Shepherd's Pie #Recipe by @Libby Klein

Libby Klein It seems our weather goes from unseasonably warm to blizzard overnight these days. It's hard to know how to plan in advance for what you'll feel like eating. On a cold night, I want something cozy like a casserole. I made this Shepherd's Pie a few weeks ago and froze it right in the casserole dish - double wrapped in plastic wrap and foil - ready to bake at a moment's notice. And since as I type this I'm dealing with the flu, Covid, and a side of self-pity - or as Michel from Gilmore Girls would say, ennui - today was the day.

I'm sure with all the Irish cooks in the kitchen there are more authentic recipes for Shepherd's Pie on the blog, but I used leftover mashed potatoes and gravy with a bunch of leftover carrots from a roast I'd made. You could even use store bought mashed potatoes to keep things very easy. Then I added a jar of store bought gravy so mine is super easy sorry not sorry. I do have a secret ingredient that really ups the umami in this dish. Gnom Gnom Paleo Magic Mushroom Powder. If you're a child of the 70s you may be having funny ideas right about now. Calm yourself. You can bake this right from the freezer like you would one of those Stouffer's Family size meals. This makes six servings, but for my husband who loves Shepherd's Pie, it made three. Let me know in the comments how many it would serve at your house.

Shepherd's Pie

6 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

2 cups cooked or frozen carrots

1 Tablespoon Magic Mushroom Powder

3 cups beef gravy (or beef mushroom gravy)

2 cans creamed corn

4 cups mashed potatoes  

Salt and Pepper

    Directions:

Brown and drain your ground beef. Add your carrots, the mushroom powder (which is technically optional), and the gravy.

 

Place the meat and veg in a 9X12 casserole dish (although mine is 8X11) and top with the creamed corn.

Then Top with the Mashed Potatoes.

I like to sprinkle salt and pepper over the potatoes, then drag a fork through them to create this rough landscape. It makes crispy bits of potato as the jagged edges brown.

Bake right away at 350° for 40 minutes, or freeze it for later. You can either thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and bake it at 350° for 50-60 minutes, or you can Bake it frozen at 350° for 80-90 minutes or until it's hot in the center. 

 

Layla Virtue, a blue-haired, 30-something recovering alcoholic and former cop is trying to reinvent herself as a musician—between AA meetings, dodging eccentric neighbors at her trailer park, and reconnecting with her mysterious dad—in this ​unforgettable new mystery brimming with hilarity and heart.

Layla is taking her new life one day at a time from the Lake Pinecrest Trailer Park she now calls home. Being alone is how she likes it. Simple. Uncomplicated. Though try telling that to the group of local ladies who are in relentless pursuit of Layla as their new BFF, determined to make her join them for coffee and donuts.

After her first career ended in a literal explosion, Layla’s trying to eke out a living as a rock musician. It’s not easy competing against garage bands who work for tacos and create their music on a computer, while all she has is an electric guitar and leather-ish pants. But Layla isn’t in a position to turn down any gig. Which is why she’s at an 8-year-old’s birthday party, watching as Chuckles the Clown takes a bow under the balloon animals. No one expects it will be his last . . .

Who would want to kill a clown—and why? Layla and her unshakable posse are suddenly embroiled in the seedy underbelly of the upper-class world of second wives and trust fund kids, determined to uncover what magnetic hold a pudgy, balding clown had over women who seem to have everything they could ever want. Then again, Layla knows full well that people are rarely quite what they seem—herself included . . .

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her 
classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/

Winter Apple Salad #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  I admit, Mr. Right and I have never been big fruit eaters. I haven’t consciously set out to change that this winter, but with last month’s Fennel, Celery, and Pear Salad and and now this winter salad, you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

It’s a change that might just stick. 

The apples and celery put the crisp in this salad, perfect for winter, while the pecans add crunch, the grapes a touch of sweetness, and the cranberries just the right amount of pucker. It’s nice made ahead of time, at least 30 minutes or longer, to let the flavors blend. 

The original recipe called for mayo or Greek yogurt; I increased the amount slightly and used a combo of each, although I used plain, low-fat yogurt. We’re not enamored of the Greek varieties available here – although we love them IN Greece! – but if you have one you enjoy, give it a try. Fruit salads have a reputation for flexibility for a reason! 

