Tag: kerrygold

16
Mar
2015

Shepherd’s Pie – Kerrygold Cheese & Butter Giveaway

categories: Giveaways, Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Main Dishes, Miscellaneous, Recipes, Uncategorized

SP Shephards Pie 2_Fotor Top of the morning’ to ya!  Or afternoon, not sure what time of day you are reading this, but this is one recipe you will want to make.  I started making this a few years ago as a solution to a dinner time problem.  One of us wanted healthy, the other wanted hearty.

My gluten-free Shepherd’s Pie became the solution to that problem. Although it’s undergone many makeovers since first conception of the dish, I have settled on this version as my favorite.  The best part is the loaded cauliflower mash that adorns the gluten-free chicken and veggie filling.  The mash is filled with Kerrygold unsalted butter and their Dubliner with Irish Stout.  This Shepherd’s Pie is the perfect healthy St. Patty’s day dinner.

If you read my last post you know that today is the LAST day to enter the Kerrygold Cheese & Butter gift basket worth an estimated value of $175!  Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  I was not paid to develop this recipe or to express my opinion.  All opinions are my own.

Shepherd's Pie (gluten free)
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 6
  • Serving size: ⅙th
  • Calories: 219
  • Fat: 11
  • Saturated fat: 6.3
  • Carbohydrates: 12.5
  • Sugar: 3.4
  • Sodium: 523
  • Fiber: 2.4
  • Protein: 15.8
  • Cholesterol: 50
Recipe type: Healthy Comfort Food
Cuisine: Irish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Print
Slimmed down version of Shepherd's Pie, full of chicken & vegetables, topped with a Dubliner Stout Cauliflower Mash.
Ingredients
  • Cauliflower Mash
  • 1 head of cauliflower, core removed and steamed
  • ⅓ c. crumbled Kerrygold Dubliner with Irish Stout Cheese
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted Kerrygold Butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper
  • Filling
  • 2 chicken breasts cut into one inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon Kerrygold unsalted butter
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 10 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • ½ cup frozen peas
  • 1½ cups chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
  • 2 tablespoons chicken stock
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cauliflower Mash
  2. In a food processor pulse the cheese until it crumbles into very small pieces
  3. add in the rest of the ingredients and puree till smooth. Set aside
  4. Filling
  5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  6. Melt the butter in a large pot.
  7. Add the mushrooms and a few pinches of salt to the pot and cook on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the liquid from the mushrooms disappears.
  8. Add the shallots and garlic an sauté for another 2 - 3 minutes, or until shallots are softened.
  9. Add the peas and carrots, stir to combine.
  10. Stir in the chicken broth and worcestershire sauce
  11. In a small bowl stir together the 2 tablespoons of chicken broth and arrowroot till smooth.
  12. Reduce the heat to medium low and combine the arrowroot mixture with the veggie and chicken mixture stirring constantly, cooking for about 5 minutes on low heat until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
  13. Pour the veggie chicken mixture into a medium sized baking dish (9X9).
  14. Top the veggie chicken mixture with the cauliflower mash, cover the filling completely.
  15. Bake for 20 -30 minutes or until the mixture begins to bubble.
  16. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

10
Mar
2015

Buffalo Blue Cheese Stuffed Eggs – PLUS a Kerrygold Giveaway!

categories: Appetizers, Giveaways, Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Miscellaneous, Recipes, Uncategorized

devil eggs4_Fotor 640 Deviled eggs are a pretty popular contribution to Easter celebrations.  Mostly because of the crazy tradition of hiding and finding hard boiled eggs in grass and dirt.  Who started this crazy tradition?  The germaphobe in me cringes. If your household is like mine there is an abundance of hard boiled eggs looking for new uses after the binge eating is over.  There is the obvious egg salad, or as an ingredient in a cobb salad.  My favorite use is the deviled egg. Usually I am a very simplistic lover of the deviled egg.  The less fuss and simpler the ingredients the better, but I love a challenge. I was recently asked to take part of an amazing giveaway with  Kerrygold cheese and butter.  If you have never have a KG product you need to remedy that situation ASAP.  Their products  are made from cows that graze on grass in the hills of Ireland.  Happy cows.  Grateful cows, that make their product with love that you can taste.

