Beef Pot Pie

This is a great way to use up left-over steaks. I created this recipe and feel that I have finished tweaking it!! You will probably have some left-over filling, I created a mini pot pie using the leftover pastry trimmed from the bottom and top of the main pie. I call for the pearl onions because, while I like the taste of the onions, I don't like eating them. You may substitute 1/4 cup chopped onions if you wish. I used ready-made refrigerated pastry, but you may make your own if you prefer.

Beef Pot Pie

1 pkg. refrigerated double crust pastry
1 1/2 c. cooked steak, cut into cubes
1/3 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/2 c. frozen pearl onions
1 T butter
1/2 c. chopped celery, including leaves
1/2 c. chopped carrots
1 T butter
1 can new potatoes, cut into cubes
1/2 c. frozen peas
1 c. beef broth
1 c. milk or half-and-half

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place one of the pastry rounds in a 9-inch pie dish, making sure that it is touching the bottom and sides. Trim the extra pastry off, at the outside edge of the pie dish. Reserve this extra pastry in case you have extra filling. Prick the bottom several times with a fork. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Do not over bake. Lower oven temperature to 400ºF after you remove the pie crust to a wire rack.
2. Mix flour, salt, and pepper together in a shallow dish. Add steak and roll pieces around until they are coated in the flour. Melt 1 T butter in large skillet. Add the steak and onions, reserving the flour for later. Saute until the steak and onions are browned, about 5 minutes. Remove steak and onions and place in a heat-proof bowl for later.
3. Melt 1 T butter in skillet. Add celery and carrots. Saute for 5 minutes. Add peas, potatoes, and beef broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a 2-cup measuring cup, stir together milk and reserved flour mixture. Whisk slowly into the skillet. Stir until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in beef and onions.
5. Spoon carefully into bottom crust, stopping about 1/4-inch short of the top of the edge of the bottom crust. Top with remaining pastry, trimming the edge as you did for the bottom. Using a fork, press the top edge to the bottom edge all the way around. Don't use too much pressure, just enough to sort of seal them together. Using the fork, prick the top crust several times for vents. Place a baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven to catch the overflowing filling. Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.
6. Let the pie cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before cutting. Serves 4-6.

Sheepherder Potatoes

I bought a 5-pound bag of Yukon Gold potatoes last week, so I am taking the opportunity to try out some potato recipes. This recipe sounded yummy, and I had all the ingredients. As usual, I used frozen pearl onions instead of chopped, so I can get the flavor of the onions without having to eat them!! This would be a good recipe for a breakfast, also. The potatoes tasted sweet, I don't know if that was because of the bacon, the onions, or the potatoes. Also, I forgot to cut up the bacon into small pieces. It would have been a more integrated dish if I had.

Sheepherder Potatoes

8 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
2 med. onions, chopped
4 medium potatoes, peeled & sliced to 1/4" thick
salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry up the bacon so it is not quite crisp. Add chopped onions & cook until onion is limp. Pour off all but 2 Tablespoons of bacon drippings.
2. Center potatoes on a piece of foil large enough to cover them.
3. Pour bacon over the top. Season with salt and pepper and mix lightly.
4. Don't pierce the foil. Seal foil so steam won't escape and leave some air space between the potatoes and the foil.
5. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 300ºF for and hour and a half. Serves 4.

London Broil

My paycheck ran out early this month, so I looked for a recipe that included ingredients I already had. Thus, London Broil. I was surprised to learn that "flank steak" seems to be the same as the "London Broil" cut of beef. This was a really simple recipe, also. I was thawing the steak, so I chose to marinade it while it defrosted instead of simply brushing on the seasoning. I have some steak leftovers that I will probably work into another recipe tomorrow night.

London Broil

1 1/2 lb. flank steak
1/4 c. Italian salad dressing
1 T dry white wine
freshly ground black pepper
salt

1. Wipe steak with a damp paper towel. With a sharp knife, score the steak 1/2-inch deep in a criss-cross pattern on both sides.
2. In a bowl, combine salad dressing and wine. Brush mixture over both sides of steak. Let stand for 15-20 minutes.
3. Place steak on rack in baking pan. Broil 2 inches from heat for 5 minutes on each side, or more if you desire more well-done steak.
4. With a knife in slanting position, cut diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired.

Oatmeal Bars

The second oat bar recipe I tried was a bit loose. Although the flavor was fantastic, the consistency was odd. I won't be keeping this recipe. Perhaps if I had pressed the "dough" firmly into the pan it would have held together better. The recipe calls for cutting of the bar while still warm, so perhaps if I had waited?? Regardless, the other oat bar recipe was better all around. As usual, I used dark brown sugar, and cut the recipe in half.

Oatmeal Bars

2 c. oats
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
dash of baking soda

1. Boil brown sugar, butter, and baking soda.
2. Add the oats and blend.
3. Spread mixture in a well-greased 8-inch square pan and bake at 350ºF for 10 minutes.
4. Cut into bars while warm.

Scotch Tea Bars

I had two recipes that were very similar and so I decided to make each of them. The first one I liked the best, and will keep it. I always use dark brown sugar unless it calls for light brown sugar in the recipe. I quartered the original recipe and may have used the wrong size baking pan, but it came out OK. I also made the mistake of cutting the bars while it was still warm. Next time I will make it in the proper pan and wait until the bars are cool before I cut them!!

Scotch Tea Bars

1 c. butter
2 c. packed brown sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
4 c. oats

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar, stirring until blended.
2. Stir in baking powder and salt.
3. Add oats and stir thoroughly.
4. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
5. Bake at 350ºF for 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Cool on wire rack.
7. Cut into bars. Makes 4 dozen.

