Cottage pie for dummies

I live for food and travel and whenever it's my turn to prepare dinner I always make sure that I cook something i like or I've been craving and sometimes I do take special requests from my niece :)
I only learnt how to cook a few years ago, reasons for not doing so earlier is because I learnt at a boarding school and food was well provided. I love cooking and I love challenging myself and sometimes my results are not so pretty but I always try to make it work and practice makes perfect, I'm almost hanging on the perfect side  #Yassssss





Cottage pie for DUMMIES it tastes good looks good and simple to make. had it with a coleslaw salad with green apple it added some sweetness to the meal, add garlic bread or any bread.
I usually boil my mince first to kill the beefy smell before browning it.
Let's create

MASH
potatoes 7
milk 1/4 cup
Cheese 1/2 cup
bread crumbs 1/3 cup

• boil potatoes is salted water until soft
•  drain and place in a bowl, 
• add butter and milk then  mash,
•  add breadcrumbs and cheese mix 

MINCE
1 chopped onion
1 chopped shallot
mushroom
1/2 red &green pepper
diced tomatoes
frozen veges (optional)
salt & pepper
1 cup beef stock
1tsp nutmeg, turmeric, basil, parsley paprika

• boil or brown mince move in to the side, add olive oil. onion spread evenly on the pan until cooked,
•  add mushroom, shallots, red and green pepper, frozen veges stir,
•  add tomatoes and all the spices mix,
•  add beef stock cover and simmer for 10 min.

Preheat oven conventional 220 degrees C

Grease casserole dish, sprinkle bread crumbs and rosemary leaves on the sides as well.














Add the mash around the edges using a fork.
add the mince mixture in the middle and sprinkle breadcrumbs over the mince.













Add the mash over the mince and spread gently and evenly, ensure there are no gaps.
Use a fork for the edges to seal the mince under.

I added a bit of cheese and breadcrumbs to achieve a pretty gold color.

20-25 min or  until golden



*Make sure you taste as you go to balance the flavors.










VIOLA :)

Good thing with cooking is that you can create absolutely anything. Experiment with flavors and spices, if you make a mistake, next time you will know what you did wrong....



Serves: 4-6 people
Skill: Easy
Time: 40 min.

Chicken macaroni cheese using shell pasta with tomato mint salad

Yes I still have my xmas tree  up, i'm sooo 2014! I never really concluded my year on this blog and i'm still behind. Moving on, here is a nice tasty recipe you can pretty much use everything in the fridge and only make 2 pots and 1 casserole dish dirty #winning.

You can use any preferable pasta, I was out of macaroni and I had to pick between pasta screws and pasta shells, Pasta shells it was I still haven't discovered a way to prevent them from sticking. If ya'll have any tips please inform me, thanks in advance.

  Ingredients 

1. 250g Medium pasta shells 
2. Chicken breast or boneless thighs chopped
3. 1 cup Mushroom, 1 clove garlic
4. Half red & green Capsicum, 1 onion, 
5. 1 tsp Spices dry ( pepper, basil, parsley, paprika)
6. 1 tsp olive oil
7. 40g butter
8. 3tbsp plain flour
9. 2 cups Milk
10. half cup Cheese of your choice (cheddar)
11. Salt

Salad

1. 1 large Carrot
2. 5 leaves Mint
3. 1/2 large Red onion 
4. 2 tbs Balsamic vinegar
5. 1 Tomato

Instructions 

• Prepare pasta according to packet
• Stir fry chicken in olive oil, salt and season with spices, set aside in a plate once browned
• Stir fry mushroom, capsicums, onions, garlic and set aside in the same plate as the chicken, reduce to medium heat
• preheat oven 175 degree C or 350 degrees F
• White sauce--> same pan, melt the butter add the flour cook for 3 min until mixture is bubbly, add a pinch of salt  
• add milk slowly and whisking or stirring to prevent lumps, until its smooth then add the rest of the milk, continue stirring to avoid sticking and burning
• When mixture starts to thicken add the pasta and stir fried food turn the stove off and add the cheese, continue stirring until cheese has melted then spread mixture evenly on to casserole dish
• slice tomatoes lay on the pasta and add cheese over the tomatoes then put casserole in oven
• bake for 35 min in a preheated oven

Salad

• Slice onions
• grate carrot
• chop tomato
• Clap the mint (just like you clap your hands) before breaking it this infuses the mint smell and flavor
• Mix in a bowl and balsamic vinegar 
• All ready to serve

Serves 4-6 Total time: 60min Level: Easy