Day #43

I saw this recipe on a January episode of Rachael Ray's daytime talk show, and have been looking forward to trying it.  She calls it "Potato Tot-Topped Shepherd's Pie."  Anything with tater tots just HAS to be good!   Basically, this is ground sirloin, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, peas, spices, & beef gravy, topped with cheddar cheese and tater tots, and then baked until the tots were crispy.

The recipe claimed to make 4-6 servings, but it really made 6-8.   And I had even cut the recipe down a bit...due to a mistake at the grocery store.   Lesson learned: double-check the recipe and the shopping lists to make sure the correct ingredients are bought!!   The recipe called for 2 pounds of ground sirloin, but for some reason, at the store I only bought a package of 0.8lb.   So when I noticed my mistake during cooking, I cut back on the rest of the veggies that I added to the mix. 
I also made a few alterations to the recipes.   First, the recipe also called for watercress, which I eliminated, but I added peas.   Second, since I don't have any Worchestshire sauce on hand (and didn't have that on my shopping list), I used a few dashes of soy sauce and some Pampered Chef smoky BBQ seasoning.  For a little flavor.    Third, the gravy called for adding a little amber beer or apple cider....I didn't buy either of those, so I just eliminated that part.   My gravy turned out delicious anyway.  It was my first time making gravy! 

Overall this was a delicious dish, it just makes a huge amount of food!

And of course, since today is Valentine's Day, I needed a special little dessert.  So I made some mini Pillsbury Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, and added pink sugar sprinkles.  Just the right amount of "festive" for today.

Happy Valentine's Day, and Happy Cooking!