One in a million

Shepherd's Pie is an old family favorite. Traditionally, Mom makes it with ground beef and raisins, but the beauty of this dish is that as long as there's beef on the bottom and potatoes on the top, you can dress it up however you want. Add in peas, carrots, onions, peppers, mushrooms, or currants... add the cheese of your choice to the potatoes... There are about a million ways to make it!

This week, Mom tried a new version, which she got from my sister-in-law, Amanda, and it's called the "Tavern Shepherd Pie." What made it unique was that the meat mixture is actually a pot roast and carrots, which you put in the crock pot and slow cook all day. Add to it a package of pot roast seasoning and a cup of water, and your whole house will smell amazing! Then in the evening, you let the roast fall apart and spread it in a dish. Make some fluffy mashed potatoes and mix in some cheddar cheese, and generously pile it on top of the meat. Then put it in the oven at 350 F, and let it bake until golden brown.

And there you have it - an easy, hearty, delicious meal to share with your family on a cool autumn evening!

We didn't include any specific measurements in this recipe, because it's more of an inspirational concept. We encourage you to get creative with it, and include your family's favorite ingredients, and come up with your own special version of Shepherd's Pie.

Svedish meetballz!

This week Mom made Swedish meatballs, and served them over wide egg noodles. She and Dad and I recently watched a Muppets movie, so of course we made plenty of references and did our best impersonations of this classy guy: 

I think the thing that makes Swedish meatballs... well, Swedish... is the sauce. Your typical Italian meatballs are made with red tomato sauce, and Swedish meatballs are made with a white sauce.

Swedish Meatballs (from p. 261 of the BCC): The meatballs are a mix of beef, pork, onion, bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce (a very fun word to say when imitating the Swedish chef!), egg, and milk. The sauce is a simple mix of flour, paprika, salt and pepper, cooked over low heat and stirred until "smooth and bubbly," then slowly stir in sour cream. After you brown the meatballs, add them to the sauce.

I don't know if that's the way the Swedes cook them, and I'm pretty sure the Swedish chef would have involved rubber chickens and talking broccoli, but this is the recipe according to the BCC, and it was a delicious success... and if it's good enough for Betty, it's good enough for us!

Chops 'n' Stuff

We have sufficiently recovered from our exquisite Thanksgiving feasting, and we hope you have too. Last week, Mom spent some time every day decorating the house and making it a Christmas wonderland, with lights, bells, snowmen, wreaths, garlands, and ribbons. She and Dad picked out a tree on Thursday, and now that it is lit up and properly adorned, the holiday has officially begun at the Spoon Drop Inn. So hang on to your hats, because now we're going to be posting delicious and inspiring recipes nearly every day until Christmas!

I am sitting here, stuffed and satisfied from just eating a most delicious dinner. It's something Mom has never made before, but she said it was pretty easy to put together.

Corn-Stuffed Pork Chops (from p. 247 of the BCC): Mom picked up three 1" thick pork chops for this recipe. She made a stuffing with corn, bread crumbs, onion, salt, and sage (oh that classic stuffing spice!). She cut pockets into the middle of the pork chops and stuffed them to overflow. Then browned the chops for 15 minutes and then covered and slowly simmered them so all that flavor could reach its full potential.

Stuffed...

and simmered!

We all loved these pork chops - so tender and full of flavor. Stay tuned for more delightful dishes of this season!

Chili, chips, 'n' cheese!

Since it was quite "chilly" today, we decided it was a great day for "chili." Nothing like a cold snap to put you in the mood to eat something warm and comforting. The traditional Chandler family favorite chili just so happens to be the BCC recipe, so this isn't new for us, but it is tried and true, so we want to share it with you!

Chili con Carne with Tomatoes (from p. 294 of the BCC): First off, we think the name is kind of silly... after all, what is a chili, if it doesn't have "carne" (meat) and tomatoes? Anyway, at least those aren't the only ingredients. We put together ground beef, chopped onions, chopped green pepper, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, cayenne red pepper, paprika, and kidney beans. Then slow cook it for two hours. 

Mom also added in some corn relish from Trader Joe's (Amanda's idea), which made it a little sweeter, and I really liked it. And we love to individually add shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips to our preference. Mom likes extra sour cream, I like extra cheese, and Dad just likes extra... chili! (He refilled his bowl a couple times.) We hope you and your family will stay warm and enjoy this special recipe this winter.

If you can't go to Hawaii...

...then bring Hawaii to your home! That's what we did today, with a fun new meatball recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.

Waikiki Meatballs (from p. 261 of the BCC):  These are all-beef meatballs mixed with cracker crumbs, minced onion, egg, salt, milk and just a 1/4 tsp ginger... (I love ginger, it's my favorite "spicy spice," the way it's sweet on your tongue and then lingers and tingles on the back of your throat.) Once you prepare the meatballs, the recipe gives directions for how to fry them in a skillet, but Mom prefers to bake hers, so that's what she did. Then you mix a sweet-n-sour sauce with cornstarch, brown sugar, pineapple syrup, vinegar and soy sauce "until smooth." Cook it, and then add in the meatballs, along with pineapple bits and chopped green pepper. 

Mom put her most tropical tablecloth on the table, to compliment this colorful, zingy dish, and we ate it over sticky jasmine rice. We all loved it - the flavors were so incredible! The Hawaiians would say it was "Oh, so 'ono!" - delicious!

The New England Pot Roast!

LOTS of cooking going on today at the Spoon Drop Inn! Dad had the day off work, which means instead of our usual big midday meal, we got to plan a nice dinner this evening... which means Mom picked a BCC recipe that took all afternoon to prepare! WARNING: You may want to plan to be out of the house while this dish is cooking all day long... at least it felt like it took all day. The mouth-watering, tummy-rumbling smell of slowly cooking roast and potatoes is enough to drive me crazy! Also, don't plan on having an engaging, animated family conversation during this meal, because, well, everyone will be far to busy ravenously stuffing their faces to be able to talk.

Waldorf Salad (from p. 372 of the BCC): First we had a little side dish salad - pretty basic, with apples, nuts, and celery... I have to admit, I prefer Mom's own recipe to this one, just because it has marshmallows and raisins in it, but the BCC won me over with this suggestion: "If desired, mound salad in lettuce cups and garnish with maraschino cherries." Of course we desire that! I always desire a cherry garnish! Who wouldn't??

New England Pot Roast (from p. 240 of the BCC): And here's a classic family favorite! Not sure what makes it inherently "New England" though... This dish includes pot roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions, which we get to drown in a delightful brown gravy. The recipe said we could add 5 ounces of horseradish to the roast, if we desired - which we didn't, so we didn't. The gravy recipe was a little hard to follow, the wording was a bit unclear, but we did our best to logically decipher, and I think we did well because the gravy was amazing. (Hint: Skim off the fat, reserve 1/4 cup of it, and put that amount back into the gravy mix.)

Dad loved it. I know, because he had seconds. And because he cracked Chandler jokes throughout the meal. (Joke: Most of the animals entered the ark in pairs - except for the worms, which entered in apples.) He also commented that it reminded him of Grandma Chandler's Sunday afternoon lunches... which is indeed a high compliment, and is synonymous with "delicious."

This morning, before the pot roast adventure, Mom and I created what I like to call "The Candy Bar Cake," a sticky, sweet, fabulous, and positively ridiculous BCC recipe that we will be bringing to share at the church luncheon tomorrow at Triad Christian Fellowship. I'll write all about it tomorrow afternoon, once I get to taste it and get some reactions from our church family. If you are at TCF tomorrow, make sure to get a piece, and let us know what you think!