I know that the meal plan lists Shepherd’s Pie for Monday, Broccoli Soup for Tuesday, and Sloppy Joes for Wednesday….so I apologize for a slight change in schedule. If you read my guide to meal planning then you remember that the plan needs to lend itself to a little flexibility. Therefore, today is 2 for Tuesday. I’ll first post about Shepherd’s Pie and then Sloppy Joes. We’ll be back on schedule with Broccoli Cheese soup tomorrow night.
Because we’re making two ground beef based recipes we’ll start by browning a whole lotta beef. The Sloppy Joe recipe calls for a diced onion to be cooked with the meat. The Shepherd’s Pie does not. I’m from the school of thought that a little onion never ruined a ground beef dish, so I threw an onion in with the 3 ½ lbs of ground beef (that’s 1 lb for the Shepherd’s Pie and 2 ½ lbs for the Sloppy Joes).
Because we’re making two ground beef based recipes we’ll start by browning a whole lotta beef. The Sloppy Joe recipe calls for a diced onion to be cooked with the meat. The Shepherd’s Pie does not. I’m from the school of thought that a little onion never ruined a ground beef dish, so I threw an onion in with the 3 ½ lbs of ground beef (that’s 1 lb for the Shepherd’s Pie and 2 ½ lbs for the Sloppy Joes).
Now drain the beef and set aside for a bit.
While we’re on the topic of draining, where do you drain your fat? Do you dump it down the drain? We all know that’s a no-no. Nobody likes clogged pipes. You can’t dump it into plastic….it could melt. I’ve heard of using a coffee can. That’s a good idea. I use a canning jar. It hides under my sink. When it’s full, I pitch it. Kind of wasteful, I know. But my coffee comes in a plastic container so that’s out. Besides, that grease jar is full of memories. There at the bottom, that’s bacon grease from Christmas morning. Toward the top….fat from the chili beef from my very first post on this blog. Sniff sniff. I’m totally joking. That thing is gross. Hey- they could probably do a whole CSI based on a grease jar. Food forensics. Imagine, Marg Helgenberger to William Peterson: Well, the victim had Italian sausage in his stomach at the T.O.D. We obtained this jar of grease from Krista’s Kitchen. We ran it back to the lab and a sample from the third layer down shows remnants of (dum dum dum dummmm) sausage! The camera pans to catch the shocked look on my face. William Peterson to me: M’am where were you the night of Oct. 15th? Did you dine with the victim....
Okay, enough about the grease jar. Just for the purpose of keepin’ it real, here’s mine:
Shepherd’s Pie
You can either take your leftover potatoes from Swiss Steak night or make fresh ones or *gasp* even use instant mashed potatoes. They just need to be hot. Throw in the garlic, cream cheese and half of the cheddar cheese and stir.
Now mix 4 cups of thawed mixed veggies with 1 lb. of the ground beef and 1 cup of beef gravy.
Put it into a baking dish.
Top with the mashed potatoes
Top with cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes
And serve. Everyone ate it....some with enthusiasm. So, it gets a seal of approval from this household.
Easy Shepherd’s Pie from Kraft Food and Family
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups hot mashed potatoes
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup beef gravy
PREHEAT oven to 375ºF. Brown meat in large skillet. Meanwhile, mix potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and the garlic until well blended.
DRAIN meat. Return to skillet; stir in vegetables and gravy. Spoon into 9-inch square baking dish; cover with potato mixture and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.
Sloppy Joes
While the Shepherd's Pie is baking, go ahead and make your Sloppy Joes. Refrigerate them for tomorrow night’s dinner.
I do love this Sloppy Joe recipe! It’s the only one I make. When you look at the recipe, you may be a skeptic. Worcestershire? Cream of Mushroom soup? Brown Sugar!? Just trust me. It is SO good. And so easy. Now that you’ve already browned the beef with the onion...
you just need to dump in the remaining 5 ingredients.
Stir. Simmer.
Serve it up!
Sloppy Joes
2 ½ lbs. hamburger
1 onion
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
½ cup ketchup….or catsup…. or whatever
1 tablespoon of mustard
2 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
While we’re on the topic of draining, where do you drain your fat? Do you dump it down the drain? We all know that’s a no-no. Nobody likes clogged pipes. You can’t dump it into plastic….it could melt. I’ve heard of using a coffee can. That’s a good idea. I use a canning jar. It hides under my sink. When it’s full, I pitch it. Kind of wasteful, I know. But my coffee comes in a plastic container so that’s out. Besides, that grease jar is full of memories. There at the bottom, that’s bacon grease from Christmas morning. Toward the top….fat from the chili beef from my very first post on this blog. Sniff sniff. I’m totally joking. That thing is gross. Hey- they could probably do a whole CSI based on a grease jar. Food forensics. Imagine, Marg Helgenberger to William Peterson: Well, the victim had Italian sausage in his stomach at the T.O.D. We obtained this jar of grease from Krista’s Kitchen. We ran it back to the lab and a sample from the third layer down shows remnants of (dum dum dum dummmm) sausage! The camera pans to catch the shocked look on my face. William Peterson to me: M’am where were you the night of Oct. 15th? Did you dine with the victim....
Okay, enough about the grease jar. Just for the purpose of keepin’ it real, here’s mine:
Shepherd’s Pie
You can either take your leftover potatoes from Swiss Steak night or make fresh ones or *gasp* even use instant mashed potatoes. They just need to be hot. Throw in the garlic, cream cheese and half of the cheddar cheese and stir.
Now mix 4 cups of thawed mixed veggies with 1 lb. of the ground beef and 1 cup of beef gravy.
Put it into a baking dish.
Top with the mashed potatoes
Top with cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes
And serve. Everyone ate it....some with enthusiasm. So, it gets a seal of approval from this household.
Easy Shepherd’s Pie from Kraft Food and Family
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups hot mashed potatoes
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup beef gravy
PREHEAT oven to 375ºF. Brown meat in large skillet. Meanwhile, mix potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and the garlic until well blended.
DRAIN meat. Return to skillet; stir in vegetables and gravy. Spoon into 9-inch square baking dish; cover with potato mixture and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.
Sloppy Joes
While the Shepherd's Pie is baking, go ahead and make your Sloppy Joes. Refrigerate them for tomorrow night’s dinner.
I do love this Sloppy Joe recipe! It’s the only one I make. When you look at the recipe, you may be a skeptic. Worcestershire? Cream of Mushroom soup? Brown Sugar!? Just trust me. It is SO good. And so easy. Now that you’ve already browned the beef with the onion...
you just need to dump in the remaining 5 ingredients.
Stir. Simmer.
Serve it up!
Sloppy Joes
2 ½ lbs. hamburger
1 onion
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
½ cup ketchup….or catsup…. or whatever
1 tablespoon of mustard
2 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
I can't eat sloppy joes without thinking of the lunch lady from Billy Madison. "Have some more sloppy joes. I made 'em extra sloppy for yous. I know how yous kids like 'em sloppy."
yea my grease usually goes down the drain. Sorry but thats how my mom always did it and it never hrt her pipes. I guess I should consider that she never cooked near as often as I do. Maybe I should re-think my logic
ReplyDeleteHow much brown sugar do you use? It's mentioned, then in the photo, but I don't see it on the ingredients list.
ReplyDeletethanks