Almost Shepherd's Pie

Okay. This technically is not a pie. 

This is something warm and delicious that falls under the comfort food category- it's what happens when a shepherd's pie meets a meat ratatouille.  

Shepherd's pie is basically a beef and vegetable pie topped with a layer of mashed potatoes. Ratatouille is a French dish that is a tomato-based saute of vegetables, eaten as a side dish or main course.

I used spicy Italian sausage in place of beef, used a bunch of ratatouille vegetables like green peppers, onions, and squash, and skipped adding any tomato.  Instead of a mashed potato topping, I used cubed potatoes sauteed in garlic and butter and topped with cayenne pepper.  

You can obviously use sweet ground Italian sausage if you like, but this wasn't overwhelmingly spicy at all.  It definitely had a little kick though.

The Boyfriend went back for seconds.  So did I.  In fact, we almost ate the entire thing.

Sage Chicken Chili with Lentils and Garden Vegetables

Here's a nice fall meal for you!

My parents recently gave me an organic homegrown squash that was almost as big as me.. maybe a mild exaggeration.. but look:

They also gave me homegrown peppers and tomatoes, and with this beautiful fall weather and football season starting, OF COURSE I'M GOING TO MAKE CHILI!

This is a healthier chili- made with chicken, protein packing lentils, and lots of vegetables.  It's mildly spicy, though of course you can adjust it to your own tastes.  If you want less spicy, skip the jalapeno and reduce the chili powder to a teaspoon or none at all. For more spicy, increase chili powder to 2 tbsp, and if you really want it hot add another jalapeno!

This is a one-pot meal- no rice required!  The lentils are way healthier than rice, and make the chili a bit more hearty and filling.  Afraid of lentils?  Don't be- they really don't taste like much- they soak up the flavor of the chili, and The Boyfriend didn't even know they were in there.  He still doesn't.   :)  

This chili would make for a perfect vegetarian chili too- just skip the chicken, increase the lentils, and use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock.  The recipe is very forgiving- add and subtract vegetables as you desire.

As with any chili, this can be made in the crockpot or on the stovetop. I wrote down both methods for you. 

Serve with a dollop of sour cream if you like, maybe a Gorgonzola Sage Popover, and voila! Dinner is served. 

Zucchini Spaghetti with Spring Vegetables

    This dish... is awesome.  So fresh, so simple, so healthy.  You will need to buy a julienne peeler if you don't already have one (under $10, can find at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc with vegetable peelers). 

    I used fresh produce I had lying around in the fridge.  You can easily add or substitute whatever you may have lying around.  My vegetable measurements here are approximate- add as little or as much as you prefer!  I served this with grilled chicken and leftover slider buns that I made into mini garlic breads (obviously if you are gluten free you will skip that part)!

Zucchini Spaghetti with Spring Vegetables

Serves 3-4

 You will need:

2 zucchini

10 mini sweet peppers, seeds removed and cut in fours

1/2 red pepper, cut into large dice

2 roma tomatoes, diced

About 12 grape tomatos, cut in half

2 large handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 white onion, thinly sliced

4 anchovy fillets (used as a seasoning, you won't even know it's in there!)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

7 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

Use the julienne peeler to make the spaghetti.

Place the zucchini spaghetti in a colander.  When you are finished making the spaghetti, put the colander in the sink and toss a couple pinches of salt on the zucchini.  Leave it sit while you prepare the rest of the meal.  (This step draws out some of the liquid so you don't have mushy spaghetti).  

Next heat water to steam the sweet and red peppers until still a bit crisp.  If you don't have a steamer, you can simply boil them for about 5 minutes.  The key here is to soften them a little bit, but to leave them with a little snap.

While the peppers are steaming/boiling, heat about 4 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over med-med high heat (heads up-this needs to be large, the zucchini and ALL veggies will wind up in here). Add the garlic, onion, and anchovies to the pan and saute, breaking up the anchovies until they melt away with your spoon (this should only take about 2 minutes... watch the heat of the stove- you don't want to burn the garlic!)

Once the anchovies have been incorporated with the garlic and oil, add the zucchini, gently tossing to combine.  Season with a little salt and pepper. Add the peppers and roma tomatoes, stir to incorporate.  Cook the zucchini  spaghetti about 3 more minutes.  Finally add the spinach and grape tomatoes.  Stir to combine well, and serve!

Slider Bun Garlic Bread

To make garlic bread out of slider buns, I simply minced a clove garlic and rubbed 1/2  on both sides of 2 slider buns ( a total of 4 pieces).  Then I melted 2 tbsp of butter in microwave until soft but NOT RUNNY.  I added the other 1/2 of the garlic clove, a pinch of salt, stirred until it was a thick buttery garlic paste, and buttered the buns.  Put into toaster oven until slightly golden, and voila!