Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie times 2, that is! I made this meal for a new momma of twins in our neighborhood. It sounded so good that I decided to double the recipe, double the fun and make one for her family and one for our family.
The original recipe for this dish came from Today’s Parent. The one thing that I would amend is the time recipe preparation time. Unless you have ALREADY chopped all your veggies, boiled your potatoes, and maybe even pre-browned your meat, there is NO WAY that the recipe prep time will be 10 minutes as the linked article says.
It took me around 30 minutes to complete recipe prep. On top of that, do note that if you are taking this to new parents, it will also take longer than 20 minutes to cook the dish if it comes out of the refrigerator. I would bake it for 25 minutes, and broil the top for 2-5 minutes for that browned crispy effect.
This meal was savory, filling, and just what I needed on a cold day. Plus, the leftovers were DELICIOUS!!! Hope your Wednesday is brilliant.
XX, Megan
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup milk
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup peeled, chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
2 tsp chopped garlic
4 tsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sodium-free beef stock
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup fresh or defrosted frozen green peas
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Place potatoes in a pot of cold salted water and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 min or until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain. Return potatoes to a pot over low heat for 1 min to evaporate any remaining water. Add 2 tbsp butter and mash until combined and fluffy. Add milk to loosen, season with 1⁄4 tsp salt and stir in half of cheese. Set aside.
Heat remaining 2 tbsp butter in large frying pan over medium. Add carrot, onion and celery and sauté for 5 min or until beginning to soften.
Turn heat to high. Add beef and garlic, and sauté, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 min or until meat begins to brown. Add flour, stirring for 2 min to cook out floury taste.
Add stock, Worcestershire, mustard and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 min or until broth has reduced and thickened and made the meat saucy. Season with remaining 1⁄2 tsp salt and pepper and stir in peas.
Transfer beef mixture to a deep 9-in. ovenproof casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes overtop. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 15 min or until sauce is bubbling. Turn to broil and cook until potatoes are golden.
You can make this well ahead and refrigerate, but it will need more time in the oven to heat through.
The last of the Austin love here, friends. Wore this casual get-up to one of our (many) breakfasts. There is something quintessentially summer about a flowy lace top. They get me every time. I shopped this one on super sale and I’ve linked a bunch of similar options below.
We’re off on our next adventure, enjoying the red rock and lizard sightings in Moab. Whatever your Tuesday holds, I hope you enjoy it fully!!
The Turkey Lobbyist’s Travel Guide to Austin, TX (Alternative Title)
Okay, so this post is a LONG one. But if you want the short version, I’ll give it to you quick and dirty. Austin is AWESOME!
The food was superb– I am still dreaming about it. The music scene is alive–it pours on to 6th Street with rich abandon. The bar crowd is uproarious– apparently a flaming Dr. Pepper is the most famous Austin offering. The suburbs of those rolling green hills are well manicured– the wedding we attended was beautiful. The hipsters are myriad– outnumbered only by the food trucks. The State Capital is gorgeous– dwarfed only by Willie Nelson and he’s not an Austinite, just a Texan.
Did I mention the food?!?
As I’ve said before, I often have several working titles for each post. But this alternative is my favorite by far. And true.The alternative title is true! We got a kick-bottom tour of Austin from a friend who really is a lobbyist for turkeys. Or is it Turkey? Anyway, he’s a lobbyist.
Our reason for visiting Austin, other than hearing one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE musicians, Bob Schneider, was to attend the wedding of some dear friends. Bob, however, was not to be found. He happened to be playing in Greenville, or Corpus Christi, or Fort Worth, I don’t remember. Long story short, the King of Austin wasn’t in the Capital City. A bummer, not a deal breaker.
Now to suss out the connection to the turkey lobbyist. The wedding of this particular friend dates back to our days in Washington D.C. The city tour guide bloomed out of our long-ago ties to that rat pack. Virginia based DINKS on the cusp of political stardom, Windy-city freelance writers formerly of Entrepreneur, tech-startup geeks with computer screen gleams in their eye, and coruscating consultants with Price-Waterhouse in their resumes.
In all reality, we can only hold the turkey lobbyist responsible for the viewing of the Flaming Dr. Pepper. As well as the fantastic live music at The Continental. For bulk of this travel diary we toured on our own.
Let’s begin our tour with food, shall we? Because that’s where this tour truly began. And ended, for that matter. An Austin City sandwich.
