OUT WEST: Food & Lifestyle

St. Patrick's Day

Classic Cottage Pie

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Classic Cottage Pie is made with spiced ground beef, tender carrots and peas. Topped with creamy potato cheese mixture and carrot tops.

Rich & Hearty ~ Classic Cottage Pie

Talk about easy! The Classic Cottage Pie checks all the boxes. Pantry recipe, YES. One pot meal, YES. Under 30 minutes, YES.

Budget friendly ground beef is browned with garlic, onion, smoked paprika and a pinch of red pepper flakes for added spice. The best part, though, are the creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes that are browned to perfection on top. Blending a creamy cheddar with a pungent Parmesan really adds flavor. If you have a few carrot tops, garnish the top for extra special presentation.

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Classic Cottage Pie

Rich and savory cottage pie topped with creamy potatoes and filled with spiced ground beef, tender carrots and peas.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Irish
Keyword Irish Recipes, One Pot Meal, Pantry Recipes, Shepherd’s Pie, St. Patrick’s Day Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

Potato Topping

  • 4 russet potatoes peeled
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/2 cup medium cheddar cheese grated

Beef Filling

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 1/2 cup yellow onion diced
  • 1 cup carrot diced
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cube tomato chicken bouillon (Knorr's in Mexican section grocery)
  • 1/2 tsp beef 'Better than Bouillon' bouillon
  • 2 cups potato water
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Potato Topping

  • Place peeled potatoes in a pot of lightly salted cold water and bring to boil. Boil until fork tender. Reserve 2 cups of potato water. Drain and return to pot.
  • Using the tines of your fork, 'rice' the potatoes until fluffy.
  • Add butter and blend.
  • Add whipping cream and blend.
  • Fold in cheese and set aside.

Beef Filling

  • Brown ground beef in a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tbsp in pan.
  • Push ground beef over to one side of the pan. Add garlic, onion and carrot. Saute until almost tender. Add peas and combine with ground beef.
  • Add tomato chicken and beef bouillon, potato water and remaining spices. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Spoon potato mixture over top of beef filling. Broil until browned. Top with fresh carrot tops or parsley.

This Classic Cottage Pie can be reheated with ease! Just pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until heated through. Serve with salad or fresh cheddar biscuits.

Make it Your Own

Add your favorite ingredients to make it your own. Here are a few ideas:

  • 1/2 cup corn
  • 1/2 cup mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup parsnip
  • Mix up the cheeses in the potato topping with sharp white cheddar or smoked cheddar.

More Recipes Like This:

Oven Roasted Corned Beef with Cabbage & Bacon

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Ditch the boiled corned beef for the most flavorful Oven Roasted Corned Beef with Cabbage & Bacon this Saint Patrick’s Day.

Oven Roasted Corned Beef with Cabbage

The days of boiling your corned beef, cabbage and veggies in one pot is over! Oven Baked Corned Beef with Cabbage & Bacon is just as easy to make, but with so much more flavor. I start by placing my corned beef roast on a metal rack in a cast iron dutch oven and filling with water to just the very bottom of the roast. This step makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

By baking your corned beef, you allow the outside of the roast to develop so much more flavor and texture then boiling in water. No funky white film from boiling here! Just a nice browned outer crust that really sealed in the flavor. I like to add a few celery sticks, a carrot and a few onion slices for extra flavor. What I DON’T ADD is the cabbage. It takes about 5 minutes to cook the cabbage separately and I do this in bacon fat….because it is absolutely AMAZING!

Oven Roasted Corned Beef with Cabbage and Bacon on the Side
Oven Roasted Corned Beef

You can make Cabbage & Bacon on any weeknight. It’s super quick and goes with pork chops as well as corned beef. I just love the simplicity of fresh cabbage sauteed with crispy smokey bacon. The splash of apple cider vinegar adds that punch of flavor and makes things exciting.

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Oven Roasted Corned Beef with Cabbage & Bacon

Fork tender oven roasted corned beef with thinly sliced cabbage that has been cooked in bacon fat.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Beef, Irish, St. Patrick’s Day
Keyword Irish Recipes, St. Patrick’s Day Recipes, The Best Corned Beef
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

Corned Beef

  • 1 4 lb flat cut corned beef roast, with spice packet
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 1/2 onion sliced

Cabbage & Bacon

  • 4-5 slices good thick cut bacon fat reserved
  • 1/2 head cabbage thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp apple cider or red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Corned Beef

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place a metal rack at the bottom of an oven safe pot with lid. (I use my cast iron dutch oven). Rub Dijon mustard over corned beef roast and contents of spice packet. Place corned beef roast on wire rack. Fill bottom of pot with water to just the bottom of the corned beef roast. Add the carrot, celery and onion to the pot. Cover and bake for 1 hour per pound.

