Shepherd's Pie

 

Recipe Name: Shepherd's Pie

Story: I really enjoy shepherd's pie, and although technically it is supposed to be made with lamb, I will make this with ground beef or venison most of the time since I usually have that on hand.

Years you've been making it: Since 2017

Author / Creator: Some combination of online recipes that I've tweaked over the years

Submitted by: Dudstin

Ingredients: 

• 1 package of ground beef, venison, or lamb (roughly 1 to 1.5 lbs)
• 3 tbls butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, cut small (peeled if preferred)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbls tomato paste
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups beef (or chicken or lamb) stock
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 4 or 5 sprigs thyme, fresh
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 cup frozenpeas
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 5 tbls butter
• 1/2 cup cream, milk, or salted water
• Optional: 2 egg yolk
• Optional: Shredded cheese or grated parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt and black pepper

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Brown ground beef, remove and set aside.
3. Add butter, sauté onions until soft, roughly 5 mins. Add garlic and sauté until soft, 2-3 mins.
4. Add tomato paste and stir until mixed, 2 mins.
5. Add flour and mix, this is the beginning of the gravy. Stir until just slightly blond.
6. Slow add in the beef stock until all is incorporated and no lumps of flour.
7. Add Worcestershire, dijon, thyme, sage, rosemary, and carrots.
8. Cook until somewhat thickened, about 10 to 15 mins.
9. Add black pepper, and then salt to taste (start with 1/2 tbls and add until preferred).
10. Remove from heat and mix in the frozen peas.
11. Grease a 9x11 baking dish, add meat mixture to dish.
12. Top with mashed potatoes, spreading over the top. Optionally - top with cheese.
13. Bake at 425 for 15 - 20 mins until top starts to brown.

Make mashed potatoes your desired way. You want it to be slightly loose so it is easier to spread. It will thicken up as it bakes. Adding the egg yolk to the mashed potatoes makes it richer, helps it thicken, and helps it turn golden brown, but this is optional.

Knock off Varsity Chili Dog Sauce

 

Recipe Name: Knock off Varsity Chili Dog Sauce

Story: The Varsity in Atlanta is a historic restaurant. They have some of the best chili dogs, in my opinion. This is a knock off recipe that I have found and slightly modified. It is actually incredibly close to how I remember it.

Years you've been making it: Since 2022

Author / Creator: Original was from a post on the Green Egg Forum

Submitted by: Dustin

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound ground chuck
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 2-3 tablespoons chili powder (depending on how fresh your chili powder is)
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you want spicy)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Couple dashes tabasco sauce
• 2 tbls white vinegar

Directions: 

1. Put water and all ingredients except meat into saucepan and stir well. Add meat, breaking it up with your fingers as you go. 
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and leave uncovered until nearly all water is gone and the consistency is the way you like it. You want it a little loose to pour over hot dogs, but not soup and not thick either.
3. Taste and season with more salt and vinegar.

Notes: 

This usually needs about 1 tsp more of salt and about 1 to 2 more tbls of white vinegar. But I find that it is best to wait towards the end and season to taste. This isn't supposed to be spicy, but you can add more cayenne if you want.

Do not brown the meat before adding. Yes, the process of adding the meat directly to the water and breaking it up with your hands sounds weird, but it works. This process gets the meat to be more of a uniformly small texture. I would suggest wearing disposable gloves.

Beef Bourguignon

 

Recipe Name: Beef Bourguignon

Story: I've always wanted to make Beef Bourguignon, but to be honest I just figured it was a fancy pot roast. I was wrong, this is sooo good, and yes the whole bottle of wine is needed.

Years you've been making it: Since 2023

Author / Creator: https://kellyscleankitchen.com/2023/06/29/beef-bourguignon-updated/

Submitted by: Dustin

Ingredients: 

• 3-4 lb boneless beef chuck cut into 1 inch cubes
• salt and pepper
• oil
• 3 strips of bacon, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 leeks, white and pale green only, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 garlic minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 bottle of burgundy or pinot noir
• Beef stock as needed
• 30 pearl onions
• 1 box of mushroom caps
• 4 tbsp butter or ghee
• Minced parsley

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Cube and season beef, pat dry with a paper towel.In a large dutch oven, add oil over medium high heat and sear beef, working in batches to make sure not to overcrowd the pan. Remove the beef and set aside.
3. Add bacon to the pot and saute until crispy. Add onions, carrots, and leeks and saute until translucent, salting as you go. Add garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and coat the vegetables all over and saute until a deep rusty color, around 4 minutes. Deglaze with red wine all over, scraping up the brown bits in the pan.
4. Bring the pot up to a very low bubbling simmer, like very low amount of bubbles, and place a lid on. Add all meat back to the dutch oven. Add bay leaf and thyme, and submerge with red wine and about a cup or two of stock, if you want it to be a little lighter you can use half stock half wine. Traditionally it is all wine but I like to throw some stock in there. Season with salt and pepper if needed, bring up to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours. After two hours check to see if the meat is fork tender, if it is pull it out of the oven and set aside. If it is still tough, keep in the oven for another 30 minutes or until it is no longer tough.
5. Meanwhile, prepare  your pearl onions and mushrooms. To peel pearl onions, place them in boiling water and turn off the heat and let them sit for 10 minutes, drain, cut off the root end, and the outer layer will easily peel off the outside of the onions. In a large pan over  medium heat, add butter and saute the pearl onions and mushrooms until cooked through, salting as you go. I add the pearl onions first to make sure they are halfway cooked through before adding the mushrooms, because the onions tend to take longer. Once those are done, add them to the finished beef bourguignon.
6. Mix everything together stovetop over medium heat, top with  minced parsley, and serve.

