Last Sunday evening I made a shepherd’s pie with leftover potatoes and brisket. Funny, when our son was home, we never would have had leftover potatoes or brisket!

Shepherd’s Pie
2 lbs. ground beef
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
8 ozs. mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. flour
2 c. chicken stock
1 c. frozen peas
1/2 c. parsley, minced
3-4 c. mashed potatoes

Brown the ground beef and strain the grease. Remove from pan and sauté onions, carrots and mushrooms in olive oil. Add garlic, butter, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes more. Then stir in flour. Once combined, add chicken stock until a gravy forms. Then add peas and cook until the peas are heated.

Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish. Mix mashed potatoes and parsley together. I added a cup of Monterrey Jack cheese to make the topping extra yummy. Spread the potato mixture over the top. Cook covered in a 375-degree oven for 20 minutes. Then uncover and cook for 10 more minutes. Let set for about 10 minutes before serving.

Instead of browning ground meat, I cubed leftover smoked brisket. It gave the dish a nice flavor and I love incorporating leftovers.

I often write that I’m not a big fan of making desserts. I love savory more than sweet. However, Lea, one of the Leader’s employees, made a pound cake from a recipe handed down by her mother. I loved the texture of the sugar that carmelized forming an outer crust. The cake was light and not overly sweet.

I made the cake for my family at Christmas and again for my mother-in-law’s birthday. It was a hit. Lea has allowed me to share it with readers.

Pound Cake
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 lb. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
3 c. sugar
5 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Grease and flour a tube or bundt pan. Sift dry ingredients together and then set aside.
Cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Then add dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the milk in halves. Then add the vanilla.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle. Then flip over and onto a serving platter. Let cool completely before cutting.

I served with fresh berries and whipped topping. Everyone wanted to take cake home. That recipe is a keeper!

David and I took advantage of last weekend’s beautiful weather to bury a water line. It seems there is always something like that needing to be finished. David made an attachment for the tractor that breaks up the dirt down to about two feet deep. Shoveling out the trench is still required, but that sure beats digging it by hand.

In between shoveling, laying pvc pipe and waiting for glue to set, I was able to work on a nice crockpot dinner.

I’m clearing out a freezer in anticipation for a side of beef and found a package of short ribs. So, I started Saturday night by marinating it.

Beef Marinade
1/4 c. Balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. Soy sauce
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix the marinade together and add the meat in a re-sealable plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight.

On Sunday morning I was ready for the next steps. Remove the short ribs and reserve the marinade. Pat the ribs dry and sear all sides in a hot skillet until golden brown. Be sure to leave garlic with the marinade since it will be bitter if it burns.

Place seared short ribs in a crockpot. Use the reserved marinade to deglaze the skillet and pour the heated marinade over the short ribs. Cover and cook on lowest setting for 3 hours.

Back to burying pipe, I noticed that any time we dig in the dirt we have helpers. The dog has to sniff up the new scents and knocks dirt back in the trenches. The cats, while sunning themselves, stretch out in the warm sand and always seem to choose the spot where I need to work. Of course, the chickens scratch, pick and do “what they do” everywhere.

Despite all the help, I took a break about noon and chopped vegetables to add to the crockpot.

Beef Ragu
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
10-12 baby belle mushrooms, quartered
2 rosemary stems
2 tsp. salt
1 c. dry red wine

After preparing the vegetables, remove the short ribs. Then layer the vegetables on the bottom and place the rosemary stems on top. Sprinkled in salt and return the short ribs. Then pour red wine over all. Cover and cook on the lowest setting for 4 more hours.

When we came in that evening hot, wind-blown and dusty, the house smelled wonderful. After cleaning up, I skimmed the fat off the top of the ragu and used it to make a buttermilk gravy.

Buttermilk Gravy
1/2 c. fat
1/2 c. flour
2 c. beef broth or juice from the crockpot
Buttermilk
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Make a roux with the fat and flour. Cook a couple of minutes until the flour turns light brown. Add the broth and whisk until it thickens. Add buttermilk and continue to whisk until it makes a nice gravy. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

The beef ragu and gravy are wonderful served over egg noodles, but I made smashed potatoes instead. It was pretty good on that too. I served it with a side of steamed broccoli to round out the meal.