Pâté Chinois aka Shepherd's Pie

What better to make for Easter than Shepherd's Pie. Or as my family has always called it, Pâté Chinois, which is French for Chinese Pie. 


This is a family recipe which is very versatile. We are always adding layers and sometimes removing layers, to make this recipe slightly different. Feel free to add or remove a layer to make it your own. 

You Will Need:


2 1/2 pounds of ground Turkey. 


Approximately 5 large Potatoes.


1 pound bag of Carrots (dip chip style will cook faster).


1 can Sweet Peas (15 oz)


1 can Sweet Cream Corn (14 3/4 oz)


3 cups of Shredded Mixed Cheese








How To Prepare:


Wash, peel, and cube potatoes. 


Boil potatoes, and carrots separately on high until soft. (The carrots will take longer to soften.)


Brown the ground turkey. Drain the turkey in a colander. Season with pepper and stir.


Once they soften, drain the potatoes and mash them. Mix in 2 table spoons of butter and 1/4 cup of milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. 


Preheat oven to 350*.


Once they soften (it will take a while), drain the carrots and mash them. Mix in 1 table spoon of butter. (If they are not completely smooth and slightly gritty, do not worry, they will still taste fine as long as you were able to mash them).


Next you are going to layer these ingredients into a 9X13 casserole dish. 


Layer the meat evenly on the bottom of the casserole. 


Sprinkle 3 cups of shredded mixed cheese on top of the meat. 


Open the can of peas, drain it, then spread them over the cheese. 


Scoop the mashed carrots onto the peas and spread evenly over them. 


Scoop the mashed potatoes onto the carrots and spread evenly over them. 


Open the can of cream corn and spread it over the potatoes. 


Bake this in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Tips:

You can use ground beef if you would like, I just use turkey in attempts to eat healthier. 

The carrots take the longest to soften, so you may want to start boiling them before you start peeling your potatoes. 

Enjoy!

Rosemary-Maple Pork Tenderloin

Last month when my mom went to Publix to do some grocery shopping the Publix Aprons Simple Meals counter was giving out samples of this week's recipe. My mother loved the sample, so she purchased all of the ingredients and we ended up making it that week. After trying this recipe, I could see what all of the fuss was about. It is delicious!


For tagging purposes, the potatoes shown with this dish can be found in a separate post on this blog (but will not be posted until later this week).


Also, I recently had to bring my computer in to be fixed, once I get it back I will upload more photos for this recipe.

You will need:


 1 Pork Tenderloin (approx 1lb)                                  8oz Pre-Sliced Baby Portabella



                    







  3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary                                                  1/2 cup Marsala Wine

                












   1 Medium Shallot                                                                  2 cups Beef Stock


                          















         1/4 tsp Kosher Salt                                                   1/2 cup Maple Syrup

                  










              1/4 tsp Pepper                                                      2 tbs Canola Oil      

                













How to Prepare:




Finely chop shallot.


Season pork with salt and pepper.


Preheat large saute pan on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.


Pour canola oil in pan and add pork to pan. Cook 4-5 minutes or until well browned, turning occasionally.


Remove pork from pan and cover to keep warm.


Remove pan from heat and add Marsalla.


Stir in mushrooms and shallots; cook and until wine has completely evaporated (2-3 minutes).


Stir in beef stock, syrup, and whole rosemary sprigs.


Return pork to pan, cover, and cook for 10-12 minutes or until pork is 155*F (turning pork occasionally).


Remove pork from pan; transfer to a cutting board.


Let pork stand 5-10 minutes before slicing; temperature will rise to USDA recommended 160*F.


While letting pork stand, continue to cook sauce 4-5 more minutes or until thickened.


Slice pork into 1 inch thick slices; top with mushrooms and sauce.

ENJOY!

The BEST Chicken Quesadillas EVER

For Valentines day my boyfriend and I took our puppies to a park and had a picnic. I wanted to bring a finger-food on our picnic to make eating easier with our puppies running around; this is how I came up with this weeks recipe.


I decided on chicken quesadillas. Being that I had never made any, I winged it; and might I say they were DELICIOUS!

What you need:


Chicken Breast Strips (cooked)                                Large Tortillas

  8 oz Shredded Mixed Cheese                                     Avocado

         Sour Cream                                                                    Lime Juice

               Refried Beans                                                                   Salsa

                                              

Pam Non-stick Cooking Spray

How to Prepare:

If chicken is frozen, thaw it. 