Notes: 

I pretty much followed this recipe precisely as written with a few minor adjustments. When browning large amounts of meat like this, I find that it is easier / better to season the whole beef chuck with salt and pepper, and then sear whole for about 5-7 mins on each side (getting a nice crust). I will then cut it into 1-2 inch cubes to add back to the stew later.

I bought frozen pearl onions (they are already peeled, much easier), and I sauteed the onions and mushrooms separately (there are too many to really saute all together, you'll just end up steaming them).

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Recipe Name: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Story: This is probably one of the simplest meals to make yet has a lot of flavor and vegetables.  I cook it in a slow cooker.

Years you've been making it: Years

Author / Creator: Mom / Suzy (Corned Beef Company) they have already done half the work for you.

Submitted by: Mom / Suzy

Ingredients: 

• 1 pkg of Corned beef around 2 lbs
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 1-2 stalks of celery
• 1 small cabbage
• spice packet from corned beef package

Directions: 

1. If there is a lot of fat on the corned beef, slice some of it off
2. Cut all the vegetables in bit size pieces, the cabbage can be cut up in quarters
3. Place the vegetables in the slow cooker, and the corned beef on top.
4. Pour enough water to cover the corned beef and sprinkle the seasoning around the corned beef and vegetables
5. Cook for 8-10 hrs on low.  Usually 8 hrs is good unless you have a large piece of meat.
6. Once the meat is done remove and let rest for a short time then slice across the grain in fairly thin pieces.  If you do not cut across the grain or large pieces it will be tough.
7. Strain the vegetables and serve with the corned beef.

Notes: 
Condiments that accentuate this meal is mustard, my favorite is dijon, dill pickles, pickled beets, and garlic rolls.

Pot Roast Stew

Recipe Name: Pot Roast Stew

Story: I call this a pot roast, but it is probably more of a stew.

Years you've been making it: Long time, probably since 2007 or so.

Author / Creator: Dustin

Submitted by: Dustin

Ingredients: 

• 2-3 lbs beef roast (chuck preferred)
• 1 onions
• 3 to 4 med carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 8 oz regular white mushrooms
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 tbls Worcestershire
• 1 tbls garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 whole chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbls chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbls butter
• 1.5 russet potatoes (chopped to large bite size, added at end for 2nd cook)

Directions: 

1. Fry meat in pan to sear outside
2. Add red wine and deglaze for a few mins
3. Add the rest of the liquid ingredients, stir
4. Add garlic and dry spices and bay leaves, cook for about 1 min
5. Put mirepoix ingredients in pot (including mushrooms)
6. Season with salt and pepper
7. Add meat (chopped into 2 in pieces) and choppoed tomatoes
8. Put top on pressure cooker, bring to high pressure, cook for 30 mins, then 10 min natural release, then quick release remaining pressure
9. Add chopped potatoes to pot and stir
10. Bring back to pressure and cook on high for 15 mins,
11. Quick release

Notes: 
Sear the meat as a whole piece (or cut in half if it is too large to fit in the pot).  After searing, cut up into chunks to be added to the pressure cooker

Hamburger Stroganoff

 

Recipe Name:  Hamburger Stroganoff

Story:  Please add a comment below if you have a story / memory of this recipe.

Years you've been making it:  Unknown

Author / Creator:  Patricia, Mom, Maka, Grandma

Submitted by:  Dustin

Ingredients:  

• 1/2 or 1 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic or garlic salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 lb ground chuck
• 2 Tbls flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp minced parsley
• 1 8oz can sliced mushrooms
• 1 can cream of chicken soup

Directions:  

1. Saute onion and garlic in butter
2. Pour off butter and save it
3. Add meat and brown
4. Pour off fat and add butter you saved
5. Add flour, salt, pepper, and mushrooms
6. Cook 5 mins
7. Add soup and simmer uncovered 10 mins
8. Stir in sour cream
9. Heat through and sprinkle with parsley
10. Serve with noodles or rice

Notes:  

This recipe was by request from a comment on the handwritten post linked below.  If you have other recipes you would like posted, please comment / let me know!  Also, if you have a memory of a recipe that isn't in the list, please let me know and I will see if I can find it, there were many recipes that were print outs and not handwritten.  Thanks!

https://heritagesoup.blogspot.com/2019/12/patricia-bisset-handwritten-recipes.html

Meatloaf

Recipe Name: Meatloaf

Story: This recipe was passed down to me from my Mom except for the cayenne addition because Forest, Dustin, and Brad like a little kick with their foods.

Years you've been making it: 40+

Author / Creator: Grandma (Maka, Patricia)

Submitted by: Suzy (Mom)

Ingredients:
2lbs ground beef
2 eggs
½ medium onion
½ C pepper any color
1TBS Worcestershire
¼ C Ketchup, plus enough ketchup to coat the top of each loaf
½ tsp garlic powder
1tsp thyme
Pinch of cayenne
½ cup bread crumbs or panko
Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:
Beat the eggs, Worcestershire, and ketchup together. Mix the dry ingredients in to the liquid mixture, except the bread crumbs.

Chop the onion and pepper into small pieces.

Add everything to the beef, including the bread crumbs, and mix completely. You may want to put gloves on, I find mixing with your hands to be most effective.

Then shape into 2 loaves and spread ketchup over the whole top.  If you like a lot of ketchup spread thickly if not spread a thin amount.

Bake at 350 Covered for 45 minutes then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes.

Notes:
Forest is such a cheese lover that I put some shredded cheese on top for the last 15 minutes.
Let the loaves rest for about 15-20 minutes before slicing.

I have also in the recent years taken tin foil, roll it and make a loop out of it for the loaf to sit on so that the loaf is not cooking in the fat as it melts from the meat.