A different twist on the old English Classic dish, Shepards Pie

I have really started to settle into my new country and I am loving every minute of it. And just like I loved to take traditional dishes from the States and add a twist to them I have enjoyed doing that with classic English dishes. Shepard's pie is a traditional English dish that consists of minced lamb with a crust of mashed potatoes on top, it is a dish that my family absolutely loves. So when I read about this dish I knew it would be a tasty winner.

Recreating my favorite Crispy Beef recipe from the Pearl Restaurant in New York City

After discovering this dish in New York I knew I had to at least attempt it on my own. But I have to say I was very nervous, I had never attempted such a dish before and it seemed like it would be a hard one to duplicate. But after enough convincing both from myself as well as my husband, who was determined to have me try to make this, I took the plunge.  The key with crispy shredded beef is making sure that you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go before hand.  This is a very quick cooking dish so having the ingredients ready is a must. It is fun to be able to create dishes like the ones you have in restaurants, especially when it is from a restaurant that you can't go to very often.

Finding a cheaper way to include protein in your meal with Quinoa

Quinoa is an interesting little grain, one that I had heard a lot about but never tasted. I had often been told about how difficult it was to prepare so to be honest I was nervous about giving it a try. But when you have a grain that is high in protein and essential amino acids, making it the only plant that is a complete protein, it was one that I knew I had to at least try. When it comes to trying to watch your food budget it is very important to still find ingredients that can provide your family with the nutritional value that they need. While it might sound healthy to feed your family a salad and whole grains every day you can't leave out the essential nutritional value of protein. Discovering how amazing quinoa was helped me find one more way to serve up a healthy well balanced meal to my family without having to rely on expensive meats. Now for this particular dish I did use a bag of frozen prawns but cooking up quinoa on its own proves to be not only tasty but a great way to provide a good meal and not have to include meat. And another good thing that I learned is that quinoa is really not as hard to prepare as others had led me to believe.

Getting that delcious roasted corn flavor from the oven

To me nothing says summer then the taste of corn on the cob, especially when it is grilled on a charcoal grill. But what if you get that craving for grilled corn on the cob long before the season begins? Thankfully there is a way to get a great, grilled corn flavor without a lot of effort. And I love it when I can get the same flavor I want in a hassle free method.

A perfect BBQ option for those days when the rain won't go away

 I have to confess to not fully embracing a lot of Southern (American) food while I was living there. A lot of the dishes just really didn't excite me, but there were a few that I did fall in love and I have had fun introducing my family in England to them. This dish was yet again a huge success, and it is extremely easy to do and perfect for when you want to have that BBQ taste and the weather is just not co-operating.

Finding meals that will work for people with more restrictive diets

Cooking can be a little more of a challenge when you are cooking for people with more restrictive diets, whether it is someone with an allergy or just personal preference. I have found that during these times I do a lot more research on recipes then I normal because not only do I want to make sure I prepare a dish correctly but I also want it to be just as nice as the meals that I normally prepare. On this particular occasion I was cooking for someone who was a vegan so needed to find a dish that would be filling and enjoyable for the meat eaters as well as something that would be suitable for the vegan. The thing that I have discovered, the more I am faced with evenings like this, is that it is a lot easier of a task then it sounds. For a long time the idea of preparing a dish for a vegetarian, a vegan or anyone with a food allergy sounded like a very stressful event, but through careful research I have discovered that it really is easier then I thought. There are tons of meatless dishes that my family enjoys and often times it only takes small tweaks to recipes that you already have to make a dish appropriate for those with restrictive diets. If you have a dish that you really enjoy that contains ingredients that people either can't eat or won't, a quick Google search on ingredient substitutions and more often then not you will find others who have been faced with a similar situation who have wonderful ideas for you to try.

Lamb and Chickpea Stew

What is it about inviting people over for dinner that opens up the day to be a bit of a crazy one? More often then not the day guests are meant to arrive for dinner is the day you were late getting home because traffic was terrible, or the kids destroyed the clean house you worked on all day, as well as other disasters.  So when it comes to dinner plans it can be quite stressful.  That is why I love to prepare easy dishes that can be done well ahead of time and be ready when people arrive.  It gives me the freedom to know that no matter how stressful or crazy the day is my dinner is one thing I don't have to worry about.