Turkey Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato Butternut Squash Topping

*Adapted recipe from "Turkey Shepherd Pie" found on allrecipe.com

Ingredients

• 1 large (452 g) sweet potato, peeled
• 1/2 (232 g) butternut squash, peeled
• 1 tb butter
• 1/4 cup 2 % milk
• 1 dash nutmeg
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup zucchini
• 2 cup spinach (optional)
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tb gf flour
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 oz sharp cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Boil sweet potatoes and butternut squash until tender.Mash with butter and milk.  Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Set aside.
2. Saute onion in chicken broth until soft. Stir in ground turkey, carrot, mushrooms, parsley, thyme, garlic, peas and corn. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir until meat is broken up and cooked through. Drain. Stir in flour and spinach.
3. Transfer meat mixture to a deep dish pie pan or 9x13 casserole. Spread sweet potato-butternut squash mixture over meat with a rubber spatula, and swirl with a fork. Grate cheese on top
4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. 

 **Serves 6-280 calories per serving
***You may want to add more chicken broth to keep the meat mixture moist.  I used the broth instead of   cooking oil to cut down on calories.

Butternut Squash -who knew?

I have re-discovered an old friend-the butternut squash.  Growing up with pseudo-hippie parents in the 70s-80s, my sister and I were exposed to a variety of veggies that may not have crossed the average palate (especially in the meat-and-potato I-can-capture-and-kill-my-own-food town we lived in). Swiss chard, beet greens, and kale steamed up in heaps; and peas, beans and sorrel were eaten raw by the fistfuls.  And then there was the squashes.  Acorn, spaghetti, zucchini, butternut-I know I am missing a few more .  Often, my mom would simply slice the squash, plop a knob of butter with some brown sugar and bake -easy peasy.  Or it would be cut up into a winter veg soup or stew.  Nothing flashy or terribly memorable-hence why I thought I had never eaten butternut squash before until my sister reminded me.

I bought the squash with the intention of steaming and mashing it up for my baby; however, after a sneaked nibble, I was hooked.  Slight sweet taste, very smooth-what could I do with this?  I searched on allrecipes.com and found a Turkey Shepherd's Pie recipe that had a russet potato top-what if I adapted this by using 2/3 sweet potato and 1/3 squash?  Would it work?  Or be mushy baby food -perfect for my daughter?  The challenge was on!

So why Shepherd's Pie?  I wanted to make a Shepherd's Pie as I am a lover of comfort food AND of a dish that "mushes" everything together-especially potatoes, peas, corn.  I also wanted to make a healthier version that would taste amazing but not be a calorie monster-and mission accomplished.   The butternut squash helped bring the calories down AND added a slight sweet creamy taste to the potato layer.  Because the squash is moist, it allowed me to cut down on the butter portion without affecting the taste or consistency. My husband loved loved loved it-and that my gold seal of approval!  I will defiantly make the TSP again.

Next challenge-Butternut Squash Spiced Muffins-stay tuned!

To review or not to review a crappy meal?

When I started this blog, I thought I would be brutal honest about all my gf experiences with recipes, products and eating out.  I was going to tell it like it is, take no prisoners, and name names!  And then I had a crappy meal at a gf establishment and didn't know what to do.   I really really wanted to like the place-honest; but alas, it was not meant to be.  This was even my second visit as my first was only two days after the soft opening; and you cannot fairly critique when the staff is still learning the menu (even if it only consists of 2 salads, a quiche, and  bagels with your choice of pb & jam or tuna) and the equipment (the debit machine was particularly overwhelming for the barista-"damn it!  I create coffee, not cash!").  So 6 weeks later,  my sister and I wander in for an early Mother's Day lunch.  The menu looks more promising-hmmmmmmmmm, should I have the chicken pot pie?  Grilled Tuscan chicken wrap?  Pizza?  I finally narrow it down to the grilled wrap- I haven't had a nice fresh wrap in months.  I envisioned a simple corn or rice tortilla with a grilled chicken kebab or breast with loads of fresh or grilled veggies, with some type of sauce that would embody the "Tuscan" theme.  

Sadly, this is not what I got.  I looked down to see something that looked a lot like a samosa -oily flacky triangle pastry (was actually the wrap) with a yellowish (think curry) sauce oozing out.  The only veggie I spotted were bloated white beans sitting in the sauce.  Wow,that is so not what I pictured.  Or wanted.  It tasted okay.  Not great, fantastic, so-glad-I ordered-it delicious -just okay.  If I am looking for the silver lining/half full compliment-the entree only costs $7.95 and came with a small plastic-bag tasting spinach salad.  I think what annoyed me the most is that I could have easily made something similar, if not better, at home (and remember, I am a self-confessed shit-tacular cook).  I will say that the cherry vanilla cheesecake was fantastic; however, one can not live on cake alone (despite what the gluten queen Antoinette declared). 

Will I go back?  Maybe.  I'll give it a few months.  Or six months.  Or just go for coffee and cheesecake.  I don't know.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice.....seriously, shame on you!  The truth is I can't name names because I am not the brutal take-no-prisoner kinda gal.  I respect that this is someone's business AND that this was my experience - who knows, maybe I have incredibly high unrealistic standards when it comes to food.   I really don't think that that is the case -at the end of the day, I just want to have my gluten-free cake and eat it too.  Is that too much to ask?

Mexican Lasagna

As mentioned in post "All men are not created equal...."