This one is great any time of day, including breakfast!

I always start with half the lemon juice called for in a recipe because it’s so easily overdone, and you can always add more. A tablespoon was just right for us, although you may want a little more or less depending on the sweetness and tartness of your ingredients. Start small and taste until you’re happy!

Because food should always make us happy, right?

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Winter Apple Salad 

½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

3 Honeycrisp apples, cored and chopped (no need to peel)

1 cup celery, thinly sliced (2-3 stalks)

1 cup red or green grapes, halved

½ cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons mayonnaise 

3 tablespoons plain yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Spread the nuts on a pie plate or other oven-safe dish and toast 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Remember that nuts and seeds continue to cook as they cool.

Prepare the fruit. In a large bowl, combine the apples, celery, grapes, and cranberries. Chop the pecans and add.

In a small bowl, make the dressing. Combine the mayo, yogurt, and honey. Add half the lemon juice. Whisk or stir until smooth and taste; add more lemon juice if necessary. 

(Oops! Forgot to take the picture before I poured the dressing over the salad!)

Dress salad and mix well. Taste and adjust the lemon juice, adding salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with additional cranberries and pecans if you’d like. 

Makes about 6 cups. 

How do you like your fruit in winter -- easier in some climes than others!

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

TO ERR IS CUMIN:A Spice Shop Mystery (Seventh St. Books, out now in paper, ebook, and audio)

From the cover: One person’s treasure is another’s trash. . .

Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, wants nothing more than to live a quiet life for a change, running her shop and working with customers eager to spice up their cooking. But when she finds an envelope stuffed with cash in a ratty old wingback left on the curb, she sets out to track down the owner.

Pepper soon concludes that the chair and its stash may belong to young Talia Cook, new in town and nowhere to be seen. Boz Bosworth, an unemployed chef Pepper’s tangled with in the past, shows up looking for the young woman, but Pepper refuses to help him search. When Boz is found floating in the Ship Canal, only a few blocks from Talia’s apartment, free furniture no longer seems like such a bargain.

On the hunt for Talia, Pepper discovers a web of connections threatening to ensnare her best customer. The more she probes, the harder it gets to tell who’s part of an unsavory scheme of corruption—and who might be the next victim.

Between her quest for an elusive herb, helping her parents remodel their new house, and setting up the Spice Shop’s first cooking class, Pepper’s got a full plate. Dogged by a sense of obligation to find the rightful owner of the hidden treasure, she keeps on showing up and asking questions.

One mistake, and she could find herself cashing out. . .

Available at Amazon  * Barnes & Noble  * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * And your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. 

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

Around the Kitchen Table: LOVE IS IN THE AIR...FOR FOOD + 3-BOOK #GIVEAWAY

 

KORINA MOSS: With Valentine's Day approaching, it's natural to think of gifts or flowers or romantic getaways. But the first thing that comes to my mind, of course, is food. For many of us, love and food are intertwined. Making a dish for someone is a personal way to to show our friends and loved ones we care about them. We don't need a special occasion like Valentine's Day, but it's a good excuse. As my Cheese Shop Mystery series protagonist Willa Bauer says, "Cheese is my love language." 

Throwback photo: My son making Valentine's Day heart cookies for his teachers and classmates.

So my question to discuss Around The Kitchen Table is: What's a special dish or dessert that you've made for (or received from) someone special that stands out in your memory? 

🧁 💘 🍪

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: When I think of Valentine's Day treats, the first image that pops into mind, every time, is the red heart-shaped box of Russell Stover's Chocolates that my mother always put out for my brother and me on our breakfast plates on Valentine's Day. After we ate, we were allowed one piece of chocolate before rushing off to school, often with sugar cookies or cupcakes to share. Knowing that she'd thought of us, knowing that the box was waiting when we got home, was pure delight. She was not an expressive woman, but that simple gesture said a lot. 

But I have to tell you this story. When Guilty as Cinnamon, my second Spice Shop mystery came out, an elderly reader very much wanted to try the Orange Cinnamon Creme Brulee from the book, but was daunted by the idea of using a torch to crystallize the sugar on top. So she asked the woman who runs the café in her small Montana town to make it for her. The woman liked it so much that she added it to her dessert selection for her annual Valentine’s Day dinner that year.

Now that’s the way to an author’s heart.

