FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Shepherd’s Pie

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Shepherd's Pie 2

Resisting the most adorable casserole dish in the world, I could not.  I scooped it up without concern that I rarely make casseroles.  I’d figure something out, right? Pinterest would certainly guide me in the right direction.

Chopped Veggies

While I didn’t find the recipe on Pinterest, it did spark a memory of Shepherd’s Pie. I’d often seen it on menus, but couldn’t recall if Shepherd’s Pie was something I had ever actually tried.  I sifted through recipes and came to the conclusion that anything topped with mashed potatoes was worth giving a shot.

Shepherd's Pie Stuffing

I settled on Alton Brown’s Shepherd’s Pie recipe.  Partly because I trust Alton Brown, but mostly because I was excited about cooking with ground lamb.

Shepherd's Pie

I swapped out {more than} a handful of ingredients to make this dish void of dairy and gluten.  There were initial nerves about how mashed potatoes with coconut milk and oil would taste.  But after whipping them up and sampling the meat/veggie mix, I knew I was 25 baking minutes away from the coziest of meals in the coziest of casserole dishes.

A modified version of Alton Brown’s recipe is below:

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Roasted Chicken Drumsticks

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Roasted Chicken Drumsticks

A few weeks ago, a fellow food blogger, Natalie, and I were discussing our recipe submissions for the National Mango Board’s latest mango cookbook. I filled her in on Mango Breakfast Parfait {page 11} and she skimmed over her plan for Coconut Mango Jerk Chicken {page 36}.  When she got down to coconut oil, I questioned its use over butter.  She assured me it would work just the same.

Chicken Drumsticks

Fast forward to last minute dinner party hosting this past weekend.  I rushed through the market, picking up a ton of drumsticks with coconut oil in mind.  And since I just happened to have tested this out earlier in the week, I was confident that {with a few minor adjustments} the main course would be a hit.

Roasted Chicken Drums 2

And it was.  Roasted chicken with herby, crispy skin is one of those minimal effort, majorly impressive kind of dishes, which happen to be the best dishes to have on hand for last minute dinner parties.  And the coconut oil?  Worked like a charm.

Thanks for the tip, Natalie!

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Veggie Tacos

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Homemade Tacos 2

Within days of re-evaluating the crazy, meaty diet that has become Austin life norm, I received May’s Primo Picks package from HEB containing ingredients to make vegetarian tacos.  It couldn’t have been better timing.

Neat Taco Meat Replacement

I skeptically read the Neat taco “meat” package, assuming it would not be for me.  But with ingredients limited to nuts, beans, and spices, I couldn’t think of a reason not to give it a try.  Combined with the HEB Mixla {corn + wheat} tortillas that were also included in the box, I was only a few toppings short of a total taco meal.

Taco Toppings

I chopped some greens {spinach, avocado, cilantro} and whooped up some homemade chipotle salsa {coming soon}.

Homemade Tacos

And I served up some of the prettiest homemade tacos the FoodFash household had ever seen.

Not only were they pretty, but both Primo Pick products were a huge hit.  I loved how the blended tortilla combined the lightness of a corn tortilla with the softness of a wheat tortilla.  If I happen to be in a Mexican mood the next time I’m at the market, I’ll {without a doubt} pick up a package.

And the Neat meat substitute was surprisingly good.  Using eggs as a base eliminated the odd texture problem that is common among anything faux.  Even my roommate {who is meat-substitute-hesitant} went back for seconds, eating a total of four tacos!

As part of the HEB Primo Picks team, I received compensation to sample various Primo Picks products. The opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.

Pan-Seared Radishes & Greens

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Pan Roasted Radish and Greens

I’ve been trying to make this salad for weeks, but plans kept getting in the way and ingredients continued to go bad.  But tonight, I was determined.  I walked to Whole Foods {stopping at Anthropologie on the way…} and picked up radishes and spinach.

Poached Figs

I hadn’t cooked much with any of the ingredients in this salad.  And I had certainly never considered using radish greens or soaking sliced dates in boiling water.

Radishes

But even though all of the ingredients were unusual for my kitchen, I was excited to see how they all would work together to become my dinner.

Pan Roasted Radishes

It was no surprise that I dug the salty, tart, sweet that came with the nuts, olives, balsamic, and figs.  But what was a surprise was how much I enjoyed sautéed radishes and how they did, in fact, taste much like turnips.

Check out one of my favorite turnip recipes here!