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 cup white mushrooms sliced
• 1 red pepper diced
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 jalapeno pepper diced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
•  2 cups  ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 4 cups spinach
• 18 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 90g partly skimmed mozzarella cheese 
• 1/2 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190.5 degrees C). Place ground turkey in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Stir in garlic, vegetables,spices, diced tomatoes with juice, and jalapeno. Reduce heat to medium.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta and eggs. Spice this mix up- add the additional chili powder (1 tsp) cumin (1/2 tsp).  
3. Heat tortillas is a small skillet (30 secs per side).  Cut 5 tortillas in half and leave 1 whole.  Place  tortillas in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan -flat side should be against the side of the dish.  Place whole tortilla in the center of the pan-your dish should be covered by the tortillas. 
4. Spread 1/2 of the ricotta mixture on tortillas. Layer spinach over ricotta mixture. Spoon 1/2 of the meat mixture over the spinach. Repeat layers again-end with a layer of tortillas. 
5. Heat 1/2 can of diced tomato.  Spoon on top of lasagna and sprinkle mozzarella. 
6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.  Remove and let sit for 10 mins.  Can be served with salsa, sour cream or a hot sauce

Serves 6-475 calories per serving

*Originally found the recipe on allrecipes.com -have made a few changes
**You can add more heat to the meat mixture by adding hot sauce (or jalapenos)
***I used corn tortillas that I bought at a little Mexican market-they were only 45 calories each!

All men are not created equal (or How I nearly killed our dinner guest)

So, I've been feeling pretty cocky about my cooking these days.  With little-to-no recent mishaps, I felt confident enough to cook for company (normally hubby does or its a joint effort.  I decided to make my Mexican Lasagna as it had gotten very solid rave reviews from Dave.  The only changes I made from the originally recipe (which I had found on allrecipe.com) was to spice the ricotta-egg mix with chili powder and cumin, added a layer of spinach, and 2 jalapenos (1.5 diced into the mix, .5 chopped and sprinkled on top).  In hindsight, I shouldn't have been so keen to kick it up a notch and left the jalapenos out-especially when cooking for company as our idea of mild-to-medium may greatly differ. (I did email ahead of time to ask how spicy and was told mtm).

Anyho, the lasagna came out of the oven hot and crispy (hmmmmm, in the oven a tad too long?). Cue the appreciative mummers and exclamations of how good it smells!  As the plates heaped with the tantalizing  lasagna are handed out, I can't wait to see/hear what my friends think. Only, that's not what happened.....instead, I discovered that the husband has been suffering from painful acid reflux for years; and his attacks can be brought on by eating spicy and tomato-based food (check and check!).  Within a few mouthfuls, he was gulping water and hiccuping but still valiantly trying to eating my lasagna-it was an ugly sight.  His poor wife was trying to compensate by telling me how delicious the meal was!  How she would love to have the recipe!  (I noticed she finished only 1/2 her portion).  I felt, in a word, horrible-sweet Jesus, I had committed attempted man slaughter with food!  The only silver lining to this spicy catastrophe was that my husband had wolfed his down with great satisfaction; however, I could not help but wonder -how many beers had he had?

So, what have I learned?  When cooking for guests, play it safe and make a spicy dish at a gringo level unless you really REALLY know the company you keep (but still have them sign a release waiver). 

I will post the recipe for Mexican Lasagna as I had originally made it - I will leave it up to you to spice it up as I refuse to be accused of aiding and abetting.

The Buckwheat Saga-part deux

Sweet Jesus, I have discovered the elusive 100% pure buckwheat soba noodle! After scouring the shelves of mainstream and Asian grocery shelves, only to be mocked by buckwheat noodles whose first ingredient listed was wheat , causing me to speculate that such a product was just a wild rumor -I finally struck gold.  Planet Organic carries a wide selection of Eden products, including (drum roll please!), 100% Buckwheat noodles!  The downfall?  A small pack (small than an average pack of spaghetti) is $11.29.  Yup, that's not a mis-type.  $11.29-that makes the soba buckwheat noodle the gold-version in the pasta world.  I haven't decided what I am going to make yet as I am too busy petting my Precious....

A Disclaimer

It is really important for you to understand that I cannot cook.  Up until a few months ago, my reputation as a sub-par cook was known and the butt of a few jokes by those who know me quite well (my husband and childhood best friend/college roommate).  I have never had the patience for cooking (or an interest really).  Cooking shows bored me.  Cooking books remained on my book shelf with pristine uncracked spines- except for my copy of Five Roses cookbook, which was stained and battered from my feeble culinary attempts.  I also tend to blame my Junior High cooking teacher, Mrs K, a burly squat woman with a swarthy upper lip and no sense of humor .  It is rumored that Mrs K used to drive logging camp crummies before taking the task of scaring (and scarring) young impressionable children with such culinary delicacies as Tomato Soup Cake and Buttermilk Biscuits made from powder milk.  The only things I learned after three years with Mrs K was that I couldn't cook and I hated powder milk (something I still maintain today).

So why the sudden interest?  Why, in my mid-thirties, am I pouring over cookbooks, looking up recipes on the Internet, and actually watching Jamie Oliver (not that he's difficult to watch)?  Because now I  have to take a keen interest in what I eat; and because I can't always find gluten-free versions of my favourite.  I am not satisfied with accepting that I can't eat certain food due to being a Celiac; instead, I see my new diet as a challenge.  I am fully aware of what I can't eat; however, I am not willing to be limited.  I relish the challenge of making tasty gluten-free food that not only satisfies me, but also my family and friends. Bring it on........

That said, I am still looking for satisfying fish and chips..........and cinnamon buns.  Sigh.