Keeping me guessing, aka Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

I never know what's going to be a hit with the boys.  I think I know, then it usually flops.  Other times I make something that may or may not work and the gobble it up and demand more.  Tonight was one of those nights.  My friend Sheri over a Pork Cracklins posted this recipe for Shepherd's Pie and it planted a seed.  Later when I was looking for dinner ideas in my cookbooks, I found a recipe for a vegetarian version in the Vegetarian Family Cookbook.  I decided to put it on the menu.  I started from that recipe, but made some adjustments. These are captured below.

Modified Shepherd's Pie

6 medium sized russet potatoes
1 Tbsp butter
 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion (I used a sweet onion because I do love them so, but a plain onion would be fine too)
2 medium carrots (I approximated with baby carrots since I have them on hand at all times)
1/2 medium cauliflower (I used a bag of cauliflower florets from Trader Joe's because that's how I roll)
1 cup frozen corn
8 oz vegetarian ground "meat" (from Trader Joe's, where else)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tsp Vegetable Better than Bullion
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Peel and cube the potatoes then boil until tender.  Once they are tender, drain and mash with butter and milk until fluffy.  Add the shredded cheese to the mashed potatoes and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Finely chop the onion and slice the carrots and add them to the pan.  Cook until the onions start to turn golden.  Finely chop the cauliflower and add it to the pan.  Cook until it starts to become tender.  Add the frozen corn and the soy meat and the Better than Bullion (in the paste form, don't add water).  Cook until heated through.  Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Add about 1/2 cup of the mashed potatoes and stir until mixed in.

Put the vegetables into the bottom a a casserole and top with the mashed potatoes.  Smooth the mashed potatoes on top into an even layer.  I like to use a fork to make a nice texture on top of the potatoes, but you don't have to do that if you don't feel like it.

Bake the casserole for about 20 minutes until it is bubbling around the edges and the potatoes have begun to turn golden brown on top (at least along the textured ridges if you took that step).

Eat and enjoy. 

Lunchbox #7

The sushi lunch was a big hit with Big Dog.  He asked for an immediate repeat, but he did tell me to "go easy on the sushi" since apparently a 9 piece lunch is too much for him.  Right-sized, this lunch went over well the next day.

Avocado sushi rolls and baked tofu
Edamame
Freeze dried strawberries
Sliced mango
Dark chocolate square

Lunchbox #5 and #6

Little Dog has been tricky to pack lunch for lately.  He shuns all sandwiches other than his beloved peanut butter and jelly.  He won't help me with ideas about what he might like to be eating, so I'm guessing.  Over the weekend the boys helped me make a roast chicken inspired by Fanny at Chez Pannise and they couldn't get enough of it.  I decided to try packing that for lunch and sure thing, it was a big hit.

Little Dog has asked for a repeat so I did a second lunch working with the same theme

Lunchbox #5
Roast chicken and jasmine rice
Snap Peas
Sliced gala apple
Yogurt tube
chocolate chips

watermelon chunks in snack container.

Lunchbox #6
Porkchop and jasmine rice
Edamame
Sliced mango
Freeze dried strawberries
Dark chocolate

Lunchbox #4

The night before, I'd been out to dinner for a work function.  Mr. Dog took the boys out to dinner as well.  Big Dog wanted sushi, as usual.  Little Dog wanted to go to Bick's, mainly for the "Mousse in a Mug" dessert, but because Big Dog chose last time, it was Little Dog's turn to choose.  After feasting on smoked duck quesidillas, a hamburger and mousse in a mug, Big Dog was no longer complaining, but it did give me an idea for their lunch.  I got up early to make sushi rice and gave them a lunchbox surprise.

Avocado sushi rolls
edamame
baked tofu (from Trader Joe's)
sliced pear
white chocolate chips

Lunchbox #3

Let's just say I'm going to file this one under both "head scratchers" and "lessons learned."  See, I have two bagel-loving kids.  I thought bagels would be a slam dunk. Even when I was packing lunches up, Big Dog told me just how delicious the bagel looked.  So imagine my WTF moment when I opened the lunch boxes tonight and found each bagel only had about three bites in it.  Weird.  The multicolor cauliflower was also largely uneaten despite the boys gobbling it down at home.
I'm not really sure what happened with the bagels.  Too big for polite school eating maybe?  But I have to remember the boys both bow to peer pressure.  The cauliflower was probably a casualty of nearby "yucks" from lunch table neighbors.  Big Dog has given up favorite lunch foods based on the criticism of his peers in the past, I guess I should just expect it.

Whole wheat bagel with low fat cream cheese
Multicolored cauliflower (steamed since they don't really like raw cauliflower-or at least I don't and I project that upon the boys)
Sliced red plums
YoKids yogurt tube
dark chocolate square
Snack container: green seedless grapes

Lunchbox #2

Well there were going to be mini sandwiches on these adorable little artisan slider buns, but as soon as I put them on the counter, Little Dog told me he hated them.  So I tried to come up with something else. I asked for suggestions and he requested deviled eggs.  Perfect!  Well, it probably would have been more perfect if the eggs were store bought instead of our own eggs that are fresh and thus resist being peeled without shredding into a thousand pieces.  Anyhow they might not be beautiful, but they were tasty.  So, today's lunch was as follows:

Deviled eggs
Berries (raspberries and blueberries)
Heirloom cherry tomatoes
English cucumber in rice wine vinegar (in the small container, turns out it is just about the perfect size for this)
Yo Kids Squeezer
A couple of Trader Joe's Gummy Tummies

Snack container was filled with sliced pluots (not pictured)

Basic Deviled Eggs

2 hard boiled eggs
2 tsp mayonnaise
2 tsp sweet relish
1/2 tsp vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar because I had it on hand, I usually use apple cider vinegar for this)
1/2 tsp brown mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the hard boiled eggs in half, remove the yolks and put them into a bowl with all of the other ingredients.  Use a fork to mash the ingredients into a more or less smooth mess.  Scoop it back into the cooked egg whites.

To keep them from sticking to the lunchbox, place a piece of waxed paper on top of them before closing the lid.

A cavelcade of lunches

We got new fancy lunch boxes this year.  Stainless steel, dishwasher safe, decorated with magnets and just plain awesome.  And as I started packing them up, I realized how nice it would be for me to have a record of what was in them each day.  Mostly I think it will be handy to track what was eaten and what came home untouched.  So here we go, the first day of a new line of work on this blog.

Lunch #1 (for the blog, #5 if you count the ones that didn't get photographed)

Peanut butter and strawberry balsamic jam on whole wheat bread.
Snap peas and heirloom cherry tomatoes
White nectarines (Big Dog brought them home claiming the darkening was "rot")
Trader Joe's organic yogurt squishers
Dark chocolate
Side container snack: black plum

I originally cut the sandwiches into heart shapes, which caused Big Dog to say, "Mama, really?" making me feel like a bit of a dunce, so I cut his in half.  I left Little Dog's as is.  When I picked him up from school he asked, "Was that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"
"Yes," I answered.
"Then why was it shaped like a heart?"
"I thought you might like it," I said.
"I didn't like it."
"You didn't?" I asked, a bit surprised.
"I loved it.  After I hated it."
So at least we cleared that up.

Lunch as planned.

And if you're too cool for heart-shaped sandwiches.