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Monday, May 2, 2011

British Food and the Royal Wedding

In honor of the Royal Wedding, I decided to British it up a bit this weekend.  I wanted to make a Shepherd's pie so I browsed a few recipes on the Internet and they all seemed complicated so I  decided to make one up.  I knew Shepherd's Pie was a meat pie with mashed potatoes on top so I based my recipe on that.

Easy Shepherd's Pie
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 8.5 oz can of corn
1 8.5 oz can of peas
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
salt, pepper, garlic salt, Italian Seasoning
mashed potatoes (I used the pre-made kind from the refrigerator section because they were on sale)

Cook the onion until it is tender then add in in the beef.  Once that is cooked, add in the veggies, tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Add whatever seasonings you want.  Then let it simmer for a few minutes.  Place that mixture at the bottom of an 8x8 pan and then top with mashed potatoes.  Cook for about 30 minutes at 350 or until the beef mixture is bubbling and the potatoes are starting to brown.




Remember that Friend's Episode where Rachel tries to make an English Trifle but accidentally adds "beef sauteed with peas and carrots"?  Yeah.  That is what I was thinking about the whole time I was making this.  I wanted to make a Trifle but without actually having to look up a recipe.  So I just mixed a few things together that I thought would taste good.  I think trifles normally have jam in them but I didn't have any jam.

My fake English Trifle (also this is low-fat)
fat-free pudding mix
milk
small container of Cool Whip
carton of strawberries
a couple spoonfuls of sugar
pre-made angel food cake


Make the pudding according to the package.  Then add half of the Cool Whip to the pudding mix.  Save the rest of the Cool Whip.  Cut the strawberries into small pieces and add a little sugar and water.  Layer small cubes of the cake with the strawberries and pudding.  Then add a layer of Cool Whip to the very top. 
We needed a beverage and I did not feel like making hot tea so I went with beer.  I found this Oatmeal Stout at the grocery store and it said 'product of England' on it so I knew it would be the perfect compliment to my meal.
Overall, my English meal was really easy and pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.
Now on to the Royal Wedding.  My favorite fashion from the Royal Wedding was obviously THE DRESS.....I thought it was perfect for a princess.  Very classy, simple, elegant, awesome.  I liked Pippa's dress too and also the name, Pippa.

pic from people.com
I also love these hats.  Yes, they are crazy, but when else would you have to opportunity to make such a fashion statement?  I think they are kind of awesome.  Curly J's going to love it when I show up at her wedding in one.
pic from people.com
Did you watch the wedding?
What did you think?
What is your favorite British food?

9 comments:

sara said...

My BIL is British so we had lots of chatting about teh wedding and appropriate celebrations. Though in truth I've only seen recaps of it here and there...just don't tell him!

$hanzie said...

I make my Shepherd's pie with beer.... Guinness works well and you cook the meat and veggies in that. Also, interesting tidbit- if you add some cheese to the top of a Shepherd's pie you can call it Cottage pie. Also, Shepherd's pie is traditionally made with lamb.... I am not a huge fan of the lamb version but have had it many many times as Shepherd's pie was basically a staple in my house growing up. (also, I add some carrots into that mess- yumm).
And yeah Curly J watch out, I already have a lovely over the top hat picked out for your wedding- or maybe I will choose to wear electric blue like that one chick who STOOD OUT more than anyone else.

Mo Young said...

So we're wearing hats to Curly J's wedding?! Awesome. Love taking a cue from royalty. I enjoyed the pix I've seen ... didn't really watch any of it tho. And your British food looks pretty good. Overall I'm not usually a fan of their food, but you seem to have stepped it up! "Marvelous," I say in a British accent.

Anonymous said...

I did not watch the wedding, but I caught up with the (many) recaps throughout the day.
I have to say that I love Catherine's 2nd dress that she wore to the receptions - it was even lovlier than the first.

Shana said...

My favorite parts of the wedding were when she walked up the aisle and William looked at her and told her she looked beautiful and when they got into the carriage at the end and she said "are you pleased?" So sweet. She looked gorgeous and I LOVED that dress. It's making me reimagine the entire look I wanted for my own dress.

Also...I would pay you $20 to wear a hat like that to Curly J's wedding.

Bonnie said...

i think i made something like that once for you and brandon, but it had Italian seasoning and instead of mashed potato topping it had a biscuit topping. It was in ramekins. Yours looks good. mashed potatoes are always good. I like hats, but not those so much. They looked too evil stepsisterish.

Jenni said...

I can't wait to see all the hats at my wedding! This better not be a tease.

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

I got up to watch the wedding and I thought Pippa's dress was great. I loved it! When I saw that hat that looked like a bow, I instantly thought wtf.

Jessica Meilly said...

"Did you watch the wedding?
What did you think?
What is your favorite British food? "

1. Haven't yet.. I always tried but then i forgot to do it. :)
2. Just fine..
3. Roast lamb with potatoes