Shepherd's Pie

Going with the theme of casseroles, this next post is for you "meat and potatoes" kinda folks!  I honestly can't remember ever having a traditional Shepherd's Pie, but as soon as I told Chris that I was thinking of making one, his eyes lit up. He took this hearty dish in for lunch, and when he got home I got the "That was the best Shepherd's Pie I've ever had."  ((proud moment)).  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Yields: 12 servings  Points+: 6 per serving

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (I had 80/20 at my disposal)
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (98% fat free), undiluted
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 bag frozen vegetable medley (I had a lima beans, corn, carrots, green bean mixture), thawed and drained
1/2 cup 2% milk
5 medium potatoes
1 cup sour cream (light)
Salt, pepper, and parsley to taste.

Directions: 

For the potato topping, boil potatoes in a pot of water until tender. Once potatoes are tender, drain the water then mash with sour cream. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Set aside. 


In a large sauce pan, cook meat, onions, and peppers until meat is no longer pink.  Stir in milk, soup, and vegetables.  Once combined, evenly pour the mixture into a sprayed casserole dish.  Spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the mixture.

Cook uncovered at 350 degrees for a half an hour, or until heated through and potatoes are turning golden brown.  Let set 5-10 minutes before eating, this will allow the casserole to solidify a little more! 

See!? Simple as... pie!

Sausage and Potato Breakfast Casserole

Whew!  These past couple of weeks have been busy!  School has started back up and it has left very little room for sitting down and spending too much free time on the computer posting!  It's hard to believe I just ended the second week of my second year of grad school. Oh how the time flies!

Because things have definitely picked up around here, I've been trying to think of recipes I can make on the weekend that Chris and I can eat throughout the week. Chris is also attending classes to earn his Welding Certification (so proud of him!) and working full time, so we both have pretty crazy schedules. A couple of weeks ago Chris's parents gave us some sausage (mmmMMMM!) so I took advantage of it and used it in my first ever breakfast casserole!

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm an avid breakfast eater.  If I don't have breakfast, my stomach is growling by 10 and then the hanger sets in. There's no sense in being hangry when it's completely preventable. This breakfast casserole was very filling, with potatoes and eggs, and usually ate with a piece of toast for good measure.

Yields: 12 servings   Points+ Value:  7 per serving
Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes, cut into small cubes
1/2 medium onion
1/2 green pepper1 lb. sausage
9 eggs
1 cup 2% milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Brown sausage over medium heat in a small frying pan.  In a separate pan, cook the cubed potatoes, onion and green pepper until potatoes are slightly tender (covering with a lid definitely speeds up this process!). In a medium mixing bowl, whisk eggs and milk together until all yolks are broken and mixture is light and frothy.

 Once the potatoes are a little tender remove from heat.  In a casserole dish, cover the bottom with the potato and veggie mixture.  Next, layer the sausage. Pour the egg and milk mixture evenly over the other layers.  Finally, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the dish.

 Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.  
  

This dish got us all the way to Thursday without having to make anything for breakfast. I took that as a success!  When I make this again I'm going to try switching ham out for sausage, or possibly even using turkey sausage (mind you this will change the Points+ values).  We've been budgeting hardcore, so with the sausage being free from Chris's parents, it was a pretty inexpensive dish! 

This is my first month keeping track of every receipt.  And also trying to be smart about when/where we buy groceries.  I love Kroger's website and the fact that they have coupons you can load right to your card. I also want to start couponing... but I feel like it's going to take time to get those mad skillz built up.  If anyone has any advice, I'm all ears! 

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

First off, thank you Aunt Jemima!! This past week Christopher and I have apparently had the hankering for pancakes. It started off with butterscotch pancakes, and then Chris decided he'd go with the chocolate chip pancakes this morning. Can I just make a side note for anyone reading this?

Begin sidenote: YES, Chris and I can eat butterscotch and chocolate chip pancakes and still lose weight. That is the gloriousness that is Weight Watchers.

Moving on.

Well, after making pancakes several times, I noticed this magnificent looking recipe on the back of the box. You know what I really love? Stumbling onto a recipe and finding that I just so happen to have all of the ingredients in the kitchen already. So, after a few hours and Chris asking "So.. what do you want for dinner?", I figured we'd give the Chicken Pot Pie Casserole a go. I realize at the moment I have yet to really start creating my own recipes...

One must first crawl before she can walk. And walk before she can run. Let's start with learning the basics first then, shall we?

So here we have it ladies and gentlemen, your featured presentation.

For 6 servings, I spent less than $5. For those of you who didn't know, that equals win.

Yields: 6 servings   Pts+ Value: 5/serving.
Ingredients: 
Filling
1 bag (16 oz.) frozen vegetable medley (I used broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower), thawed.
2 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked (approx 6 oz).
1 can (10 oz) 98% fat free, condensed, cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk (I used 2%)
1/4 cup Aunt Jemima Buttermilk complete pancake and waffle mix
pepper to taste
Topping
1 cup Aunt Jemima Buttermilk complete pancake and waffle mix
1 cup water
parsley, rosemary, and/or basil to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Combine veggies and chicken in a large skillet. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soup, milk, and 1/4 cup of pancake mix until smooth. Add this mixture to the skillet with the chicken and veggies. Heat on medium until mixture bubbles, stirring occasionally. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish (don't forget to spray it!)

For the topping, whisk together the remaining cup of pancake mix, water, and herbs. Pour evenly over the filling mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes so the filling can set up a bit.

Before getting popped in the oven. I was a little worried about the topping and filling mixing together, but they didn't. Yay, science!

Now... you may have noticed my jumbo chicken and cheese muffins pictured in the original post? yes? no? Ok, well if you haven't, they're pretty nommy. But this casserole was seriously the simplest yet most filling thing! Christopher loved it. I loved it. It was a hit, and didn't break the bank what-so-ever.

 

In the future I plan on incorporating a budgeting aspect along with the cooking aspect. Chris and I are trying to get a budget worked out to help save for the wedding (and for life events in general I suppose). I've noticed we have been a little... frivolous? with our grocery spending, so I'm trying to cut back where I can without meals that are boring, and without our waistlines expanding.  Update on that part of our lives tomorrow!