Jamaican Me Crazy

Ok... confession time.

For as much as I make fun of my mom's Shepherd's Pie, I actually like it.  A lot.  So much that I've made a couple different vegetarian versions of hers.  They were good, but not like hers, they were all missing that secret ingredient only moms can add (Hint:  it's love)

So... the other day I was brainstorming a new version.  Coincidentally, it was cold and snowy, and I was thinking of a line from Jimmy Buffett's Boat Drinks:  "Lately, newspaper mentions cheap air fare, I gotta to fly to Saint Somewhere" and it hit me...

Jerk Shepherd's Pie!

A quick survey of what I had on hand revealed I had all necessary ingredients, so cooking commeneced.  It turned out better than I expected - sweet, spicy, and very filling.  Carol loved it, and she's finicky as anything  It only lacked one thing, mom's special ingredient.

Here's how I made it - feel free to improvise with what you have on hand.

Jerk Shepherd's Pie

1 12 oz bag Morningstar Farms Grillers Crumbles
1 small onion, chopped
1 16 oz bag frozen mixed veggies
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup Caribbean jerk sauce (I used World Harbors)
4 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese.
1 tbs Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375.  Heat oil in a large skillet, then add crumbles and onions and saute until onions soften and brown slightly.  Stir in the jerk sauce, mushrooms, veggies, salt & pepper and cook about 5 minutes more.  Spoon the mixture into a 9x5 baking dish and sprinkle with the cheese.  Spread the mashed sweet potatoes over this (Note:  This works best if they are warm.  Cold mashed potatoes don't spread very well) and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes or until it's heated all the way through.

That's it, makes about 6 servings.  Douse it with some Pick-a-Peppa or other hot sauce of your choice and dig in. You'll be glad you did.

A Bowl of Awesome

What do you do with leftovers on a snowy winter day.

Soup... soup is always good.

And how do you take this bowl of awesome and make it even more awesome?

Awww yeah.

I call this "Leftover Veggie, Pasta, and Bean Soup" and pronounce it "Awesome."  Feel free to improvise with any leftovers you have.

Leftover Veggie, Pasta, and Bean Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small shallot, finely chopped  
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced (I used a crinkle cutter to be fancy)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large yam 
1 cup cut green beans
2 cups Pacific Natural Foods Organic Broth Organic Mushroom Broth  
4 cups Pacific Natural Foods Organic Broth Organic Vegetable Broth  
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper, Or to taste  
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste  
1 tsp dried thyme  
15 oz can Bush's Great Northern Beans, undrained  
4 oz Barilla Whole Grain Penne, cooked 

 Heat oil in heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add shallot, onion, carrots, and garlic; stir and cook one minute.  Add the yam, bell pepper, green beans, seasonings and broths; increase heat to med-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until yam is tender, about 30 minutes. Add cooked pasta and undrained beans (you can drain the beans if you want, but this really makes it nice and thick) and heat through. Just before serving, stir in the parsely and correct the seasoning.

We had it with some crusty bread, it was most delicious

Cheap cheeps

OK, so if you're still drooling over the hummus in the last post, be aware that I just made two more batches. Yes, you can have some, come on over. But what to have with it? I mean, I would never, ever just eat hummus by the spoonful. Never.

Quit looking at me like that.

The healthy answers are veggies like baby carrots, celery sticks, and red pepper strips. The answer you probably came up with was chips, be they potato or tortilla. You could grab a bag of those ridiculously expensive pita chips, but... I have a better idea.

Make your own pita chips. They are almost too easy to make, unless you're the type who has to make their own pita bread, then use that to make chips. Me, I just went and bought pita bread. I'm not that ambitious yet.

Here's how I made them. Promise me you won't kick yourself when you realize how easy they are and how much you've been overpaying.

You will need:

1 8-count bag pita bread
Olive oil spray or mister (Dan got us a nifty one for a wedding gift)
Seasoning of your choice, I used Lawry's Seasoned Salt but feel free to experiment.

Preheat your oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper Cut the pita's into wedges - 4, 6, 8 depending on how big you like them. You can seperate the two layers of the pita or leave it intact if you prefer a thicker, crunchier chip. Spray them lightly with the olive oil, and dust with the seasoning. Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Check at 12 minutes since these will crisp up very quickly, especially if you've seperated the layers. Remove from the oven, and cool on wire racks. I just lift the piece of parchment off the sheet and move it to a rack. And once they're cooled I store mine in gallon-size freezer bags.

See how easy that was? So what are you waiting for - go make some! Have fun, get crazy with them.