Chicken and Stuffing Bake

This recipe sounded like a good way to use up some left over chicken. I used the store-brand cornbread stuffing, which saved some money. This tasted like Thanksgiving stuffing mixed with chicken instead of turkey. I don't know if I will keep this one, it was a bit salty for my taste. Perhaps I will try the lower salt variety of soup next time.

Chicken and Stuffing Bake

3 c. cooked chicken, cut up
3 1/2 c. stuffing croutons
3/4 to 1 c. diced celery
3/4 to 1 c. diced onion
1/2 c. margarine, melted
3/4 c. water
1 can cream of celery soup
1/4 c. water

1. Heat margarine with celery and onion. Let this simmer with cover on in large frying pan for 10 minutes.
2. Place cut-up chicken in 2 quart baking dish.
3. Mix celery soup with 1/4 can of water in small bowl.
4. Add croutons to celery and onion in large pan and add 3/4 c. water. Stir until croutons are well-mixed with vegetables.
5. Put half of the crouton mixture over the cut-up chicken. Pour soup mixture over this and mix down through stuffing and chicken. Top with reserved crouton mixture.
6. Bake, uncovered, at 350ºF for 30 to 40 minutes until heated through. Serves 6-8.

Potato, Celery, and Nut Loaf

I needed to use up a couple of boiled potatoes, so I tried this recipe. I had all the ingredients on hand, so this was a good choice. I used some roasted salted almonds for the nuts, so I cut back on the salt in the recipe. I used margarine for the "fat" in the recipe, and for greasing the pan. The original recipe recommends that you serve this with tomato sauce, and I was going to use one of my leftover packets from my Boboli kit, but I forgot!! When I eat the rest of this later I will try it with the tomato sauce.

Potato, Celery, and Nut Loaf

3/4 c. diced celery
3/4 c. chopped nuts
3 c. mashed potatoes
3 T fat
1 egg, beaten
1 t. salt
1/8 t. paprika
2 t. grated onion

1. Cook celery until tender in small amount of boiling salted water.
2. Drain off liquid (this may be used for soup stock).
3. Add remaining ingredients in order listed.
4. Mix well, pack in greased loaf pan and bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes.
5. Serve with tomato sauce. Serves 6-8.

Marinated Flank Steak

First of all I apologize for the quality of the pictures. Somehow my camera got set to "landscape" setting and I didn't realize until the next day ...

My friends were camping and invited me to a BBQ dinner, so I found a marinade recipe that I could try on some tri-tip steaks I had in the freezer. Unfortunately, the steaks had been frozen and partially thawed so many times that even a good marinade like this one didn't help. The flavor of the marinade was great, and the steaks had a pinkish hue due to the fact that I chose to use the balsamic vinegar option. I will keep this marinade to try on a fresh flank steak like the recipe calls for the next time around!!

Marinated Flank Steak

1/2 c. malt vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/4 t. pepper
1 flank steak (1 1/4 lb.)

1. Combine vinegar, olive oil, onion and pepper in a heavy plastic bag.
2. Score the steak in a diamond pattern on both sides. Add steak to marinade, expell extra air from bag, and seal the bag. Place in a pan. Let stand 30 minutes. Turn bag over and marinade another 30 minutes.
3. Remove steak from the marinade.
4. Place the baking pan so that the steak is 4-5 inches from the source of the heat.
5. Broil steak for about 5 minutes on each side, more if you don't want it to be rare.

Potato Timbales

To go with my chicken I decided to go with a potato dish last night. I used yukon gold potatoes and decided to eat the potatoes right out of the custard dish. The potatoes would not have easily come out of the custard dish, so if you try this recipe you may want to oil the dishes before you pour the potato mixture into them. For a half-recipe I used 4 medium potatoes and had about 2 left over, so unless you want to have a lot of potatoes left over you should use 2-3 potatoes for a half-recipe.

This is definitely a keeper recipe!! The potatoes were smooth and creamy, and I will definitely make these again. As a result of using my blender for this recipe I plan on keeping it on my kitchen counter instead of storing it way in the back of a cupboard under the counter!!

Potato Timbales

1 1/2 lb. potatoes, preferably a waxy variety
1 c. heavy cream
2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
1/4 t. nutmeg
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

1. Boil the potatoes in their skin until tender, about 25 minutes. Cool under running cold water. Peel the skins and place the potatoes in a mixing bowl.
2. Mash potatoes with a fork. Measure out 1 1/2 c. of potatoes and place in blender. Reserve any remaining potatoes for another use.
3. Add cream, eggs, egg yolks, nutmeg, and some salt and pepper. Blend at high speed until a thick, smooth puree forms. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. Pour into custard cups that have been placed into a baking pan filled with water to about half-way up the custard cup. Bake at 325ºF for 50-55 minutes, or until a light golden brown on the top.

Golden Honey-Glazed Chicken

Well, my goal of 2 recipes a day won't work because I have too many leftovers to use up. Even though I halve the recipe, I had to skip a day of new recipes!!

Here is a chicken recipe that I had tried before, and had written a note that it might be better as a marinade. So, I tried it as a marinade this time around. I didn't have white wine Worcestershire sauce, I used regular Worcestershire sauce and added some white wine for the marinade. The recipe below is the original recipe. I didn't much like this flavor, so I won't be keeping this recipe, though.

Golden Honey-Glazed Chicken

3 1/2 - 4 lb. chicken, cut up
1/2 c. white wine Worcestershire sauce
3 T honey

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Rinse chicken well and pat dry. Place rack in a shallow baking pan.
3. In a mixing bowl combine sauce and honey.
4. Coat chicken with mixture and bake 35-40 minutes, basting occasionally, until chicken is golden.
5. Serves 4.