Cabbage & Bacon

  • Place bacon in a large pan over medium heat. Cook, rendering fat, until browned. Remove bacon to a wire rack and leave bacon fat in the pan.
  • Add cabbage to the pan and cook a few minutes until just tender. Splash in the vinegar and cook another 2 minutes. Season with salt and a good amount of pepper.
  • Chop cooked bacon into bite size pieces and return to cabbage dish.

Don’t Throw Away Those Leftovers!

My savory Rueben Hand Pies are a tasty way to use up corned beef and cabbage leftovers. Plus they are great for lunches and easy to freeze for later. Made with an all butter crust, filled with corned beef, cabbage and potato. Perfect hand held pies for easy eating and dipping in the special Rueben sauce. Just click the link below for the recipe.

Rueben Hand Pies with Flaky All Butter Crust
Rueben Hand Pies with Flaky All Butter Crust

Try these St. Patrick’s Day Recipes:

Rueben Hand Pies

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Light and flakey, these all butter crust hand pies are filled with corned beef, cabbage, potato and swiss cheese. Perfect for dipping in Reuben sauce.

I have to admit, my favorite way to eat corned beef and cabbage is the next day and there are so many ways to re-purpose corned beef leftovers. These hand pies are super easy to make. I show you how to make the all butter crust, but you could take the no fuss route and use pre-made dough (I won’t tell anyone) If you DO plan on making my all butter crust, please take special note to the butter. I have found to get the flakiest crust with very little effort and very little kneading (because kneading makes things tough) is to grate your butter with a cheese grater. I can’t believe it has taken me 20 years to figure this out, but I do this with EVERYTHING now. Trust, it’s definitely the way to go!

Back to the corned beef… I’m going to tell you my weakness. It’s leftover, cold from the fridge, corned beef. I love it. I could even eat the cabbage cold too! I don;t know, maybe it’s my 35 percent Irish or maybe it’s just that the corned beef sits overnight and gets all flavorful. O.k., now that we got that out of the way, you really need to try these cute little pies!

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Reuben Hand Pies

These all butter crust hand pies are filled with corned beef, cabbage, potato and swiss cheese. 
Course Main Course
Cuisine Beef, Irish
Keyword Corned beef, hand pies, St Patricks day
Servings 10

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 cup leftover corned beef chopped
  • 1/2 cup baby red potatoes diced
  • 1 tbsp bacon fat (or cooking oil)
  • 1 cup green cabbage shredded
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • 5 slices Swiss cheese cut in half diagonally

Dipping Sauce

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tsp horseradish

Crust

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup butter grated
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-3 tbsp cold water

Instructions

Crust

  • In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt and butter until crumbly.  Add cold water starting with 1 tbsp. and continuing to add 1 tbsp until dough starts to form together.  (You shouldn’t need more than 3 tbsp)
  • Press together into a smooth ball.  The less kneading the better.  Cover with saran wrap and place in fridge for at least 15 minutes. 

Make the Reuben filling

  • In a medium pan over medium heat, melt bacon fat or cooking oil, whichever you choose to use. Bacon fat will have more flavor. Saute cabbage for 2 minutes until starting to wilt.  Add red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
  • Place diced potatoes in a bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes to par cook.  
  • Combine, chopped corned beef, cabbage mixture and potatoes in a bowl.
  • Remove your dough from the fridge and cut into two equal parts.  Then. cut each  into another 5 equal pieces. 
  • Roll each piece into a 4 inch round, use small plate or bowl and cut around the edges.
  • Place 1 halved slice of Swiss cheese on half of the round, equally distribute the corned beef mixture between all 10 rounds, by placing mixture on top of cheese.  
  • Fold empty half of round over to close, pressing down on the edge to seal.  
  • Using a fork, crimp the sealed edge to ensure the mixture stays inside.  Slice 2-3 thin air holes in top for venting.  Place in freezer for about 15 minutes.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Keep any extras in the freezer for later use.
  • Note:  For a more golden crust, before baking, brush with a egg that has been beaten. 