That’s where it all started. But not just any sandwich. A VEGAN BARBECUE sandwich called the McFib (see above) at a local vegan hot-spot called Bouldin Creek Cafe. Where the beef was as absent as a shower on the locals.
Let’s not disparage others’ views of personal hygiene. This place was the BOMB. Where else in the world can you get BARBECUE that’s VEGAN, and walk away feeling that you have CHECKED the barbecue box off your Austin City Must-See List?
If you are a vegetarian looking for a mouth riot, or a simply a tourist looking for superb food fare, Bouldin is THE PLACE! If you order the McFib and a Wanna BLT, along with a Raspberry Sour, and pick up a vegan brownie on the way out and you’ll have recreated our meal at Bouldin.
If you’ve followed my blog for some time, you’ll know that my husband and I cycle. He’s a cyclist, and I’m a bike rider. Talk to any roadie to be instructed in the difference between these bicycling breeds. Regardless of your spin on bikes, Mellow Johnny’s is an Austin Must-See.
The shop is owned by Lance Armstrong. Now we’ve opened up another interesting discussion point, but here again, regardless of your views on Armstrong, the shop is the bees knees! Almost as good as our home town shop in Heber Valley 😉
With bikes as far as the eye can see. Enough swag to sink a small container ship, and internationally renowned pro-performace training at Pedal Hard Training in the basement. Plus you get to see all 7 Yellow Jersey’s on display. What’s the line, “they can’t take that away from me“? Wow! Just WOW!
If you thought I was finished with food, you’d be mistaken. We woke the next morning with time to kill before the wedding and wandered over to the local Whole Foods Market for one of the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. Here’s my plug for globalism. Isn’t it great to know that you can get that same breakfast sandwich ANYWHERE? I mean, soon, they’ll have one in Italy. #amiright ?
Not only did I pound that breakfast sandwich on ciabatta bread, I treated myself to a post-breakfast croissant. You might be wondering if the croissant constituted it’s own breakfast, and you would be absolutely right if I didn’t abide by the zero calorie vacation philosophy.
Oh, you didn’t know? Food on vacation contains zero calories. Thereby allowing you to consume as much as you’d like! Try it next time. I think you’ll see what I mean.
This experience was so very Gotham like I don’t know how Austin has managed to keep a Bat Light out of its skyline. Maybe in some bat cave recess of my brain I had heard about this nightly bat exodus from under Congress Avenue Bridge, but we really ended up there to meet up with friends to explore the city.
It was an incredible sight. Bat.con international boasts, “Every summer night, hundreds of people gather to see the world’s largest urban bat colony emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. These 1.5 million bats are fun to watch, but they’re also making our world a better place to live.”
It’s all about bugs, people. Bats eat bugs. Bugs in the 10,000 to 20,000 pounds-per-night range. No wonder Austin’s skyline was so pristine. I don’t know what more to say about this quirky, off-beat, touristy sighting, but I’m glad we got to view the stream of bats exiting the bridge in a furry that looked more like a rushing plume of black cinders than an dusk to dawn feeding frenzy.
We went to Austin with the understanding that it is the Live Music Capital of the World, and the offerings did not disappoint. When you’re walking down 6th street and every pub, bar, and eatery has music rippling out onto the street, you know you’ve hit Live-band gold.
We wended our way down the entire length of 6th street and our turkey lobbyist gave us gems and tid-bits of history about some of the joints. Antone’s where Stevie Ray Vaughn was discovered. Frequented by the likes of Fats Domino, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles himself, and our personal fav Bob Schneider plays there, as well.
We took in the tunes of the 24th Street Wailers at The Continental Club. A rock n’ roll n’ group with a killer lead singer/drummer named Lindsay Beaver. Stage name? Perhaps. But their music was jumping it was jiving, it was causing crowds to get of their arses and dance! I loved every minute of the show.
On our last day in Austin we went in search of our final sandwich, a breakfast sandwich. I’d heard-tell of Hillside Farmacy on the inter webs. I honestly don’t know if it was a friend, or Instagram, or another blog, but my husband was game so we packed our bags and headed out for our final Austin food fare.
He ordered the Fried Egg Sandwich. I ordered the Sunny Coast Croissant, add avocado and eggs, and we were yummming and ummmmmmming all the way through the meal. Somehow I finished my mountainous sandwich and wanted MORE. I really, really wanted one last chocolate croissant. So that is what we did. We ate MORE.
I want to begin this vignette with the statement “Easy Tiger is the best bakery in Austin, TX.” But with no more background than a two day quickie to back me up, I’m pretty sure I’m no authority.
