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.

Cheesy Eggplant

Sam's been interested in trying new fruits and vegetables lately, something I'd hate to discourage. On our most recent trip to the store he was fascinated with eggplant, yet another vegetable I haven't normally cooked or eaten but of course I was willing to give it a try.


Cheesy Eggplant Casserole

1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4" pieces
1 T salt
3/4 c breadcrumbs
1-2 eggs, beaten
olive oil for pan frying
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
1/4 c fresh oregano
1 T fresh thyme
salt
pepper
6 oz mozzarella cheese, grated

Rub salt on the eggplant slices, place slices in a collander and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse and dry the eggplant slices, dip in eggs, and then into breadcrumbs. Brown the slices in olive oil, about 2 minutes per side at medium high temperature. Place slices in the bottom of a pan or casserole dish (I used an 11"x7" because I had a small eggplant).

Drain tomato juice and grind up the tomatoes (I used my immersion blender for this)

Brown turkey in a little oil if necessary. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add tomatoes, herbs, and salt. Pour the sauce over the eggplant. Top with cheese.

Bake about an hour at 350 until the eggplant is soft. I assembled this two days in advance then baked it and that worked just fine. It made about 8 small servings.


Verdict: Sam loved it and wanted it in his lunch the next day. Ben liked it but thought it would be better with noodles - he thought it should be lasagna. I liked it but thought it might be nicer with a bit more kick, perhaps a little cayenne.

Fake eggrolls

I'm getting tired of root vegetables and stews so today I decided to do something very different from my typical meals. It's really easy but uses only one local ingredient, something we never get from the share but is available at our local co-op. The co-op/downtown food store is a nice little place with lots of local food options as well as some conventional foods.

I was there today and saw some local frozen ground turkey. I'd also seen an article in the paper about cooking with eggroll wrappers so I pulled those together and came up with the following very simple recipe.

Ground turkey "eggrolls"

Makes about 12 eggrolls

1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1/2 red onion finely minced
fresh cilantro to taste
Nappa cabbage or bean sprouts or whatever other veggies you'd like

Eggroll wrappers

Brown the turkey, add the other ingredients, allow to cool.

Wrap filling in eggroll wrappers and pan fry the rolls in about 1/8" of vegetable oil spiked with some sesame oil for a little extra flavor.

Rating: Mmmmm, mmmm good. The recipe made a dozen and they were all gone. Sam ate one of them before I cooked it and then another 2 1/2 egg rolls.

Update: Added a cooked sweet potato to make it a little less meaty and some mushrooms because I had them. Upped the chili garlic sauce and the ginger to get the flavor but it was excellent too.

Another Update: I've been playing with this recipe every time I make it. I've added nappa cabbage, bean sprouts, and pretty much whatever else I have around that won't provide conflicting flavors and it's always a hit. But last night I added something that now goes into the list of near essential items - fresh cilantro. Add it. Unless it tastes like soap to you of course.