Easy Shepherd's Pie

Well, here is my Easy Shepherd's Pie I made for the challenge. I made it AFTER our late church on Sunday, so it really is quick and easy. I will have to admit that I did make a mistake though! I had scanned the recipe quickly on Saturday evening to make sure I had all the ingredients and then just started making it on Sunday without really looking....meaning browning the hamburger with the onion and garlic. Well...there is NO onion in it and you mince the garlic up and add it RAW to the potatoes! hahahaha If I made this again--and I know I will--I would still do it the same mistake way! I did buy a packet of Herbed Gravy to use (McCormick in support of Kent's work) and I 'riced' the potatoes to make them really creamy. I would definitely make this again!

Slow Cooker Orange-BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

The picture from the magazine..

The picture from our dinner!

Okay, this was quite possibly the world's easiest recipe. Not a challenge at all, and we both really liked it. The only thing I would do differently is that for some reason the recipe tells you to use a WHOLE BOTTLE of BBQ sauce. I didn't, but I used quite a bit, and there was too much sauce. Also, it wasn't super orangey - so cut back on the sauce and add more orange juice, I would say. And, it tells you to cook it on low for 8-9 hours. This thing was so done by five hours on low that when I touched it lightly with a fork, it fell apart. If I hadn't come home during lunch to check on it, all the sugars in the sauce would have eventually burned and ruined it. So, if you plan to eat at five, start it at noon or one o' clock. And I didn't even buy the 3lb piece of meat - since it's just me and Pete. I got one that was just over 2 lbs and it still made plenty for leftovers.

But anyway, it was good and easy. I'd make it again.

yuck!

I made the one pan roasted pork supper and it was gross. I read the comments on the Kraft website and can just say ditto to those who didn't like the dish. First of all the stuffing was soggy. Second the meat was kinda dry. Third, the meat needed more flavor and finally, the potatoes didn't do it for me. The flavor was OK but I would agree w/ everyone else and instead of using Catalina dressing, use Italian.

Pretty Yummy!

We made the one pot cheesy chicken cattachatorie(yeah totally spelled wrong) and it was surprisingly good! I had no expectations since it was made with a box of mac and cheese (I'm not really a fan) but it was really tasty. The only change we would make (OK Joel suggests) is using the white cheddar mac and cheese rather than regular. I agree that would be very yummy. I will definitely make this again. you could make a more healthy version if you used a whole wheat pasts and a hard cheese of your choice. Oh, the other change I will make it NO onions, but I don't like raw onions and they still have some crunch to it. So next time I won't put them in, but other than that I was surprised by how good and super easy it was.

Trying Again

Okay, let's start over. It's been months since anyone's posted or even looked on this blog. If you read the rules section, you'll notice that they've changed slightly. To make the challenge less intimidating, you only have to make at least one recipe per month. If you want to make more than that, go for it! I'm going to look through my new magazine tonight and see what I can figure out for a meal for next week. I hope everyone can figure out what to do and gets cooking soon!

PS: Don't you love the picture of the random girl from the Kraft Foods website? Hahaha.

Our First Recipe

We had the Western Skillet Omelet for dinner tonight since we actually had all the ingredients (minus the peppers). It was delicious and easy to make. I think we would have it again. Of course the boys wouldn't eat it, but they liked the toast we had along side it. If I made it again, I would boil the potatoes longer. Then you could just toss it all together in in the skillet at the last minute and it would cook faster. Yummy, can't wait for the next recipe!

Cheesy Volcano Meatballs!

This is what the sandwich looks like in the magazine.

Here's what our sandwich looked like.

Meatballs with chunks of cheese in them, ready to be cooked!

Pete with his first sandwich - that's right, he liked it so much, he had two!

Me with my sandwich. It was pretty darn good!

Well, for the first week of the challenge I went for something that was very little hassle and that could be made with ingredients I already owned - all except for the buns. It was really easy and was done in less than half an hour. I thought it was tasty, too. The only thing is, the recipe tells you to use hot dog buns, but they're so small and not very dense, so I didn't think they'd hold up very well. I got hoagie rolls instead. Also, if I make it again, not only will I use the aluminum foil underneath, but I'll probably put them on a raised rack so they're not sitting in cheesy and hamburger grease once they're cooked.

But yeah, I thought they were pretty good! I'd give them 4 1/2 stars!