Shepherd's Pie

• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
• 1 small rutabaga, chopped
• 1/4 cup frozen green peas
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 cup milk, or as needed
• 3 cups prepared mashed potatoes
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place the celery, carrots, parsnip, rutabaga, and peas into a large saucepan and fill with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and steam for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
3. Meanwhile, crumble the ground lamb into a large skillet set over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until lamb is no longer pink. Drain off any grease. Stir in the steamed vegetables and tomato sauce. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Transfer everything to a greased 7x11 inch baking dish.
4. Mix enough milk into the mashed potatoes to make them spreadable. Spread them over the top of the casserole and garnish with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is browned and the casserole is heated through.

Mo's Rolls

From: Mo (my grandma)

2 c. warm water
2 T. yeast or 2 packages
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c oil
1 egg
2 tsp salt
5 1/2 flour

Put warm water in the bowl you plan to use. Sprinkle the yeast on the water and leave it a few minutes to see if it's good and begins to bubble. After it is a bit bubbly, add sugar and oil. Beat the egg with a fork in a cup and add it. Add salt. (you may not want to use that much) Then add flour. If you use whole wheat flour, it won't take that
much. The dough should be soft and very pliable. Make a soft mound in the bowl and oil the top of the dough. Then place a plate over the bowl and put it in the refrigerator. It should stay in the refrigerator at least 2 hours before making your rolls. You can make a "make-shift" place to do the rolls by wetting the counter top and laying waxed paper or plastic wrap on it until it adheres.
Put flour on the surface of the paper or plastic and flour your hands and the rolling pin. Or you can just pat the dough into a flat piece with your hands. Use a glass or cutter to cut circles. Or you can pinch off dabs and rolls them into balls. Put oil in a baking pan and place the rolls.
Spray the tops of the rolls and lay waxed paper or saran over them loosely until they have risen double.
Heat oven to 400 and put rolls in, then reduce heat to 350 to finish baking. At the high heat they get an extra push rising, but then need to have a lower heat to finish baking. Don't let them get too brown.

I use this recipe to do cinnamon rolls and even pizza. If you want to use it for pizza, reduce the sugar a little.

Roasted Beets

• From: foodnetwork.com
• 
  
• 5 large beets, rinsed
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• fleur de sel

Directions

1. Cut beets in half, coat with olive oil, and place skin up in roasting pan.
2. Roast at 400 deg F for about 30-45 min (til tender).
3. Allow to cool and remove skin.
4. Combine remaining ingredients and toss with beets. Serve either warm or cold.

Shrimp Ceviche (the cooked kind)

• 2 pounds cocktail shrimp (already cooked)
• 6 large limes, juiced
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 1 small white onion, chopped (or red onion... not a yellow cooking onion)
• 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
• 3 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 
  
• In a large glass or ceramic bowl, gently toss the shrimp and scallops with the lime juice and lemon juice. Mix in onion, cucumber, tomato, jalapeno, serrano, cilantro, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cover bowl, and chill ceviche 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Beet and bacon salad

3 beets, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
6 slices bacon
1 bunch red Swiss chard - leaves chopped and stems discarded
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Directions

1. Place the beets into a saucepan with enough water to cover by 1 inch; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the beets are easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until evenly browned, about 10 minutes; transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving the bacon drippings in the skillet. Roughly chop the bacon and set aside.
3. Add the drained beets and red Swiss chard to the reserved bacon drippings; cover the skillet, place over medium heat, and cook until the chard is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir the chopped bacon and frozen peas into the beet mixture; continue cooking until the peas are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the feta cheese over the mixture; stir. Serve hot.

North Carolina Style Pork

From: http://www.slowandsimple.com/North_Carolina_Style_Pork-r-241.html

Part 1
1 3-6Lbs Pork Shoulder or Boston butt roast
1 Tbs of Paprika
2 Tbs Brown Sugar (or enough to thinly coat the pork)
1/2 tsp of salt and pepper

Part 2
8-10 oz Cider Vinegar (experiment to your taste)
4 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp of Cayenne Red pepper (experiment to your taste of spicy or mild)

DIRECTIONS
Set pork aside, mix all other ingredients in part 1 together and rub over entire pork roast. Then place in crock pot on high for 6-7 hours finish time. Recommend though place on Low for 10-11 hours finish time.

Mix part 2 ingredients together in medium size bowl, before pork roast is done cooking.
When Pork roast is very tender, with a fork, remove roast from crock pot. Chop roast into a very fine degree (basically as much as you can cut it with a sharp knife and fork). Then take a Tablespoon and ingredients from Part 2 (BBQ sauce ingredients) and apply over the chopped roast. Note: Add as much or as little depending on your taste.

Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Black Beans and Rice)

From Food.com

Read more here

Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 20 mins

3 cups cooked white rice
3 cups cooked black beans
3/4 cup bean stock or 3/4 cup chicken stock, if bean not available
3/4 onion, chopped
1 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 T. ground cumin
3 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
sour cream for topping if desired

1. Fry onion and bell pepper in the vegetable oil until tender.
2. Add the garlic and sauté a bit more. Stir in the cumin.
3. Pour in the beans and the stock, bring to a simmer.
4. Avoid the mixture drying up.
5. Add in the rice and stir thoroughly, gently. Don't mash the beans!
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Right before serving, stir in the coriander, and top with sour cream if desired.