cupboard cleaning recipe #3: protein-rich avocado goodness...

this lovely picture of green deliciousness does not do justice to the goodness available to you.  in this second edition of what to do with random ingredients, we combine two seemingly disparate ingredients: greek yogurt and avocado.

greek yogurt has a tang kinda-sorta-but-not-really like sour cream.  the big difference is that greek yogurt has a great deal of protein in it.  in fact, a serving of greek yogurt has twice the protein of an egg!

that said, this dip/spread is versatile.  the recipe below is more dippy with balanced flavors.  if you want more of a creamy guacamole, use a full avocado and maybe even add some diced tomatoes.  i ate this with chips that had cheese melted on them--and let me tell you, the medium white cheddar was amazing with this dip.

oh, and in the spirit of cupboard-cleaning, there are a few dried ingredients in here that can easily be replaced with fresh.  happy dipping, spreading, guacamole-ing to you!

creamy avocado dip/spread
1/2 avocado, mashed (can up it to 1 full avacado for more of a guacamole)
1 six-ounce container plain greek yogurt (can use sour cream)
1 tsp lemon juice (could use lime here)
1/2 tsp dried cilantro (or 1 tsp fresh chopped)
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp dried onion
pepper to taste

mix well.  or in the infamous words of my mom: "mix as usual".

shepherd's pie...(why is it called that?)

i could look into why this is called shepherd's pie. or not. let's go with not.

the craving hit for something comfort-foodish. combine that with the ongoing deficiency of vegetables in my world AND the fact that many of my pots were in the dishwasher. and now you have this post. few dishes were dirtied in the creation of this meal.

it's tasty, it's comforty, it only uses dirties three different containers (if you don't wash in between), and frankly, it's easy. on top of it, what better way to both practice your knife skills AND get all five servings of vegetables in one dish?!?

and yes, you can top it with tater tots instead of potatoes. ahhhh, tater tots. but alas, why screw up all that great vegetable-eating by slathering them in deep-fried anything? (let's not kid around, on another day, we're going with the tater tots...that day is not today.)

you can switch this up with different meats, different vegetables, and different toppings. it's great for getting rid of leftovers and frozen stuff! enough of that--here's the recipe:

shepherd's pie

2 baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp half-n-half

1-pound ground beef

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp dried minced onion

1-2 Tbsp steak seasoning (to taste) (i use this steak seasoning for all things beefy)

2 carrots, peeled, chopped

3 celery, chopped

1 cup green beans

1 cup corn (i used frozen sweet corn)

1 large tomato, chopped

3/4 cup beef broth

1 cup sour cream (i used tillamook fat free)

2 tsp flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400-degrees.

Put the chopped potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and set to simmer until potatoes are tender, approximately 20 minutes.

Brown the ground beef in a separate skillet, adding the onion and garlic approximately half-way through the cooking. If you used a higher fat beef, spoon out some of the fat (lower fat beef won't have more than a tablespoon or two of fat).

Once the beef is browned, add the carrots and allow to saute 5 minutes. Add celery and allow to saute another 3-5 minutes. If using frozen beans and corn, add them now and cover the pan, allowing them to thaw and steam a little, approximately 3 minutes. Add tomatoes.

Add broth and sour cream, stirring until the sour cream breaks up and incorporates to make a white sauce. Sprinkle flour over if the sauce needs some thickening. Allow to simmer 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Among all that simmering, you can prepare the mashed potatoes. Once the potatoes are tender, drain out the water and put potatoes back in the hot saucepan. Add butter and allow to melt. Once melted, add half-n-half (milk would work too) while mashing with a fork until the potatoes are your desired consistency. For this recipe, I mashed to just a "rustic" level of mashing and less creamy than if I were serving them alongside something else.

Pour the beef mixture into a baking dish. I used a 9x11, but that almost went over the edge of the pan. A deep dish pie plate or 9x13 would suffice. (You could even split it among two smaller, 8-inch rounds and freeze one for later.)

