greased loaf pan, add meatloaf mixture until it is evenly dispersed in the pan. Top with a thin layer of marinara sauce, then add grated cheddar cheese and panko bread crumbs and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour and serve.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Last week I knew I was going to have a busy week ahead of me, so I found this easy recipe on http://www.pillsbury.com/ and got the ingredients for a week night "no time to cook" emergency. Well, last night happened to be that night! After a long meeting after work and horrible traffic, DH and I got home late so I whipped up this meal.

It was surprisingly good! I had my doubts with canned soup, instant rice etc. but the flavor was there and it was very hearty. I think this meal was perfect what it was...a "no time to cook" emergency.
Some changes I made were:

1) I used venison instead of Chicken

2) I used motzerella instead of Cheddar! I know, how odd. But it was all I had and it was ok...I'd definately use cheddar next time though!

3)When layering, I used a new layer of tortilla each time with refried beans.

4)Instead of making a round casserole, I did it in a square pan.

5) I used about 4oz. of cream cheese instead of one!

6) Did not use red bell pepper...I don't like them!

INGREDIENTS
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin bite-size strips
1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso® Light Southwestern-style vegetable soup
1/4 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 oz fat-free cream cheese, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons Old El Paso® fat-free refried beans (from 16-oz can)
4 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat mild Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook chicken and bell pepper over medium-high heat 4 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until chicken begins to brown and bell pepper is crisp-tender. Sprinkle with cumin.
2. Stir in soup. Heat to boiling. Stir in rice; reduce heat to low. Cover; cook about 10 minutes or until rice is tender.
3. Stir cream cheese into chicken mixture until well blended. Spread 1 tablespoon of the refried beans on 1 tortilla; place, beans side up, in bottom of ungreased 1-quart casserole. Top with 1 cup chicken mixture; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Repeat 2 times. Top with remaining tortilla; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Cover; bake 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is hot and cheese is melted.