Shepherd pie individual size

Today my husband requested shepherds pie, individual size. I have made them many times before, so I thought i would share my doctored up recipe. My son, Jason is suppose to  be coming in tonight. I have not seen him since January. I want to make sure there is food in the house, because he sure has a healthy appetite.


5 potatoes peeled, cubed
1 stick butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1 lb ground beef
1lb mushrooms
1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves
2 onions
1 can of veg-all mixed vegetables (you can also add fresh or frozen veggies..just takes a little longer to cook if using fresh veggies.)
1/3 cup A1 sauce
2 T brown sugar
1/2 cup marsala cooking wine
1/4 cup water
1 pk frozen pastry puff, rolled out and cut into small circles the size of your bowls.

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add potatoes and boil for 20 minutes until fork tender. Drain water, reserving about a cup of the potato water. Add water back to potatoes. Mash with masher. Add butter, sour cream, salt and pepper. Whip until  smooth and tasty. Add more butter, sour cream, S&P to your taste. Set aside.
Here is a handy gadget that i use to peel potatoes. It fits on your middle finger and for me it gives me better leverage and control while peeling the potatoes.

Preheat oven to 350. Brown the beef  in a large skillet. Drain and set aside. Turn heat down to medium and add 1 T olive oil and wait until it starts to shimmer and starts to spatter when you add a sprinkle of water in the pan.That's when you know the pan is ready. Add onions and saute a few minutes until soft. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add mushrooms and saute for 4 minutes until soft. Add the ground beef back into the skillet. Add the can of veggies. Mix together in a small bowl the A1 sauce, brown sugar, marsala wine and a little of flour until smooth. Add this to the skillet and mix in well. Let it all saute for a couple of minutes.. You will see the mixture start to meld as it cooks.. Add water if it looks like its going to start sticking. Let it cook for about 15 -20 minutes.

 Scoop the beef/veggie mixture into small casserole dishes. Top with mashed potatoes, making sure to close in all gaps.

 Cover mashed potatoes with the pastry puff and pinch ends all the way around the rim. Place all the casserole dishes on a cookie sheet if they will fit. I did 3 today. I put them in for 20 minutes...just enough to cook the dough and warm the insides. You can cook it longer, but you must watch the top to make sure it  doesn't burn.  These are fabulous on a cold winter night alongside a salad and some bread. Bon appetit!

Beef bolognese

 I am a big fan of spaghetti and making my own noodles and sauce. I have perfected it to my liking. When I was in Capetown recently I had beef bolognese for the first time and I absolutely could not get enough.. My new friend, Ree, and my daughter's mother in law made it for us. She shared the recipe with me but didn't give me all the measurements for the ingredients. So I tried to make it using my judgment and taste buds.

1 lb of ground beef
2 onions finely diced
1 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup vinegar
2 T brown sugar

2 T tomato paste
1 t paprika
1/4 cup  blackberry  wine
Water
Tsp of flour

spaghetti noodles 

Saute onions in oil with  medium heat in saute pan until soft. Add garlic and saute for one minute.Remove from pan and brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain grease and put meat back in pan.  Mix together  vinegar and flour in a small bowl. Then add tomato paste, brown sugar, and paprika  Add to the beef and stir until blended into meat. Add the wine. You do not have to add the wine, but I thought it was a little too sweet. I feel that the wine opened up all the flavours so that they melded together beautifully. Turn heat down to medium low and cook for 15 to 30 mintues..if it starts to stick to pan add a little water to help it makeit saucier. While that is cooking boil water and cook noodles according to package instructions.

Plate the noodles and ladle the meat sauce over the noodles. You can add freshly grated parmesan cheese over the sauce. Enjoy!