My favorite day of the month

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the month... SHARE order pick up day!!
That is the day that SHARE participants go to their designated sites and pick up the awesome food we ordered earlier in the month...
This time I got a variety package with all kinds of fabulous frozen meats, plus some a la carte turkey tenderloin... they have the best turkey tenderloins, and you get two huge cuts of turkey for 3.75!!
And SHARE is also a great way to help others... portions of your sale go towards feeding struggling families in your area... The whole program is amazing in the simplicity of the idea, and in how very well it works!

SHARE day also means that I update my inventory lists for my freezer and my pantry, and add to my list of possible dinners that I use to make my menus each week.. (So I get to really wallow in my freakish love of food organization and menu planning - it is like a party for me...)

YEA!!!
If you live in one of these states, you should check out the SHARE program there:
Colorado
South Dakota
Wyoming
Nebraska
Texas
Kansas
Oaklahoma
Missouri
Arizona
Utah

Just what I was waiting for..

One last cold weather hurrah... perfect weather for the Sheppard's pie I have been waiting to make.

I LOVE the Share program for getting great deals on quality groceries, but since the packages are decided for you, it means I occasionally get a food that H is just not going to eat...
Or at least not "as is".

Enter the frozen meatloaf... Neither one of us is a huge fan of the idea of a loaf of meat, but it came with a great package otherwise, so there it sits in my freezer.

But well-seasoned ground beef will be perfect in a sheppard's pie, imo.

Tonight is the night, it is all cold and drizzly outside... perfect for toasty comfort food...

We like thick filling, so I always start with a base of beef stock, a generous pour of whatever red wine is sitting around (nothing sweet in our house!) with chopped up veggies (fresh, frozen, canned - whatever I have just goes in the pot - longer if fresh, or at the very end if canned) a little garlic, some marjoram, generous amount of fresh pepper and a bay leaf for that earthy, hearty quality - I let it all kind of come together for a bit over lower heat, then kick up the heat and thicken with good old corn starch (it is easy and idiot-proof.. perfect for busy nights)... browned ground beef goes in and it all gets spread in a casserole below a layer of mashed potatoes..
I always sprinkle paprika over the potatoes before I bake it - I know it doesn't do anything to the flavor, but I am a sucker for tradition! I bake mine until the potatoes are stiff and like to broil for a couple of minutes to turn the top brown...

(If I get too lazy it might go from sheppard's pie to good old Girl Scout campfire stew.. same execution as sheppard's pie filling, but I get to skip making the potatoes - maybe cut one up and toss it in a the begining to cook through)


Uber- quick substitution for the filling - use a can of veggie beef soup and mix the ground beef into that before spreading into a casserole and topping with potatoes...


Buh-bye tricky-meal meatloaf...

Cubano review..

Yum...
I ended up using our usual lower calorie bread to make the sammies last night (couldn't justify using crusty rolls, as is traditional... we are really trying not to eat things like that, except in special circumstances)

I spread a thin layer of mustard on both slices of bread, and then layered swiss cheese, pickle slices, a generous pile of the slowcooked pork, and some thinly sliced ham between the bread...

Then I popped the sandwiches on everyone's favorite college kitchen throwback, the George Forman grill, and smushed them down nice and hard to cook for 8 minutes... (Seriously, the George Forman is the best panini maker... I keep it just for that!)

Served along side some mixed sweet potato and good old russet french fries, I believe that the word Cubano = perfection.
The seasoning on the pork was great... I could kick the heat up more with some ground cayenne in the slowcooker because we are fans of hot food - but it was really flavorful and soooo tender...

Next time (and there will be MANY for this sammie, I am sure) I make this, I think I might even go a bit heavier on the pickles (having put a very thin layer) and it would be fun to cook on the grill using my cast iron skillet as a weight to smash the sandwiches down..

It will be on a summer dinner party menu at our house this year, no doubt... (and for that we will totally splurge on the traditional calorie-laden crusty bread) Super-fun and yummy with Mojitos, plantain chips, and tropical fruit... I can see it now.. I will just put out big heaping trays of sammies and all the other things for people to grab as they sip... Light up some cigars, and it is the perfect Cuban theme night on the patio...

