A very happy mishap

I like shepards pie. It's easy to like with all those lovely mashed potatoes, ground beef, and corn. I have a bunch of freshly dug potatoes as our potatoes grew very well this year so shepards pie seemed to be a perfect Sunday dinner of comfort food with friends.

Alas, I had no ground beef, just ground turkey which, let's be honest, doesn't have a lot of flavor. And I had a few leeks from the garden that were getting a little old and it's not acceptable to waste leeks! So I did what I often do, I improvised. This creation turned into a dinner that was addictive, none of us could stop eating. So while it was bad for the waistline, it was terrific for the tastebuds.

Luckily, or unluckily, it made a huge batch and I froze some for a future dinner.


Potato Leek Shepards Pie

Amounts are approximate

1 lb ground turkey
1 large diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Seasoned salt to taste

3 leeks, cleaned and sliced thin
4 tbl butter

About 2 oz cream cheese

Milk

About 2 lbs potatoes, peeled, cooked, and mashed

salt and pepper to taste

Frozen corn

Grated cheddar cheese

Brown the meat with the onions and garlic and season it to taste. Sautee the leeks in the butter until soft and sweet. Use an imersion blender to mix the leeks, butter, some milk and the cream cheese. Stir the leek mixture into the mashed potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Put the meat mixture into a casserole dish, layer corn on that, then top with mashed potatoes, and grated cheese. Bake at 400 until the cheese is melted and the dish is hot, about 30 minutes.

Try not to eat too much.

Leek and white bean soup

I just learned that kale and brussels sprouts can hang out on their stalks for a good long time in the fall. I've never grown either so I had no reason to know that but it does explain why we're still getting so much kale in the share. We're not overly fond of greens in cooked form where they're easily identified but I'm finding them to be very useful and unoffensive when used in soups and stews.


Leek and White Bean Soup with Kale

1 lb dried small white beans, soaked and cooked
1 bunch (3 medium) leeks
1/2 bunch kale, cleaned, blanched and chopped small.
1/4 c butter
water
3 chicken broth cubes
pepper
1/2 tsp dried tarragon


Saute the leeks in the butter until they're soft. Add the cooked beans and enough water to cover. Puree with immersion blender at any point in the process if you're so inclined. Add the remaining ingredients.

My kale was some sort of purple kale so my soup looks like a blueberry smoothie. Very tasty!