Top the beef mixture with the potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes, to heat through. Allow to set 5-10 minutes to allow the sauce to filter back down and settle a bit.

mmmmm.....oh, by the way, a big thanks to the pioneer woman for tips on improving food pictures, even with my point-and-shoot digital camera. (sorry for the dark final product, i was losing daylight!) and this was on a relatively cloudy day--so for all you west-coasters, it is possible to use "natural light" when one hasn't seen the sun for a while.

spinach cream sauce

over time, you will notice my obsession with warehouse shopping results in some interesting pantry-cleaning cooking adventures.

such is this recipe. first, if you ever, EVER take fresh spinach (not that i bought the three pound bag for $3 or anything, nooooo) and try to wilt it and freeze it, chop it first before the steaming begins...else you will wind up with long strands of spinachy goodness that may be nutritious, however slurping up your spinach like a spaghetti noodle may be just enough to turn off your eaters.

that said, here's my adventure in spinach cream sauce.

yep, that's a big frozen chunk of (should've been chopped) spinach. feel free to use the 10-oz container you can get in the freezer section. i toss the frozen in the pan on low and allow it to thaw there. yes, it will add extra moisture, but because the sauce eventually simmers and reduces, it's not that big of deal.

once the spinach is warmed, toss in a couple teaspoons of minced garlic. i would love to say that i use fresh garlic all the time, and i used to do exactly that. but this time, it's the jarred stuff. (and yes, there is a larger warehouse-sized container in my fridge--the lil' guy was purchased in a pinch). and the stuff lasts forever!

this is after adding about a cup and a half of chicken broth, then toss in about 2/3 cup of your favorite sour cream (this is fat free stuff here). stir it around and get....

...creamy goodness. as one who find béchamel a bit, well, boring, the sour cream melts into a creamy sauce. now, because there's broth in there, the tang of the sour cream is lessened. let the loveliness simmer a bit then add parmesan.

yep, terrible picture (and sideways to boot), but this amazingly tasty sauce goes great over your favorite pasta. i chose chicken/pancetta whole wheat ravioli. if you want more cream than spinach, add more sour cream and broth. i like my rife with veggies.

spinach cream sauce

original recipe

10-ounces frozen spinach

2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup sour cream

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

salt and pepper to taste (remember, parm is saaaalty!)

favorite pasta, prepared in your favorite way

very veggie tomato sauce

i admit it. i am obsessed with my local warehouse store. my shopping cart and i, flit around, perusing the aisles of way-too-much-for-my-household packages. but i just cannot resist two things: a good deal and great food.

which brings us to my recent purchase. i just couldn't pass up spending less than three dollars for a ginormous (gigantic + enormous = ginormous) can of already crushed tomatoes begging for transformation into yummy goodness.

warning: this is a "hmm, that might be good" kind of recipe. if you're looking for traditional marinara, this is not your gig. but if you're looking for a little different twist on an old classic, you may find this enjoyable. oh yeah, and i have a terrible time getting veggies in my diet, so tossing them in a pot kills two birds with one stone for this girl.

drizzle some olive oil in a pan and bring up the heat. chop, in fairly equal sizes, carrots, celery and onion. i used about 1 cup of each. saute until veggies are tender. add tomatoes and simmer:

oooh, simmery goodness. it will simmer and reduce 45 minutes to an hour. now, if i weren't such an amateur, i would have remembered to take a picture of this after it was done simmering and gently spread over my favorite thin spaghetti--Ronzoni Whole Wheat Pasta Blend--all the health of whole wheat pasta without ANY of that nasty wet-cardboard texture. I have even served it to those who "hate" all things whole wheat and they couldn't tell the difference. Get some. Try it. Tasty, tasty goodness. (Just make sure it is the "blend".)

Very Veggie Tomato Sauce

original recipe

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrot

1 tsp minced garlic

6 cups crushed tomatoes

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 Tbsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp sugar (or more if you like a sweet tomato sauce)

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp dried parsley

Drizzle olive oil in large pan. When heated, add onion, celery, and carrots. saute until veggies are tender and onions are translucent--depending on the diameter of the pot, this could take 10-15 minutes. Add garlic and saute a couple of minutes (babysit this closely as you do not want the garlic burn.) Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. simmer 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add parsley and stir again.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

Makes approximately 8 cups of sauce.