Man-Sickness

Whew. What a crazy weekend. I finished and started several projects, which include the baby version of the Ewok hat:

 

It turned out so stinking cute. It makes me want to
have another baby, that will hopefully like wearing hats!
 

I spend almost all day Sunday in the kitchen. I made pancakes, scrambled eggs and hash browns for Michael, who was man-sick.

Man sick? What's that Becca? Well readers, I'm so glad you asked. Man-sick, is a lesser version of any kind of sickness. However it entitles said man to lay on the couch and mope. Why do I differentiate regular sickness and man-sickness? Because if I were to get a cold or any sort of bug, I would not have the luxury to not to anything. I still have to take care of the baby, be a mom, be a wife, etc. It may sound harsh, but I'll be more sympathetic when there is actual vomiting, or even just a mild cough involved. However, when you just say, "I don't feel good", I can't really do much for ya. Especially when you refuse to take the medicines that will help you feel better. Let's face it, most of the time when men are sick, they are the biggest babies. They literally cannot do anything for themselves. Everything is ten times worse than it really is.

However, I do give Mike mad props, he did do the dishes Saturday night while I was at a church function. Which is awesome, because I probably wouldn't have done them until yesterday, or more likely, today.

With that said, I love you husband :) I hope you don't think I'm picking on you too much.

Anyways, back to the kitchen.

After making breakfast, I made a much belated birthday cake for Michael. German chocolate. Not in the least my favorite kind of cake, but since it was a special occasion, I decided to oblige him with his favorite.

Then as he snoozed on the couch, I debated over what to make for dinner. Now this is going to turn into a long and probably irrelevant story, but I'm going to tell it anyways.

Each month, Michael and I sit down and write out our budget. It's mostly the same each month, so there's not really much to do. Well again, every month, we allot a set amount of money for our "food" budget. This "food" budget not only buys food, but it purchases household items, including diapers, wipes, laundry soap, etc. Well last month, we extinguished the "food" budget a little fast than we normally do. We're still not sure how that happened, but it left us with a whopping $10.63 in the "food" account for the last week of September. So that whole last week, we made do with...simple meals. I'm really sure how else to put it. We normally go grocery shopping once a week, and get all the things we need for the meal plan that week (we write out a monthly meal plan also, well we try to). Well since I only had that $10.63 to handle the week, I just left it alone, and made do with the small pantry we have. Most of the week it turned out pretty well, we actually had some awesome meals (Like the broccoli divan from earlier). We got paid yesterday, so our "food" budget was magically replenished. However it being Sunday, we don't buy things on Sundays. So I scoured the pantry and freezer and came up with the ingredients to make a very yummy Shepherd's Pie. Following a basic recipe, I amped it up and made my own.

Thus the "moral" of this story leaves you with a recipe for Shepherd's Pie. Now I am by no means a kitchen wiz, so most of my ingredient measurements are just random guesses, so I urge you to follow your better instincts


"Make It Yours" Shepherd's Pie

7-8 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
and small potatoes = potatoes that fit in the palm of your hand
1 lb of ground beef
1/2 c onion finely diced
2 tbsp flour
1/2 c of milk
1 can of diced carrots
1/2 bag of frozen peas
                                                      1 c of grated cheese
                                                      1 c beef broth
                                                      4 tbsp (half a stick)
                                                      Olive oil
                                                      salt and pepper and any other delicious seasonings of your choice
                                                      I used garlic powder in addition to the salt and pepper.

So if you've never made Shepherd's Pie before, it consists of several layers. Ground beef on the bottom, followed by peas and carrots, and topped off with mashed potatoes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
First off, make some mashed taters! I think everyone has their own special and favorite way to make delicious mashed potatoes, but for the purposes of this recipe, I will share what (I think) I did for mashed taters last night.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add cubed potatoes. Let boil for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Drain and return to pot. Add the butter, milk, and 1/2 c of cheese. Mash until desired consistency is reached. I like my mashed potatoes a bit lumpy. Season with whatever seasonings you wish. Don't be afraid of seasoning!

In a skillet, heat approx 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and saute until onions become tender and translucent. Add your ground beef and season with a little salt and pepper (maybe some cayenne, we like it spicy here in the Coxson household). Brown your beef until its done, drain the fat and return to pan. Sprinkle the flour over the beef and mix, letting cook for about a minute. Add 3/4 c of the beef broth (save the rest for the veggies), bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Now with the veggies, I just threw them in a pot with some water and let them heat up a bit (since the carrots were canned, they were already tender). Then I mashed them a bit. Just a bit. Not a lot like the potatoes, but just so they were combined a bit. Then I added the remaining beef broth, some more salt and pepper and let that simmer for a few minutes.

Now you are ready to layer your Pie.

This "recipe" fills up a 9x9 pan just right for us. So if you want more, double it. If you want less...well I dunno what to tell ya!

Spray down your pan with some non-stick spray.
Layer the beef mixture on the bottom, spreading evenly.
Next add the veggies, again spreading evenly.
Top with mashed potatoes.

I sprinkled the remaining cheese on top. Pop that sucker in the oven for 20 minutes or until heated through all the way, and serve!

Mmmm don't I look so yummy?

Oh I also topped mine with Tabasco sauce. Delicious. Hot sauce goes on everything here.

Well. That's about it for the Shepherd's Pie. You're welcome! haha I hope yours turns out as good as mine, because I know you are all going to make it tonight, right? RIGHT??

I don't think I've got anything left in me to blog about today. So I'm just going to go hang out with my awesome kid, and work on the many many projects I have left to crochet this week.

Peace out!