Sirloin & Blue Cheese Shepherd's Pie

So there's a first time for everything, and since this weekend turned out to be a pretty cold and windy one, this recipe was a welcomed surprise (and addition to my recipe collection).

RECIPE:
2 lbs ground sirloin
4 slices bacon, diced
1/2 medium onion
1 pkg mushrooms, sliced
salt
pepper
paprika
4 large potatoes
1 pkg blue cheese, crumbled
sour cream
olive oil
chives, diced - divided
1 egg yolk, slightly beatened

Brown bacon in a skillet with 2 tbsp olive oil, drain bacon pieces on paper towel. Add sirloin to bacon grease and brown up, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add onions and mushrooms, 1/2 way through cooking. Drain.

Meantime peel and boil potatoes until soft. Mash potatoes, add 1/4 c sour cream, chives and blue cheese to potatoes. Add egg yolk. Combine thoroughly.

In a casserole dish, layer the sirloin mixture at the bottom of the pan (spreading to all sides). Repeat this process with potatoes.



Brown the top of the dish in your oven (preheated to 375), uncovered for about 5-10 minutes - the egg will help the potatoes to brown.

Top with remaining chives and bacon pieces.

Post Superbowl Bliss

I hope everyone enjoyed the BIG GAME.
I did. It lived up to the "hype" and was a really good game, down to the very end.

Go. Steelers.

So, while watching the Foodnetwork one day, the chef on the show "Big Daddy's House (*laugh*) made these Buffalo Chicken Balls. Of course I don't follow recipes too well, so I just made it up as I went along. If you want the original recipe, please "search" for it on the website. Here's my version of it.

RECIPE: (yields 20 balls; depending on the size)
1 whole, baked chicken
blue cheese, crumbled
hot sauce
salt
pepper
bread crumbs, plain
flour
egg
panko bread crumbs

Shred meat of chicken; place in large bowl.


Add blue cheese (as much as you like), hot sauce, salt, pepper and bread crumbs.
Mix together ingredients, making sure everything is well combined.
Form balls with meat (blue cheese will help hold it all together).
Dip balls in flour; then an egg wash and then into the panko bread crumbs (all in separate containers).
Fry balls in a deep fryer, or a pan with lots of oil (small amounts will turn the balls into small pancakes :)





























Fry until golden brown, and serve with the usual buffalo chicken sides (carrots and celery sticks).








I also decided to make my own dipping sauce (again, I couldn't remember the recipe from the show). I decided to mix sour cream, blue cheese, hot sauce, salt and pepper together. Double the amount of sour cream against the amount of blue cheese.