What I Made for Dinner :: Pappardelle with Creamy Chicken Sauce

I love it when dinner comes together with what I already have at home. I was feeling a little lazy and didn't have a lot of energy to make an elaborate Sunday Night Dinner, so I scrounged around in the fridge/freezer and the pantry and found this recipe online :: Pappardelle with Creamy Chicken Sauce.

I thought it would be a bit bland, but if you season the chicken liberally and salt the pasta water, it doesn't really require a whole lot more. I added coarsely chopped cauliflower because we had some left over from the night before, and it added a different texture and an additional creaminess to the dish.

What I Made for Dinner :: Shepherd's (Cottage) Potato Pie

My son told me he was craving Shepherd's Pie the other day and, right on cue, I came across this Shepherd's Potato Pie that looked so pretty. As a reward for attending an all-day babysitting course without complaint, I made it for him tonight.

Did you know that if you make a Shepherd's Pie with any ground meat but lamb, it's called a Cottage Pie? So, technically, this is a Cottage Pie because I used ground beef. I upped the amount of corn in it because no one in our family likes peas.

It looks kinda fancy with the layered slices of potato, but I prefer the version with mashed potato on top. The sliced potato didn't cook up as softly as I like and still had a slight bite to it that I wasn't fond of. But the filling is really tasty so I'll definitely be keeping the recipe for future attempts at Shepherd's Pie.

What I Ate for Dinner :: Green Pig Bistro

[steak tartare with fried quail egg & chips]

[bone marrow with toast and caramelized onions]

Green Pig Bistro

1025 N Fillmore St, Arlington (Clarendon), VA 22201
(703) 888-1920

What I Made for Dinner :: Kabocha (Japanese Squash) Soup

http://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/kabocha-squash-soup/

What I Made for Dinner :: Sunday Night Beef Stew

I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe for the beef stew, and served it with farro and sauteed kale. For the stew, I threw in some fresh thyme while it stewed, and because I didn't have turnips, I subbed in potatoes.

What I Made for Dinner :: French Onion Soup

The weather is cooling down here, which means I'm gearing up for a lot of soup making. I bought a ten-pound bag of onions at Costco the other day and had a stale baguette so I decided to try my hand at French Onion Soup.

I used this recipe from Good Dinner Mom and although mine didn't turn out exactly like hers, it was still pretty tasty. My husband liked it more than the (frozen) version we get at Trader Joe's. It is quite a bit of work and it's a lengthy process, but a good portion of the cooking time takes place in the oven, which is almost entirely hands-off cooking.

The kids aren't huge fans of onions, but I think they enjoyed the cheesy bread part so, all in all, not a failure!

Butterflies like books too

Challenge completed three months early!