💕💕💕

MADDIE DAY: I love that story, Leslie! My first post here at the Kitchen five years ago was for Mocha Kahlua Valentine's Cookies. 

And last year in February I presented Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies - yum! The tall man with the sweet tooth who I live with was the happy beneficiary of both. This year I'm eyeing up a flourless chocolate cake recipe to make for him. Stay tuned for that.

💘💗💖

LIBBY KLEIN: You know I love my holiday baking! And it wouldn't be Valentine's Day in my house without these Linzer Heart Cookies. I love the marriage of raspberry and vanilla. And those gorgeous little windows of red peeking through. Plus I get to pull out my heart shaped cookie cutters. Another favorite of mine is Pierre Hermes Raspberry Rose macarons - a hot pink shell with rose infused white chocolate ganache and a raspberry compote. I'd show you a photo, but we ate them before I could get my camera ready. Instead, here are the gorgeous Linzer cookies.

💞💗💘

LUCY BURDETTE: In my household, if I'm baking something for my hub for V-day, it pretty much has to be chocolate! Here's my very favorite, popular with everyone, Valentine's edition chocolate cake. But do come back on Thursday because I made a chocolate cake with pomegranate glaze that is also to die for!

💘💗💖

MAYA CORRIGAN: Chocolate fondue springs to mind when I think about Valentine’s Day. When I was growing up, I remember stores featuring fondue-for-two kits in the weeks leading up to the holiday. The kits included a small heat-proof bowl, which sat atop a stand that held a tea candle. Just add chocolate for a romantic tête-à-tête with your sweetie. Check out a recipe for the first chocolate fondue and the story of its origin.

💐💘💐

LESLIE KARST: Robin and I celebrate February 12th, rather than the 14th, each year, as that is our half-anniversary (and if we want to go out to dinner, restaurants are far less crowded!).

But if I’m cooking at home for our romantic dinner, I’ll often turn to a quickly seared steak or pork chop with an à la minute sauce (i.e., one quickly made by deglazing the pan with yummy ingredients such as wine, butter, and/or a jam of some sort). They go great with roast or baked potatoes (on which you can drizzle more of that delicious sauce) and a simple green salad or veg. Oh, and don’t forget a luscious red wine to go with the meal! (And now as I write this, I’m thinking this year I’ll return to one of my favorites, Seared Pork with Apricot Brandy Glaze. Is it February yet?)

 

🍓 💘 🍓

PEG COCHRAN: Speaking of big red hearts filled with candy...my husband always buys me one of those for Valentine's Day.  But one year he really surprised me.  I opened the heart and inside was a Kindle!  He'd removed enough of the pieces of candy to fit it into the box.  (And he ate those pieces!)   I'd been eyeing Kindles since my daughter liked hers so much and he remembered!  

 

I also remember the year we were quarantined due to Covid and couldn't go out for Valentine's Day.  We usually went out to lunch to avoid the dinner crowds.  Since we couldn't go anywhere, we set up a table in front of the fireplace for a romantic dinner à deux.  I don't remember what we ate but it was fun and memorable. If I was going to make a Valentine's Day dessert, this strawberry tart would be lovely.

 

💕 🍒 💕

MOLLY MACRAE: As much as I’m a fan of chocolate (we’re talking maniac-level fandom), when I think of making a special Valentine’s Day treat my mind turns to cherry pie. I’ve made heart-shaped cookies, and a heart-shaped cake, and I’ve painted tiny red icing hearts on little sugar cookie people, but there’s something about a pie made with beautiful red sour cherries.  Here’s one I made a few years ago. I haven’t made one for Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen (yet), but here’s a recipe from Leslie Budewitz as found in Butter Off Dead. Mmm, cherry pie. Happy St. Valentine’s Day!

💕 🍒 💕

☕ CLEO COYLE: If you or your honey is on a low-sugar, low-carb, or keto diet, here’s an incredibly easy Valentine’s dessert that won’t rock the boat. This COZY WINTER CUSTARD WITH VANILLA AND NUTMEG is a creamy, delicious low-carb, high-protein treat. It’s a lovely and satisfying comfort food that I've been eating ever since my mother made it for me as a child. I've baked it countless times since, and recently shared my easy recipe here in the Kitchen with tips I've learned to help make sure your custard turns out beautifully with a smooth top and silky, creamy texture. Whether or not you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, I hope it brings you cozy comfort this February. 

