Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

1. 4-5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2. 4 Tbls. butter
3. 1/4 C. milk
4. 1 Tbls. finely chopped onion
5. 1/4 C. shredded Cheddar cheese
6. Salt and pepper to taste
7. 4-5 carrots, peeled & chopped
8. 1 - 10oz. frozen box of baby peas, warmed
9. 1 Tbls. olive oil
10. 1/2 large onion, chopped
11. 1 lb. lean ground beef
12. 2 Tbls. all-purpose flour
13. 1 packet brown gravy mix
14. 1/8 C. worcestershire sauce
15. 1 C. water                   
16. 1 Tbls. ketchup
17. 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and onion and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. Mix in butter, milk and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add water, gravy mix, worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of peas and carrots. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Nambe Lake Hike

Needing a break from school work, Leo and I went for a hike up to Nambe Lake today. Nambe Lake is an alpine lake that sits in a glacial crater located at 11,400’ elevation in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The total round trip for us today was around 6 miles; Leo was pretty crazy for all of about 5 miles then finally pooped out on the last mile back. The total climbing for the round trip hike is approximately 2,275 vertical feet, with the entire hike being above 10,000 feet. I posted a bunch of photos and a couple videos below, enjoy!

First Year of Nursing School Complete!!!

So I am finally finished with my first year of nursing school!!! Only 12 more months left :-/ Here's a couple photos of me and my classmates on the last day of finals enjoying a well deserved break at the casino. Summer classes start up in about three weeks so I'm trying to enjoy my break while I can. Looking forward to next May that's for sure!!!

This one was taken the last week of classes, a week before finals..

Zucchini Walnut Muffins

Zucchini Walnut Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 C all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 1 tsp. baking powder 
• 3 tsp. ground cinnamon 
• 3 eggs 
• 1 C vegetable oil*
• 1 1/4 C white sugar 
• 1 C brown sugar 
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 3 C grated zucchini, skin included
• 1 C chopped walnuts

 *You can use 1/2 C veg. oil and 1/2 C apple sauce for a healthier version

Directions: 

1. Line muffin pan with muffin cups, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. 
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars together in a large bowl.
4. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well.
5. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared cups.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Kiva Barbacoas

Kiva Barbacoas

Ingredients:

• 1lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, grilled and pulled apart
• 7oz can of Ranchera Salsa or racheros sauce
• BBQ sauce
• 2 C. shredded Mexican cheese blend
• Flour Tortillas
• Sour cream
• 1 large tomato, chopped and seeds removed
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• Several leaves of Boston Bibb lettuce, chopped 
• 1 can black beans, warmed

Directions:

1. Grill chicken breast and pull apart into small pieces.
2. Layer flour tortilla with desired amount of chicken, cheese, ranchera sauce and bbq sauce, roll tortilla and place in the center of your plate. 
3. Spoon black beans on either side of burrito and top with cheese, bbq sauce, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and lastly chopped green onion. Serve immediately.
   

Very Veggie Garden Casserole

In the mood for some veggies I pretty much made this one up tonight... it came out totally yummy but then again anything with crescent rolls is bound to come out super yum. Enjoy!
 

 Very Veggie Garden Casserole

 

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ C. corn
• 1 ½ C. green beans
• 1 ½ C. broccoli
• 1 ½ C. carrots
• 2 1/4 C. shredded cheddar
• Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 Can cream of chicken
• 1 Can butter flake crescent rolls
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Roll out crescent rolls into the bottom of a 9 x 13” pan.
2. In a separate bowl combine corn, green beans, broccoli, carrots, salt and cream of chicken. 
3. Layer half of the vegetables on top of the crescent rolls, top with one cup cheddar and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
4. Layer remaining vegetables then remaining cheddar and sprinkle once more with bread crumbs.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, make sure the crescent rolls are cooked before taking it out of the oven.

*You can used canned veggies, thawed frozen veggies or freshly steamed veggies in this recipe.

Last Week of Nursing School

Wow, what a first semester! I just finished my last week of classes and will start finals on Monday... I can't believe how quick my first semester at nursing school flew by! Here are a couple pics of me and the girls at school. Good times...

Nursing Fundamentals Clinical

Barbara, Ana, Joanna, Sheryl, me and Nancy

Ana, me and Joanna

Me and my lab partner, Ana

Howling Puppy

Imagine trying to study to this!