Sweet Potato & Turkey Shepherd's Pie

I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest while searching for ground turkey recipes and decided it was a must try. Shepherd's Pie is typically a nice warm comfort food but lean ground turkey and sweet potatoes make it just a tad bit healthier and it tasted amazing!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
2.5 lbs lean ground turkey
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
12 oz. frozen peas
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 tsp of paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2.5 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
1 egg, beaten
4 oz. cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste

The recipe requires a lot of ingredients but it's really fairly simple to whip together. 

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Boil cubed sweet potatoes in large pot until tender. 

3. While the sweet potatoes are boiling, heat large pan over medium-high heat with olive oil. 

4. Add celery, carrots and onion to the pan and cook until soft.

5. Add ground turkey to the cooked vegetables along with garlic powder, paprika, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients will and let turkey cook until golden and crumbly. 

6. Add the tomato, flour and chicken broth. Stir well and let simmer. 

7. Add the frozen peas while it simmers. 

8. Drain the sweet potatoes and return to the pot to cool.

9. Use a potato masher to smash powder until sooth. Add in butter, cream cheese and black pepper (to taste).

10. Beat the egg and add to the sweet potato mixture. Mix all ingredients well with a sturdy spoon or hand mixer. 

11. Grease a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray and pour turkey mix into the dish. 

12. Cover turkey with sweet potato and evenly layer it out with a spatula. 

13. Bake for 35 minutes. 

I've never used cream cheese in mashed sweet potatoes but it makes it taste really good!

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7-Layer Mexican Dip

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Kate and I have discontinued our recipe swap on a weekly basis (it will now be every other week) but I had a recipe ready for today's Mexican holiday.

The ladies over at The Sequin Notebook made a similar recipe a while back and I decided to try it out for a party I recently went to. 

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

1 jar of mild salsa

1 small can mild Rotel diced tomatoes

1.5 lb. lean ground beef

1 tbsp. olive oil

8 oz. Mexican blend cheese

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 package taco seasoning

1 can refried beans

2 cups of light sour cream

Hot sauce, to taste

What To Do:

1. Mix cream cheese with 1/2 of the package of taco seasoning and layer onto the bottom of a greased baking dish.

2. Sautee onions in olive oil and add ground beef and the remaining of the taco seasoning. Add a dash of hot sauce and then cook well until the meat is no longer pink. Layer the beef mixture on top of the cream cheese layer. 

3. Heat up refried beans in microwave for 2 minutes and then layer beans on top of the beef layer. 

4. Top refried beans with salsa and then layer salsa with sour cream. The final step is to layer sour cream with shredded cheese and then sprinkle diced tomatoes on top of the cheese.

5. Bake on 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted. 

Enjoy!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Rollups

** Before I get started, Kate and I both agree that hosting the Recipe Swap bi-weekly will be more manageable for both of our schedules so starting this week we will host the linkup every other Tuesday. We hope you will continue to join us in sharing your delicious recipes! **

This is a copycat recipe from Food.com that I stumbled upon on Pinterest and had to try for myself. It's also an easy finger food to whip together for parties or large groups of people.

Serving size: 40 pinwheels

Ingredients:

1 container low-fat cream cheese

1 (142 g) package dried cranberries

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onion

4 large sundried tomato flour tortillas

What To Do:

1. Combine the cream cheese, cranberries, feta cheese and green onion in small bowl and mix together well. 

2. Spread mixture evenly over each tortillas.

3. Fold the tortilla tightly and wrap in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour. 

4. Use a sharp knife to cut in 10 slices.

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Cajun Grilled Shrimp & Veggie Medley

Ingredients:

1 lb. large uncooked white shrimp

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp butter, melted

Creole seasoning (to taste)

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 zucchinis

1 can chick peas

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

Spiral Vegetable Slicer

There's a few parts to this recipe but overall it's an easy and fairly quick meal to piece together. A second hand would be useful to take care of the grilling while the veggies are being prepped and cooked. 

I purchased this Spiralizer thanks to Steph's recommendation and it's very effortless to use. It took only a couple minutes to spiralize the zucchinis, which was easier than I expected. 

What To Do:

1. Toss uncooked shrimp in creole seasoning and set aside. Melt the butter in the microwave and mix together with garlic powder (for basting the shrimp). Heat up the grill and then set to low to cook the shrimp. 

2. Spiralize the zucchinis. 

3. Melt coconut oil in a deep pan on medium heat and then add chopped red peppers and green peppers. Cook for 5 minutes. Add zucchini spirals and cook for an additional 3 minutes. 

4. Add chick peas to the pot and cook on low for 5 minutes. 

5. While the veggies are cooking on low. Place cajun seasoned shrimp on the grill (temperature set to low), baste with garlic butter and cook for 3-4 minutes. Flip the shrimp, baste with remainder of garlic butter and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. 

6. Serve the cooked veggie medley topped with shrimp. 

Enjoy!

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Easy Chicken Spring Salad

As a side note, I'm not so impressed my brand new Nikon DSLR took a dump on me while on vacation so I'm back to grainy photos until they return a working camera.