Ahhh, but I am getting ahead of myself... summer is still just a glimmer of sunny hope to come, and there are lots of fun things to cook before then...

(See how twisted I am - I can imagine an entire party just because of a sandwich... )

Copa, Copa Cu-ban-o....

The pork is in the slowcooker, in stock seasoned with garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of tumeric... smelled devine already this morning as I was leaving...

Might have to put a portion aside for H's dinner later in the week and have the sammies tonight - I don't know if I can wait!!

The weather is so mild, it is perfect for Cuban inspired food eaten on the patio.. maybe washed down with a good Spanish red wine to fight off any hint of chill sunset might bring, and keep us toasty from the inside.... we have a Finca Luzon (don't remember the exact name) that is supposed to have all of these deep flavors... yummy with the spicy pork I bet...

Yep.. it has to be tonight... I can't wait for it...

What am I most excited to make this week?

I can not wait to make Cubanos later this week!! H is having pork tenderloin on Tuesday when I have Salmon - but the rest of that pork loin is devoted to Thursday night Cubanos with sweet potato french fries!!
I am so excited to experiment with this I can hardly wait!! I am still undecided about what seasonings I will add to the pork, but it is going in the slowcooker in the morning, so when I come off the elevator on Thursday night, I will think "who is cooking something so yummy smelling? Oh wait - it is me!!)
H has agreed to let me make it with all the traditional ingredients without turning up his nose at anything...
I love these sammies at Cuba-Cuba in the Golden Triangle (Denver)... I am foaming at the mouth to make my own!!

Yummy details to follow...

Secrets to making anything yummy: #1

Grill it! I was blessed last year when we discovered the CharBroil Electric Patio Caddie, after months of research trying to find a grill we could actually have on the patio in our highrise.. Fire codes don't allow any Charcoal, and only a propane canister, not a tank...
I didn't want some outdoor version of the George Forman I already had in my kitchen...

Enter the Patio Caddie... it is an open grill with a heating element below where the Charcoal would normally be..

It is awesome! (Although the 1st version of the heating element was prone to problems, as I found out when it went kaput on me at the end of last summer). They have an updated element now, and I am cooking again!

Everything tastes better on the grill. Simple chicken that The H gets so easily bored with is given new life when grilled - he loves it!

And tonight, a whole new level: my favorite meal for when I am alone for the evening, a panini with goat cheese and tomatoes... tonight I cooked it on the grill and culinary perfection was achieved...

Soooooo gooooood..... Just a simple sandwich of plain goat cheese, tomato with some basil, and a spray of olive oil cooking spray, but Oh. My. God. Paired with my icy Pinot Gris - It was simplicity perfected....

Kiss kiss, Bang bang(ers)

In true "Keri form" I am just winging it on my first try making bangers and mash -and giving it the twist I think it deserves...

I am using an apple chicken sausage (yummers!) and grilling first to get some "pop" in the casing.. then slashing the casing on a diagonal in several spots and holding the sasusages in a mix of guiness, red wine, and beef stock..

The magical mashers will just be my old faithful very whipped buttermilk mashed potatoes, and I am simmering onion in Guiness and beef stock to thicken and use for gravy... (then the yummy onions can be enjoyed too)

As promised...

Here is the menu blog... I am freaky passionate about menu planning, organized and affordable grocery shopping, and cooking/meal preperation in general..
I shop at CostCo for the majority of my meats, buying many in large sizes and cutting them down to individual portions for freezing - I go once every 2 months. For fresh produce and other items, I just by in season and on sale... I also use the SHARE program, which allows me to get great prices on pre-selected packages of groceries that I pick up once a month...
I am sure I will get better at blogging about it - for now it is a way to share with friends and feed my obsession for menu planning.


Upcoming dinners include:

-"Bangers and Mash" (Apple chicken sausage with whipped potatoes and Guiness gravy)
-Broccoli Beef and Quinoa
-George Forman Panini sammies with ginger grilled chicken and laughing cow cheese wedge spread
-Balsamic Glazed steak for Todd/ salmon for me with a big salad
-Sheppards Pie (filling made from pre-made meatloaf that was in my SHARE package last month)
-Garlic honey pork tenderloin in the slowcooker with frozen veggie mix...