Click here or on the photo above
for Ceo's recipe (with a free PDF).

☕ 💘 ☕

GIVEAWAY!

Comment on our post to win these three (3) great mysteries! Include your email address so we may contact the winner.

✨ Giveaway Prize Package ✨

FONDUE OR DIE by Korina Moss

A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS
by Lucy Burdette

DEADLY CRUSH by Maddie Day

📚

Comments open through 

Wednesday, February 5

Pepper Steak #Recipe Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

 

 

I made a London Broil for dinner one night and we had enough steak left over for another meal.  What to do?  I peered into the vegetable drawer and saw I had a red pepper that also needed to be used asap.  Steak + pepper = pepper steak!  I had to adapt the recipe a bit--my steak wasn't flank steak and I didn't have a green pepper but luckily I had everything else.  It turned out to be delicious and I was pleased I was able to turn some leftovers into something new and something so good!

 

1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain

1 green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. finely chopped peeled ginger

Cooked white rice, for serving

 

Whisk soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and cornstarch until combined.

 

Season steak with salt and pepper to taste.   

 

 Heat 1 TBL oil over high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add steak. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Transfer steak to a plate.

 

Heat remaining 1 TBL oil. Cook bell peppers and onion until softened. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant. 

Return beef to skillet and add sauce. Cook, stirring, until sauce is glossy.

Serve over rice if desired.

 

Find me at:

Website

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Instagram: PegCochran

Cheesy, Spicy Black Bean Bake #recipe from Molly MacRae

Get ready to fall in love—this recipe is easy, fast, adaptable, delicious, and full of protein. You can tone down the spiciness by leaving out the jalapeño and chipotles, or zip it up by adding more or hotter peppers or as many dashes of hot sauce as you can take. Use your favorite melting cheese or a combination of cheeses. 

Serve it with your choice of rice, tortillas, tortilla chips, olives, and/or pickled jalapeño slices. Have a green salad on the side for a complete meal that is guaranteed to warm you through and through.

Cheesy, Spicy Black Bean Bake

Adapted from Ali Slagle in The New York Times

Yield: 4 Servings (next time I’ll make either half again as much or double the recipe)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/2 jalapeño, chopped

5-6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 tablespoons chipotles in adobo sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup boiling water

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 1/2 cups grated cheese (Manchego, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack – your choice)

Directions

Heat oven to 475 degrees F.

In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Fry the onion until turning golden around the edges. Add jalapeno and garlic and fry until the garlic is lightly golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, chipotles in adobo sauce, paprika, red pepper flakes, and cumin (be careful of splattering), and fry for 30 seconds, reducing heat as needed to prevent the garlic from burning.

Add the beans, water, and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Bake until the cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes. If the top isn’t as brown as you’d like, put the skillet under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes.

Serve immediately.

 

 Coming in June 2025!

There’ll be Shell to Pay

Haunted Shell Shop book 2

 

When she’s not selling seashells by the North Carolina seashore from her shell shop, Maureen Nash is a crime-solving sleuth with a ghost pirate for a supernatural sidekick . . .

Maureen is still getting used to life on Ocracoke Island, learning how to play the “shell game” of her business—and ghost whispering with the spirit of Emrys Lloyd, the eighteenth-century Welsh pirate who haunts her shop, The Moon Shell. The spectral buccaneer has unburied a treasure hidden in the shop’s attic that turns out to be antique shell art stolen from Maureen’s late husband’s family years ago.

Victor “Shelly” Sullivan and his wife Lenrose visit the shop and specifically inquire about these rare items. Not only is it suspicious that this shell collector should arrive around the time Maureen found the art, but Emrys insists that Sullivan’s wife is an imposter because Lenrose is dead. A woman’s corpse the police have been unable to identify was discovered by the Fig Ladies, a group who formed an online fig appreciation society. They’re meeting on Ocracoke for the first time in person and count Lenrose among their number, so the woman can’t possibly be dead.

But Lenrose’s behavior doesn’t quite match the person the Fig Ladies interacted with online. Now, Maureen and Emrys—with assistance from the Fig Ladies—must prove the real Lenrose is dead and unmask her mysterious pretender before a desperate murderer strikes again . . .

 

 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.