Shepherd's Pie
a la Noell

1 lb lean ground beef
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can tomato soup
1/2 can cream of celery soup
1 can green beans
1 pkg frozen corn
4 cups instant mashed potatoes (already hydrated)
2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375
Brown ground beef in skillet and add seasonings.

Perfect Potato Soup
a la The Pioneer Woman

6 slices Thin Bacon, Cut Into 1-inch Pieces
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
3 whole Carrots, Scrubbed Clean And Diced
3 stalks Celery, Diced
6 whole Small Russet Potatoes, Peeled And Diced
8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Or Vegetable Broth
3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste 
1/2 teaspoon Cajun Spice Mix 
1 teaspoon Minced Fresh Parsley
1 cup Grated Cheese Of Your Choice

Add bacon pieces to a soup pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the pot.
Return the hot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.
Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour into the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove half to 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food process until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in cream, then stir in parsley, reserving a little for garnish.
Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, grated cheese and crisp bacon pieces.

Sunday Night Stew 
a la the Pioneer Woman

STEW
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter
2 pounds Beef Stew Meat (chuck Roast Cut Into Chunks)
Salt And Pepper
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
4 ounces, weight Tomato Paste
4 cups Low Sodium Beef Stock Or Broth, More If Needed For Thinning
Several Dashes Worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
4 whole Carrots, Peeled And Diced
2 whole Turnips, Peeled And Diced
2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley
Mashed Potatoes
5 pounds Russet Potatoes (peeled)
1 package (8 Ounce) Cream Cheese, Softened
1 stick Butter, Softened
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
Salt And Pepper, to taste

Salt and pepper stew meat. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add butter, and as soon as it melts, brown half the stew meat until the outside gets nice and brown, about 2 minutes. (Turn it as it browns.) Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate. Add the rest of the meat to the pot and brown it, too. Remove it to the same plate. Set the meat aside.
Add the onion and garlic to the pot, stirring it to coat it in all the brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Cook for two minutes, then add the tomato paste to the pot. Stir it into the onions and let it cook for two more minutes.
Pour in the beef stock, stirring constantly. Add the Worcestershire and sugar. Add the beef back to the pot, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.
After 1 1/2 to 2 hours, add the diced turnips and carrots to the pot. Stir to combine, put the lid back on the pot, and let it simmer for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be very thick, but if it seems overly so, splash in some beef broth until it thins it up enough. Feel free to add beef broth as needed!
When the carrots and turnips are tender, stir in minced parsley. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve piping hot in a bowl with mashed potatoes, letting the juice run all over everything. Sprinkle with extra minced parsley at the end.
MASHED POTATOES
Cut the potatoes into quarters and cover with water in a large pot. Boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then put them back into the same pot. With the heat on low, mash the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes to release as much steam as possible.
Turn off heat, then add cream cheese, butter, cream, seasoned salt, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve potatoes immediately or spread them into a buttered baking dish to be reheated later. To reheat, put them in a 375 degree oven, covered in foil, until hot.

chef's note: i made this tonight, and used potatoes instead of turnips, and obviously omitted the mashed potatoes. this will definitely be a family favorite. 

Potato Casserole
a la Aunt Diana

6 medium potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1 can cream of chicken coup
1 pt sour cream
1/3 c green onions, chopped
1/2 c shredded cheese
3/4 c corn flake crumbs, buttered with 2 T butter

cook potatoes in jackets, then peel and grate. add butter, melted, to hot potatoes. mix separately cream of chicken and sour cream. put potato mixture into a 9x13 baking dish. add green onions and grated cheese and toss lightly. pour in soup and sour cream mixture. top with buttered corn flake crumbs.
bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
this is delicious with ham or ham cubes in it for an entire meal (1 pound ham).

chef's note: i like to cube the potatoes instead of grating them. many other recipes i have seen use frozen hash browns as an alternative too.

Swiss Steak
a la Mom

1 round steak
2 onions, sliced
2 green peppers
2 large cans of tomatoes

Brown steak, after cutting off all visible fat, and cut in portion sizes. Place in a 9x13 pan. Layer peppers, onions and tomatoes on top. Cut up whole tomatoes. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for at least an hour.

*Chef's note: this is great with baked potatoes!

Dill Roasted Potatoes
a la Jasmine

2 lbs. red potatoes
1/4 c melted butter
1 t salt
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t dill weed
Cube potatoes (about 1 inch cubes) and put in large baking dish. Combine rest of ingredients and toss with potatoes. Cover and bake at 350 for over an hour. If you want the potatoes crispy and brown on top, uncover for the last 10 minutes or so. These are really healthy, easy and delicious!