MEGA POST WEEK Recipe Roundup!

 Today's post is brought to you by

The Feline Overlords of Rehab...

 wreaking Bad Assistance since 1990.

 Oh hai.

 Smidgeons here, the fluffy diva of the Calamity Clowder.

The Redheaded Woman with Thumbs iz in shower, foolishly leavings the laptops open.

'Scuse me one sec while I adds to her Christmas list...

There.

That much betters.

Silly computer games on list iz now deleteds.

 Now, she has a stoopid pumpkins on here with nasty tasting glitters.

 I will take care of those.

They are no way to start a series of mega-posts.

 The Woman drinks this stuff lately.

She said some of you crazy people-types like Heather asks about it.

She says it tastes deelishus, but it's low calorie

and healthy, so I suspects a lie.

 Anyway, first mega post will be foods.

 Why?

 Because I am kitteh; I likes foods.

And this will teach her to waste time in shower shaving furs off.

Since I'm also off caffeine (kill me?), this is a seasonal favorite!

Loaded with vitamin C, fat free, and wonderfully warm, I let this simmer for hours,

adding a great smell to the house, but it's ready to serve after 30 minutes.

Add 1 oz of rum or schnapps to the mug if you like for gatherings.

Leftovers can be refrigerated and microwaved.

 

Hot Cider

1 gallon of apple cider

2 oranges

2 lemons

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp cinnamon

Pour the cider into a heavy stock pot on medium heat, hang onto the jug to store leftovers.

 Add the spices. Slice each citrus fruit in half,

then into thin half circles. Add them to the pot and bring it to a low boil for 5 minutes,

then turn it down to simmer for 30 minutes.

This should ward off the common cold nicely!

 A lot of you know that there's generally two dishes on the menu around here:

one with meat, and one without.

Thom and Savannah are pescetarians, which is a level of vegetarian that will eat

some seafood, although a lot of what we make is straight vegetarian, and on occasion, vegan.

Having been vegetarian for several years myself, I have no problem creating some tasty alternatives,

and they like the fact that I usually serve a version of the regular meal tailored to them.

When I had leftover bottom round roast, I made up a Shepherd's Pie recipe for them too!

Shepherd's Pie

1 1/2 pounds of leftover roast, cubed, or 2 pounds of ground beef, browned

1 pound of fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 medium onions, diced

2 tbsp chopped garlic

4 carrots peeled and sliced into thin coins

 Olive oil

1 pound of frozen mixed veggies

2 envelopes of mushroom gravy mix (read the label for the vegetarians!)

3 sprigs of fresh sage

1 cup of dry red wine, such as cabernet

1 tbsp steak seasoning

4 large potatoes

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup of 2% milk

8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes and put them in a pot covered in water to boil.

 In a deep skillet, saute the onions, carrots and garlic with a wooden spatula

 until the onions are starting to brown.

Add the mushrooms and steak seasoning and saute for 5 minutes more.

 Pour in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan, then add the gravy mix and 2 cups of water.

Bring this back to a bubble, then add the veggies and one sprig of sage, torn, and let this all simmer.

If you had vegetables leftover in the last coupe of days...

Honey, now's the time! Throw them in.

Meanwhile, check the potatoes with a fork.

Once they are tender, mash them with their skins in the pot with the butter and milk.

Set that aside

Grab two nice deep casseroles out of the cabinet and slather them both 

with some non-stick cooking spray.

Ladle a little over half of the veggie glop into one of them.

Add the meat to the skillet, mix that thoroughly, and pour it into the other dish.

Cover both with mashed potatoes, sprinkle each one with half of the cheese,

garnish with the remaining two sage sprigs, and pop

those suckers in the oven for 45 minutes.

Have some cider.

 Once they're done, you have this wonderful, all-in-one-dish dinner,

with or without meat, and only two pans to wash.

Bonus: No one will recognize the leftovers now!

 Leftover chicken and completely fake lobster add up to a deep dish dinner

no one will pass up, and just about everything else you'll need

can be kept on hand.

Did I say chicken?

Bookmark this one for all that turkey next Friday!

Sunny Pot Pie

375 on the oven, People!

2 cans of reduced fat Cream of Mushroom soup

3 cans of mixed veggies

And extra can of peas. We like peas

1 cup of dry white wine, such as chardonnay

("Chef's" note: NEVER use cooking wine. This product is loaded with sodium, originally to discourage the servants from drinking it. Only cook with something you'd drink.

Or used to drink.

Stupid doctor...)

1 cup plus 4 tbs of water

3 onions, sliced nice and chunky

1 pound of fresh mushrooms, halved

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp garlic

1 tsp Adobo seasoning

Dash of soy sauce

4 cups of cubed cooked poultry

4 cups Lobster Surimi

1 package of puff pastry (such as Pepperidge Farms), thawed

 In a deep skillet, melt the butter. Add the garlic and onions and saute until beginning to brown.

Add the mushrooms, soy sauce and Adobo seasoning and saute for 5 minutes more.

 Pour in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the soup, one cup of water,

all the veggies, and simmer for ten minutes, blending the flavors,

them pour into two slathered greased deep casseroles.

Stir in the respective poultry and fake fish.

 Remove the puff pastry from the package onto a cutting board.

Fit a sheet to top each casserole.

Mix the egg and 4 tbsp of water with a fork, then brush it over the pastry.

 I like to sculpt a little indicator of the contents out of dough.

This is a bird.

 This is a fish.

No, it's NOT a bunny!

SHUT UP.

Anyway, pop them both in the oven.

 About 45 minutes later, you'll have this to set on the table.

 Don't talk with your mouth full.

 No time to make bread?

Stop lying to me.

Amaze and astound your family by throwing this hearty loaf together in minutes.

The best part?

It cooks at the same temperature as the two previous dishes!

 Beer Bread

3 cups flour 

3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
1 teaspoon salt (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1 (12 ounce) can beer
1/2 cup melted butter

The very complicated directions:

Mix dry ingredients and beer.
Pour into a greased loaf pan.
Pour melted butter over mixture.
Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

Uh huh. 

 Go ahead.

End it all.

With dessert.

This fabulous little confection bakes at 375 too.

Am I your best friend or what?

Sunny's Plum Pudding

10 black plums

1 package of pie crust

1 stick of butter

2 cups of brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tbsp cinnamon

 Halve and pit the plums.

Unroll the pie crust and line the bottom of a greased casserole.

Place the plums, cut side up, on the crust, squishing them in like so.

 Top with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and the butter, cut into small pieces.

 Put the lid on, spritz with some butter flavored cooking spray,

slit the top pie crust, and sprinkle that bad boy with some sugar, Sugar.

 Pop it in the oven with everything else.

This takes an hour, so time it to cool for 15 minutes before dishing it up.

A little whipped cream or ice cream is the perfect insult to injury here,

but trust me, it's not at all necessary.

There you go!

Some delicious fare to keep you comforted and cozy in this chilly weather!

Leftovers are gone, and everything went in the oven together.

Pardon?

It is TOO cold! It's only like, maybe 65 degrees here!

I've even got socks on.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Animal Planet shows,

already in progress.