Around the Kitchen

We just finished a tasty meal of Hamburger Pie. On a chilly, rainy day, it's the perfect way to warm up your insides. As I was putting it together, it occurred to me that this is one of the "freshest" meals we've enjoyed in a while. The ground beef is from our recent annual purchase of a side of beef ... the potatoes are fresh from a friend's garden ... green beans are homegrown ... eggs are from a local chicken farmer ... and the grated cheese is an awesome 7X cheddar from the local farm market. Is your mouth watering yet?!

In other kitchen news, we spent some time with family recently and I discovered an awesome kitchen store! We were puttering around some of the shops in National Harbor, MD and wandered into Stonewall Kitchen. I immediately fell in love. It was tough not walking out of there with one of each of the delicious sauces they sell. I settled on the Chocolate Hazelnut Sauce, which I have been hoarding for a special occasion ever since. I also came home with the Stonewall Kitchen Breakfast Cookbook. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes. Titles like Walnut Pancakes with Maple-Glazed Apples and Thick Double-Chocolate Cocoa sound almost too good to be true!

It will soon be time to think about making some fresh applesauce and apple butter. The cans of green beans are already on the shelf and the freezer is full of beef for the winter. I love this time of year!

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Hamburger Pie

This is one of my husband's favorite meals. Also known as Shepherd's Pie, it's an inexpensive yet filling dish. I tend to make it more in the fall or winter, but when I asked him what he wanted to eat for Father's Day, this was my dh's first choice!

OVEN: 350 degrees

2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 16 oz cans frenched or cut green beans, drained
2 - 10 3/4 oz cans condensed tomato soup
6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Milk

In a large skillet, cook the ground beef and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in beans and soup. If the mixture is dry, stir in 1/2 to 1 cup water (I rarely need to add any water). Turn mixture into 13 x 9" baking dish.

In a covered pan cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain. Mash while hot; stir in eggs. Add enough milk to make potatoes fluffy, yet stiff enough to hold their shape. Drop potatoes in mounds atop meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

(Disclaimer ... the photo above is a stock photo. My crew ate ours up before I got a photo).

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