Shepherd's Pie Burgers

Shepherd's Pie Burgers, basically what is sounds like-it is. Shepherd's pie, made with a burger instead of ground beef. It was a popular dinner at my house so I figured I would share!

As many of you already know, I like to hide some extra veggies where I can with my cooking. My husband is not the biggest veggie eater, so its more for him than my children!

You will see how I used this technique in this meal especially!

Shepherd's Pie Burgers

Ingredients

• 4 cooked burgers
• 1 bag of mixed frozen veggies (or just peas would work)
• boxed mashed potatoes
• a handful of baby carrots (or one large carrot)
• sour cream
• milk and butter (for mashed potatoes)
• bacon/bacon bits

As I mentioned in the ingredients list, you must start with cooked burgers. I cooked these specifically for dinner, but it would be a good use for leftovers. Place them on a baking sheet. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

First, shred carrots. Make 6 servings of mashed potatoes, replacing a 1/4 of the milk for sour cream. It gives it a creamy, delicious flavor. Stir in the shredded carrots. Not only does this give it some color, it adds to the veggie intake!

Next, put a large spoonful of potatoes on each burger and press down the middle with a spoon. This should leave a little "bowl" in the middle of the potatoes.

Add veggies to the "bowl" and cover with more mashed potatoes.

After your burgers are covered, sprinkle them with bacon and place into the oven. Bake for 10-20 minutes until golden.

This is bested served with all the left over veggies you have from filling them! *wink*
It ended up being a hit at my house, which is always a pleasant surprise!

Potato & Chicken Sausage Pot Pie

Recently I created a recipe to use up apple-chicken sausage that I purchased on a whim. I loosely based my idea on this recipe found on the preppy paleo's blog. Below I will explain how I did it step by step since I changed it tremendously!My recipe also feeds a crowd, as it makes two pot pies! Its very hearty and can be easily adapted to fit any taste bud!

Ingredients

2 Packages of apple-chicken sausage
1 Bag of small potatoes (red, butter, or mixed work well)
2 Bag of frozen mixed vegetables (any variety you like)
1 Onion
2 per-packaged frozen pie crusts (defrosted)
2 rolled pie crust tops (defrosted)
Margarine or butter
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
2 tbsp flour
2 Cups of water or chicken broth


Step One:

Boil potatoes whole for 10 to 15 minutes.

Step Two:

While potatoes are boiling, in a large pan melt a tbsp of margarine or butter. Cut the sausage into bite size pieces and cook on medium heat until they are starting to brown. While they are browning, cut onions into bite size pieces. Be sure to stir the sausage occasionally so they don't burn. Remove sausage and set aside in large bowl.

Step Three:

Add another tbsp of margarine to the same pan and add the frozen veggies and onions. Cook until everything softens. Add spices.

Step Four:

Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces and place into large bowl with the sausage.

Step Five:

Add the flour to the mixture and cover the veggies completely. Add the first cup of liquid and stir, adding more to make it the proper thickness. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step Six:

Combine vegetables and sausage mixtures in large bowl and mix well. Split the contents between the two pie crusts. Cover the pies, using water to help the edges stick after pressing. Cut slits in the top of the pies.

Step Seven:

Back the pies at 350 degrees for approx. 35 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Sorry for the rough pictures, I was using my phone!

Egg-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Yummy! Breakfast was delightful! I made a basic breakfast egg-stuffed potato, but you could do all kinds of varieties! Everyone enjoyed them and they can be made to order.

You can enjoy this "Idaho Sunrise" with sour cream like a traditional baked potato or you can put some fruit by the side to sweeten up your breakfast!

I had hoped to make something else today as well, but I didn't have all the ingredients needed. I will be shopping tomorrow so I can impress you with a cake tomorrow! Sunday should also bring two awesome dishes! I will also be sharing my list of ideas for next week with you in the next few days. Have any of you tried my suggestions so far? Have you enjoyed them as much as my family? I have to say its been a challenge to cook so much and keep up with photographing and cleaning up after myself. Two kids, a husband, and in-laws makes it a fun adventure!

My Outfit

Sadly, I'm disappointed with my photographs today. I wish my mother (who took them), had told me I was all shuffled up. Hopefully you will get the basic idea and not look to much at my flaws today!

Awesome new bag I got for my boys!

Colorful!

Like I said, rough photographs. I brought my boys bowling today, so I was trying to stick with casual and fun, while still looking girly. Until my husband retrieves my only wig I have so far, I want to keep my wardrobe ultra feminine. The awesome bag it from Books-A-Million. My two year old loves it so much he thinks its his! The shrug is from Torrid.com. I try to keep my wardrobe young by purchasing some fun pieces from there. The yellow camisole has ruffle neckline and its an Old Navy find. The denim skirt is Lane Bryant and the shoes are so old I cant even begin to tell you where they are from. I do love that they are orange though! My earrings were a gift, but I can say that you can find similar sparkley looks at Claires, Icing, and several other "teen" stores in the mall. You can also find good earrings like this at places that sell costume jewelry for formal events.

A better look at Princess Amanda's earrings

Contest Reminder!

 Remember the contest ends April 13th at 8pm. See here to find out how to win a box of my favorite things! You know, if there is no entries, I will be forced to retry the contest at another time. Come on people, FREE STUFF!