Place chicken in a medium bowl. Cut chicken strips into 1/2 inch to inch sized pieces. Mix in entire bag of shredded cheese. Place aside. 

Half avocado and remove seed. Using a spoon, remove avocado from skin and place it in a bowl. 

Mash the avocado with the spoon. It is ok if small chunks of avocado remain. Add 1/2 as much sour cream as there is avocado. Add approximately 2 tablespoons of lime juice to the avocado. 

Lay out 6 tortillas. 

Generously spread avocado paste to 3 of the tortillas (do not put paste on outer inch of tortilla for less mess). 

Generously spread refried beans on the remaining tortillas (do not put beans on outer inch of tortilla for less mess). 

Divide chicken and cheese mixture evenly between tortillas with avocado paste (do not put chicken on outer inch of tortilla for less mess). 

Place tortillas with refried beans on top of the chicken (beans down), forming 3 quesadillas. 

Turn the stove on medium and place a large skillet on the burner. 

When the pan is hot, spray it with Pam (I used Pam's Canola Oil non-stick cooking spray). 

Place 1 quesadilla in the pan and brown both sides, the cheese should be melted. 

Remove quesadilla. 

Spray pan with Pam and add 2nd quesadilla to the pan. Brown both sides, the cheese should be melted.

Remove quesadilla. 

Spray pan with Pam and add 3rd quesadilla to the pan. Brown both sides, the cheese should be melted.

Remove quesadilla. 

Cut each quesadilla into 8 pieces. 

Serve with sour cream and salsa. 

Tips:

You can use fresh chicken if you prefer. Cook it and slice it prior to above steps. 

I needed to use 2 large spatulas to flip my quesadillas. You can make quesadillas with one tortilla apiece by putting avocado paste on 1/2 of the tortilla and refried beans on the other 1/2, place the chicken one of the 1/2s and fold it. I made them with 2 tortillas to speed things up. 

I say serve with sour cream and salsa; however, I found them so yummy that I didn't need the sour cream or salsa. 

ENJOY!

Honey Mustard and Bacon Chicken

   

This weeks recipe was given to me by my wonderful mother. It is one of my favorite dishes she makes. In short, it is Chicken marinated in honey mustard and topped with cheese, mushrooms, and bacon. I have always compared this chicken to the Okeechobee Chicken from RJ Gators and the Alice Springs Chicken from Outback. It's that good!!!!!


She originally found this recipe in a magazine; over the years she has slightly tweeked it to make it her own. The original recipe can be found here.

What you will need:

       1/2 cup Dijon Mustard                                        1/2 cup Honey                          

        

          Dijon Mustard

Honey

         1 1/2 tsps Vegetable Oil                                        1/2 tsp Lemon Juice

Vegetable Oil

Lemon Juice

   

    10-12 Boneless Skinless Chicken                                     Pinch of Pepper

                  Tenderloins

Chicken Tenderlions     

Pepper

                                         

              Pinch of Paprika                                     2 cups Sliced Fresh Mushrooms  

Paprika

Sliced Fresh Mushrooms

                2 tbs Butter                                                 1 8 oz bag of Shredded Mixed Cheese
                                                                                                   (Mexican Blend)                                                                          

Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican Blend

Butter

    

    

            10-12 Bacon Strips                                             2 tsps Parsley Flakes

Bacon Strips

    

     Parsley

How to Prepare:

Combine the mustard, honey, vegetable oil, and lemon juice in a bowl. Pour 1/2 cup of this mixture into a large ziplock bag. Add the chicken to this bag, seal the bag, and turn the bag until the chicken is coated. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

10 minutes before chicken is done marinating, saute the mushrooms in butter until tender and partially cook bacon (cook bacon on stove top until color changes, but remove before it turns crispy). 

Drain and discard marinade from chicken. Place chicken in a large pan on medium heat. Brown chicken on both sides. Transfer chicken to a glass baking dish or a greased metal baking dish, in a single layer.  

Sprinkle chicken with pepper and paprika. Spoon remaining marinade over chicken. Top with entire cheese bag and mushrooms. Cut (or tear) bacon slices in half. Place 2 halves of bacon on each tenderloin in a crisscrossed pattern. 

Bake, uncovered, at 375* for 20-25 minutes; until meat thermometer reads 160*. 

Sprinkle with parsley. 

Tips:

You can substitute Chicken Breast halves for the Chicken tenderloins. I use tenderloins because they brown quicker.

ENJOY!