Now back to the point of this post... I love finding recipes that are easy to whip together because after working a long day, the last thing I want to do is spend any length of time in the kitchen. This recipe takes less than 10 minutes to prepare so it's perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:

1 5 oz. bag of Spring salad mix

1 bag of Perdue carved chicken breasts

2 tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

Serving size: 4

What To Do:

1. Cook chicken according to the directions on the package.

2. Toss all ingredients together with dressing and it's ready to serve. 

3. Enjoy!

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Brussels Sprouts with Pecans & Cranberries

Photo via Rachel Shultz

This is one of the recipes that I made for the first time and served over the weekend for our Easter dinner potluck. I failed at taking many useful pictures between multi-tasking in the kitchen and opening the door as guests arrive so I had to use the photo from the original recipe. I made a few tweaks like using coconut oil instead of olive oil and eliminating the barley and there was no lack in taste. 

Ingredients: 

1 lb. brussels sprouts

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2/3 cup cranberries

1/3 cup pecans

1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese 

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 

1 tablespoon maple syrup

What To Do:

1. Cook brussels sprouts and cranberries in coconut oil over medium heat for 8 minutes.

2. Add balsamic vinegar and maple syrup and cook for an additional 2 minutes before removing from heat. 

3. Add the walnuts and stir well in pan or toss in a mixing bowl.
4. Top with crumbled gorgonzola. 

That's my blurry picture of the final product but I can attest that it was a delicious side to serve for any holiday dinner. Kerri loved it too! ;-)

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Snow Pea Stir-Fry in Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has so many health benefits for your immune system, digestion, weight loss and even your skin. It's an excellent replacement for oil and butter and doesn't disappoint in taste.

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped, 

1 80 oz. pack sliced white mushrooms

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 lb. fresh snow peas

Cooking time: 12 minutes

Serving size: 4

What To Do: 

1. Wash all veggies and prepare (dice/chop according to ingredients list). 

2. Cut the ends off the snow peas. 

3. Heat wok or pan on medium heat and add coconut oil.

4. Add the green and red peppers and cook for approximately 4 minutes.

5. Add the onion and snow peas and cook for 6 minutes.

6. Finally add mushrooms and cook for additional 2 minutes. 

Enjoy!

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Curry Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/4 yellow onion, diced

3/4 cup light mayonnaise

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp Paprika

What To Do:

1. Boil chicken breasts in salted water for 20 minutes until fully cooked. Let chicken cool for 10 minutes and then chop or shred. You can also use cooked rotisserie chicken.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Refrigerate in an airtight container for 1-2 hours to let the flavors blend.

3. Serve chilled or room temperature in a sandwich, wrap or lettuce wrap. 

Enjoy!

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Irish Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

To be festive, I decided to try my hand at this Irish soup recipe. With just a few changes, it came out really good and was a delicious dinner for Sunday night.

Ingredients:
1 (12 oz.) bag Steam-In-Big Broccoli Florets
1 (32 oz) container reduced sodium chicken broth
3 cups mashed potatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped
3/4 yellow onion, diced
1 cup fat-free half & half
1 tsp fresh thyme
 4 cups Irish Dubliner cheddar cheese, shredded
Ground pepper, to taste

What To Do:
1. Add chicken stock, broccoli, onion and celery in a large pot. Bring to boil and then simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
2. Blend broccoli/chicken stock mixture in food processor or blender and then return to pot.
3. Stir in half & half, mashed potatoes and thyme. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to low and slowly stir in the Irish shredded cheese. 

Enjoy!

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Easy Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

1 12 oz bag fresh broccoli florets

1/2 of a red onion, chopped

1 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup turkey bacon bits

2 tbsp white vinegar

2-3 tbsp white sugar (not pictured below)

What To Do:
1. Mix light mayonnaise, white vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Use a whisk to blend well.
2. In a large bowl, mix broccoli, red onion, sunflower seeds, and turkey bacon bits.

3. Pour mayonnaise mixture over broccoli mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are blended well. 

4. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours so the flavors blend in well. 

5. Serve cold and enjoy!

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Roast Beef & Red Wine Gravy

A coworker shared this recipe with me and I thought I'd give it a try since I've never cooked roast beef before. 

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs boneless chuck roast

4 carrots, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, diced

10 yukon gold potatoes, cut in half

2 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp light olive oil

4 stalks celery, chopped

4 sprigs fresh thyme

Black pepper to taste

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray roasting pan with cooking spray.

2. Place chuck roast in pan and baste with olive oil, cracked pepper, minced garlic and spices of your choice. Place 3-4 sprigs of thyme under string wrapped around roast. If there's no string like mine, cut small incisions in the meat and tuck the thyme in there. 

3. Place potatoes, celery, onions and carrots in roasting pan along with beef.

4. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.  The rule is to bake for 20 minutes for each pound.

5. Remove roast beef from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before carving.

* I baked mind for longer (1 hour) because I prefer my meat more well done that pink on the inside.

Red Wine Gravy

Ingredients:

Beef drippings

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup red wine

1 tbsp flour

What To Do:

1. Keep the beef drippings and pour into a small pot on medium heat. Add red wine and stir for 2-3 minutes. 

2. Add beef stock and reduce to low and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Finally add tbsp flour and mix well until gravy has thickened. 

My gravy came out very watery but it was full a flavor. Like one of the best tasting gravies I've tried so I recommend using more flour or cornstarch to thicken the consistency.  

Enjoy!

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