Oh, whatever. Easy Tiger is the best bakery in Austin. After the delicious offering at Hillside Farmacy it was time to get my zero calorie second breakfast on! We actually asked the waiter at Hillside for his recommendation of the “Best Chocolate Croissant in Austin”. He sent us to Easy Tiger, so I’m going use his authority in this matter.
That recommendation and my tastebuds do not lie! That chocolate croissant was flaky-pasterie-perfection heaven. If my gut didn’t have such a low tolerance for breads these days, I’d have ordered seven to take home with me on the spot!
In lieu of the croissants I wanted to pack in my carry-on but thought better, we got a couple loaves of their artisan bread– sour dough and an Italian loaf. Gifts for family and friends who had cared for our kiddos and puppy while we were away. It was the perfect taste of Austin to pass on.
If you are looking for a city that delights, an city that excites, a city that has a lot to offer midst the rolling green of Texas hill country, Austin is IT! I left wanting more. We’d go back in a heartbeat, and maybe we’ll make this a stop on a winter getaway sometime. I hope your Friday is as flavorful as all of Austin. Have a fabulous day, and a savory weekend.
Let’s be honest. Travel can be a hot, cold, long, sloppy, sleepless, exhausting, uncomfortable ordeal. Regional or global, it’s good to have a recipe for travel dressing that takes the stress out of at least that one aspect of the journey.
Whenever I travel I wear some version of this ensemble. Jacket, button-up shirt, jeans, slip-on shoes, and a carry-all tote. I try to leave extras like a watch, belt, and sometimes even jewelry in my carry-on so that I won’t have to hassle with removing them at the security check-point.
I always travel with sunglasses in hand, as I often pop them on during the flight as an easy way to signify the fact that I’m trying to rest, relax, or nap! Not that I can always sleep on flights, but once in a while I can really zonk-out.
What are your favorite travel styles or outfits? Do you have any fail-proof pieces you reach for every time you hit the road or take to the sky? We’re coming up on a little mommas and kiddo adventure and I couldn’t be more stoked. More on that later.
Tomorrow I’lol be publishing a brief Austin, TX city guide. Just sharing some of our favorite sights and eats from our trip! Happy Thursday!!!!
No I did not dine on this fine salad in Austin, TX. However, it is the perfect get-back-into-healthy-eating or detox salad for my week after vacation. I mean that in all seriousness as I sit down to prep this post with a serving of Super Charged Spinach Salad real-time in front of me. YUM!
This recipe comes from The Scramble*, and I have made this salad five or more times in the last month. I’m pretty sure that it will be a summer staple around our house. In reality there is nothing groundbreaking about this combination. But I do love the tuna and egg combo, as well as the homemade dressing.
A note about the tuna. I made mine with 1 Tbsp. of mustard, and 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise. To that I added some Sweet and Spicy stackers from Hee-Haw Pickles. For me, the pickle makes the tuna. The pickle makes the whole salad, really. This is my humble opinion. But if you have a kickin’ pickle, it just seems to make the entire dish that much more delectable.
I’d love to hear about your favorite salads. Do you have any that you make on a regular basis? Do you have any that you love to serve for guests? Do you have a salad that is the perfect summer barbecue side? I’d love to know!! Wednesday is with us, and we’re nearing mid-week. I hope that makes you smile!!
XX, Megan
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard (use wheat/gluten-free if needed)
1/8 tsp. salt
6 oz. baby spinach
1/4 red onion, halved and thinly sliced (1/2 cup total)
5 button mushrooms, sliced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 tomato, diced, or use 1 orange, peeled and chopped
6 .4 oz. chunk light tuna in water (sold in pouches rather than cans), drained, or use white beans or chickpeas
Directions
(Start the eggs first, if you are serving them.) For the dressing, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and salt until the ingredients emulsify (combine and thicken).
In a large serving bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Wah-lah! Your salad is complete!
*The Scramble is a meal planning service to which you can subscribe here. For a fantastic price you will receive 8 weekly meals which means 8 recipes (main course plus a side dish), complete grocery list, the ability to tweak the number of people you are making for, and full nutrition facts.
PLUS tips as to how best to PREP your meal beforehand, add a punch of FLAVOR, and how to SLOW COOK almost every recipe if you’re especially slammed that night. This wonderful service really does live up to it’s name. You can come home at 6 p.m. and be sitting down to a DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, HOME COOKED meal by 6:30 p.m. most nights.
Refined + Rugged 