You know, I would have never EVER thought that my furnace would turn on in JUNE. Yeah, JUNE! It's been a chillier week here so it's a perfect time for something like a shephard's pie.

I tend to make shepherd's pie when I have leftover mashed potatoes. What I like about it is that you can make up any mixture you choose for the filling. I often use a bunch of vegetables I want to use up from my fridge or in this case, some leftover chicken breast and mushrooms that were nearing their end.



I'd say that Shephard's pie is definitely one of those comfort foods, especially for those cold June spring days :)

shepherd's pie with chicken and mushrooms
makes 4 servings
1 onion, diced into small pieces
5-6 medium size white mushrooms, diced into small pieces
1 cooked chicken breast, diced into small pieces
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups of mashed potatoes

Place some oil in a pan and saute the onions and mushrooms. Add chicken and blend together for a minute or two.

Add chicken broth and warm mixture up. Add more if needed or cook off if too much broth was used.

Distribute the mixture into 4 ramekins equally. Top with mashed potatoes.

Heat the oven to 375F. Place the ramekins onto a cookie sheet and put into the middle rack of the oven. Cook for about 20-30 mintues.

Is everyone enjoying the weather??? I think that Spring is FINALLY here! I'm crossing my fingers and knocking on wood because I just don't want to jinx it. Yesterday, we ate our lunch outside. I cleaned up the outdoor table and chairs and cranked open the umbrella. Oh gosh.... please oh please let it stick around.  **knock, knock, knock**.

I picked up the Kitchenaid Best-Loved Recipes book last month at the bookstore and what's the first recipe I try out of it? Stuffed potatoes. All the yummy desserts, muffins and cookies and I pick stuffed potatoes. Funny. But I needed a side dish for dinner and I have a big bag of red potatoes asking to be used before it grows eyes.

This summer, I made this recipe a lot. It actually got to the point that my hubby kept asking me if I was making this again, everytime we had people invited over.

We entertained a lot these last couple of months, so this was really easy. A big no brainer, actually. This can also be done up a bit earlier, leaving you to do other prep work for food, because it bakes in the oven for 50 minutes or so. Most everyone loves potatoes and this is a yummy way to eat them, a hit with the young and old.

I have also layered it with sweet potatoes and it's really good that way too.

...

scalloped potato casserole

4-5 Potatoes, sliced thin (I sometimes use sweet potatoes or both)

1 onion sliced.
1 cup milk
1 cup mayonaisse
Cheese, shredded (your choice) to sprinkle

Slice potatoes (I don't usually peel them) and layer in 9 x 13 in. pan with sliced onions. Continue layering potatoes and onions.

Mix milk & mayonaisse until smooth and pour over potato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese of your choice (I usually use old cheddar) .

Bake covered in 450°F oven for 50 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from: Scalloped Potato Casserole, kraftcanada website

It's really rare if I deepfry anything. I usually bake or bbq various meats or vegies.

I make some mean roasted potatoes but a french fry is just not the same baked. I'm sure that some of you have experimented and would tell me otherwise but I've yet to be waivered. It's called a french fry for a reason.

If we do eat french fries, it's that few times a month we hit the fast food chains because I'm too lazy or busy to cook. But every once in a while, I'll make a batch at home.



I watched a program about french fries and how they really should be fried twice. Once, at a lower temperature, then drained and fried again, at a higher temperature, to get it's crispiness. I have tried it before but quite frankly, I'm not fond of standing in front of my stove getting all greasy. Frying it once is really just good enough for me.

Pomme frites anyone?