Shepherd's Pie and Taco Stew

Shepherd's Pie

• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup peppers and onion mix (frozen)
• can of mixed veggies (no salt added), drained
• can of diced tomatoes (no salt added), undrained
• pouch of brown gravy mix
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 pouch mashed potatoes
• shredded Parmesan (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Brown the beef. Add the peppers to the pan with some salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent. Prepare pouch of mashed potatoes while this is cooking.

Add can of diced tomatoes and gravy pouch. I added the same amount of water that the pouch of gravy asked for. Stir in spices and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. This way it was kind of soupy at the end, which was good but I was expecting more of a stewy sauce. Next time, I may use less water or even make the gravy before and adding it already thick. Add the mixed veggies and transfer to a 2 qt casserole dish. (I sprayed the dish beforehand just to be sure.)

Top with the mashed potatoes and parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes.

Yummmmmy. Like I said before, I would like the sauce a little more thick but the flavor was PERFECT.

This stew was FABULOUS. Make it. and sooon.

Taco Stew

from Whole Foods online recipe database

• 1/2 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 Tb taco seasoning (I make my own of chili powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and coriander)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1-15 oz can black beans, drained
• 1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup corn kernels (it says frozen but I used canned...)
• 1 cup medium salsa
• sour cream, for garnish

Brown meat in a large pot over medium high heat. Drain, remove and set aside. In the same pot, sauté onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add meat back to pot and sprinkle mixture with taco seasoning to blend. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes. Top with sour cream and serve.

                             

YUM! The sour cream is completely necessary. It's cold and gives that lovely velvety textrure to it.