Dipping Sauce

  • Combine all ingredients together.

Irish Cream Pie

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Everyone needs pie on Pi Day and this Irish Cream Pie vanished in about 3.14159265359 seconds, seriously! And, it is so easy to make!

Crushed chocolate animal crackers get covered in Irish cream chocolate pudding and topped with the most creamy, fluffiest whipped cream, that’s spiked with…yes, you guessed it, Irish cream. So, whether you are celebrating Pi Day or St. Patrick’s Day or maybe you just want a quick easy dessert, then this pie is for you!

Chocolate crust pie with chocolate Irish cream pudding and Irish whipped cream
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Irish Cream Pie

Chocolate cookie crust layered with chocolate Irish cream pudding and whipped cream spiked with more Irish cream.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Dessert
Keyword Cream Pie, Irish food, Pi Day
Servings 8

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 1/2 cup chocolate cookies, such as chocolate animal crackers
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling

  • 1 5.9 oz chocolate pudding mix
  • 2 1/2 cup cold whole milk
  • 1/2 cup Irish cream liquor

Topping

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp Irish cream liquor
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp chocolate syrup
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips, finely chopped

Instructions

Crust

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. 
  • Crush chocolate cookies until fine and crumbly.
  • Mix in sugar.
  • Combine with melted butter and press into pie dish right away.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling

  • In a bowl, whisk together pudding mix, cold milk and Irish cream until starting thicken.  Pour into prepared pie crust.  Cover with saran wrap and place in fridge for at least 2 hours until firm. 

Topping

  • In a bowl, using a hand mixer, whip heavy cream, sugar, Irish cream and vanilla until thick and creamy.
  • Spoon whipped cream evenly over chilled pie.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup and garnish with finely chopped chocolate chips.

Mushroom-Thyme Hand Pies

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These savory Mushroom-Thyme Hand Pies deliver big flavor. Flaky butter crust, earthy mushroom and sharp white cheddar. Eat them all now or freeze for later.

The best thing about these Mushroom-Thyme Hand Pies is that you get a bite of the flaky all butter crust in every bite. They are so easy to make and can hold a variety of flavor combinations. This savory version features button mushrooms, caramelized onions, fresh thyme leaves and sharp white cheddar cheese. You get the bite of the mushroom, the tang of the white cheddar cheese and that fresh thyme to cut right through the richness. As soon as they hit the cooling board, they were gone! Into the mouths of my taste testers. But if you do happen to have leftovers, just freeze them in individual bags. They are super easy to reheat in the oven.

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Mushroom-Thyme Hand Pies

Savory Mushroom-Thyme Hand Pies with sharp white cheddar all in a light and crispy all butter crust.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Vegetarian
Keyword cook with herbs, hand pies, meatless, mushrooms, savory
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 10

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 cup yellow onion sliced in thin rounds
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cup mushrooms, your favorite sliced
  • 1 tsp fresh garlic minced
  • 1 cup white cheddar cheese grated
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1 1/2 cup beef broth
  • 3 tsp fresh thyme leaves, removed from stem

Crust

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup butter grated (with a cheese grater)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2-3 tbsp cold water start with 1 and gradually add if needed

Instructions

Make the Crust

  • In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt and butter until crumbly.  Add cold water, starting with 1 tbsp and continuing to add 1 tbsp at a time until dough starts to form together. (You shouldn’t need more than 3 tbsp)
  • Press together into a smooth ball. The less kneading the better.  Cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Make Mushroom Filling

  • Heat 1 tbsp butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Saute onions for about 3 minutes , until golden. 
  • Add another 1 tbsp butter and the olive oil to the pan.  Add the mushrooms and saute for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until browned.  Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.
  • Keeping the pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp butter and stir until melted.  Add flour and continue stirring until bubbly and foaming.  Add beef broth and whisk until smooth and starting to thicken.  Add mushroom mixture back to pan and thyme leaves.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside to cool.
  • Roll Dough and Fill
  • Remove your dough from the fridge and cut into 2 equal parts.  Then, cut each into another 5 equal pieces. 
  • Roll each piece into a 4 inch round, use small plate or bowl and cut around the edges.
  • Fill each round with 1/4 cup mixture and 1 tbsp white cheddar cheese.  Fold in half and press edges down to seal.  Using a fork press against the edge to crimp and seal.  Slice 2-3 thin air holes in the top. Place in freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Freeze any extras for later use.

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