Venison Shepherd's Pie in a pinch...

Do you see the trend here?  Are you catching on?  Venison!  We have a freezer full of it, and baby I'm cooking it!  But here was my dilemma the other night.  A package of straight ground venison was defrosting.  Original plan had to be aborted due to lack of fresh ingredients at the store.  I took stock of what I had, what I didn't have and BAM!

Venison Shepherd's Pie in a pinch was born.  This came out really good, was semi-quick to make and since it is just the 2 of us, provided a good amount of leftovers.  I'm not a huge fan of shepherd's pie.  Some of you may not even know what it is.  I sure didn't.  Not until I went to college in VT anyhow.  Where at the beautiful Huden Dining Hall they served it up.  At the time I was a vegetarian and sadly missed out on it, but a few years later a friend made it with venison and I enjoyed it.  What's not to like?  Meat, potatoes and veggies all in one dish!  Oh and ketchup!  And you know, I love my ketchup.

Venison Shepherd's Pie in a Pinch...

1 pound ground Venison (we do not get ours mixed with anything)
1 onion
1 tablespoon flour
2-3 tablespoons ketchup
Frozen Peas, Carrots and Corn
1/2 cup water
1 tsp thyme

6 cups of boxed mashed potatoes prepared.  I add black pepper and parsley to mine.

Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or whatever blend you have.  We used Fiesta for this.)

Brown venison and onions.  Add flour and ketchup, mix and let thicken up a little.  Add thyme.  Then add water and veggies and cook until heated through.  In a prepared (sprayed with Pam) dish, place in meat/veggie mixture and top with prepare boxed mashed potatoes (I prefer homemade, but we didn't have any potatoes).  Then sprinkle with cheese.  Place dish in a preheated over to 425 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and golden on top.

Served with homemade biscuits. 

Healthier Shrimp Fried Rice

This was really born out of a need to find a meal that I could eat on Meatless Friday's, that had a decent amount of protein, was still "light" and tasty. There was no clear plan when I set out to make this dish, but it turned out great and I didn't really get sick of eating for the 2-3 days that I did. And it was perfect for a lunch or light dinner.


Ingredients:

Steamed Brown Rice
Cooked & Peeled Shrimp
Broccoli (chopped)
Carrots (diced)
Orange Bell Pepper (diced)
Egg Whites
Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Steam the rice, sauteed the shrimp (in a pan with some PAM), whipped up some egg white scrambles, cut the shrimp up, and then mixed everything together.

Between the Shrimp and the Egg Whites there is a good dose of protein. This mean worked really well for me pre-workout!

Aside from trying to make "lighter" more protein filled meals, I'm looking to make things that will stretch to more than 1 meal, even if only a lunch. While I'm trying to avoid carbs (the rice) after 5pm, I try to gauge what I've eaten for the day crossed with what my workout for the night will be and make my decision based on that.

Veggie Cottage Cheese

The last thing I ever thought I would eat is cottage cheese. I can’t say I had ever had it, but I knew I didn’t want it. Really is there anything remotely appetizing about it? The name? No. The look? No. However, in an effort to eat healthier I was advised to try it, by several people. So I did. And you know what? It wasn’t half bad. My first foray into the world of cottage cheese, was a prepackaged 100 calorie pack of cottage cheese with an apple cinnamon topping to which I added some almonds. I survived!

As word got out about my cottage cheese adventure, I got a lot of suggestions on how to eat it and what to mix it with. One in particular caught my attention, and so I tried a little variation on it.

Veggie Cottage Cheese

1 cup Cottage Cheese
1 carrot – diced
1 orange bell pepper – diced
1 scallion stalk chopped
Black pepper

Mix everything together.

It’s THAT easy and its beyond tasty! I had some on a slice of whole grain toast. Hello? I just met the healthy version of veggie cream cheese. WOOHOOO!!!!

A BIG thank you to my favorite Shorty as she was the one that shared the original recipe idea with me. I can’t say I’ve jumped feet first into the world of cottage cheese, but so far so good. I guess 2011 will be the year of things I didn’t ever think I would do.

2011 – Things I never thought I would do
-Run
-Eat Cottage Cheese