products_butter_salted-butter
photo courtesy of kerrygoldusa.com

I’m sure you are wondering if cows eating grass makes a difference.  I can say empathically that it does.  The old saying “You are what you eat”, not only applies to the cows, but to us as we eat the byproduct of what they eat.  The taste is cleaner than butter and cheese made from a grain fed cow. Not only is the taste better, but there are health benefits to eating the products of grassfed cows.  The butter is yellow in color due to the high levels of beta carotene and is hormone-free.  Did you know that there is a significant amount of Vitamin K2 in the butter made from grassed cows?  K2 is responsible for decalcifying our arteries.  Consuming grassfed butter can lower heart disease, (authority nutrition.com).  

products_landing-intro
photo courtesy of kerrygoldusa.com

A better question begs to be asked.  Why in the world would you consume anything else?  Especially when you can buy Kerrygold products almost anywhere these days, even Costco. They have some amazing flavors in their cheese line.  From their infamous Dubliner to different types of cheddars, swiss, or the more complex Dubliner with Irish Stout, or Aged-Cheddar with Irish Whiskey and the Irish Cashel Blue Cheese.  Click here to learn more about each cheese.

products_cheese_cashel-blue
photo courtesy of kerrygoldusa.com

After receiving a rather large assortment of happy cow cheeses and butters I was challenged to make an appetizer for our monthly Inland Empire Food Bloggers Meeting.  As a group we are giving away a gift basket of KG cheese and butter valued at $175!  Each of us was asked to come up with a recipe show casing the cheeses. Since Easter is on it’s way, and like I discussed earlier I am always looking for a way to use hard boiled eggs, I came up with this version of deviled eggs.  I guess they should be called buffalowed eggs though.  The eggs are stuffed full of Kerrygold Irish Cashel Blue Cheese.  There is zero mayo in this recipe, using protein packed, tangy greek yogurt instead.  The addition of buffalo sauce in the eggs leaves a spicy finish on the back end.  Diced celery gives the eggs a lovely crunchy texture.  My favorite part of these spicy, cheese filled eggs?  There are only 84 calories for two of these babies. This is what the other members of our IEFB group made with their cheese and butter:

From Sue at It’s Okay to Eat the Cupcake A Dubliner Cream Scone

Single Scone _Fotor

Cottage Pies from Sara at My Imperfect Kitchen

cottage pies_Fotor

Kerrygold Beer & Cheese Pairing from Natalie at The Devil Wears Parsley

KerrygoldCheeseBeerPairing-19_Fotor

Dubliner Judge made by Christy at Confessions of a Culinary Diva

dubliner judge_Fotor

The recipe for the eggs is below, but before I get to that I want to share what is in the Kerrygold gift basket!

2 wedges Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese

2 wedges Kerrygold Swiss Cheese

2 wedges Kerrygold Blarney Castle Cheese

2 wedges Kerrygold Aged Cheddar

2 wedges Kerrygold Reserve Cheddar

2 wedges Kerrygold Red Leicester

2 wedges of Kerrygold Skellig

2 packs Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter

2 packs Kerrygold Unsalted Butter

2 packs of Kerrygold Garlic and Herb Butter

2 packs of Kerrygold Softer Butter

A $175 estimated retail value!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5.0 from 2 reviews
Buffalo Blue Cheese Stuffed Eggs
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 8
  • Serving size: 8
  • Calories: 84
  • Fat: 4.2
  • Saturated fat: 1.4
  • Carbohydrates: .8
  • Sugar: .6
  • Sodium: 241
  • Fiber: .1
  • Protein: 6.5
  • Cholesterol: 164
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Print
A playful, twist on deviled eggs. Cashel Irish Blue Cheese is paired with spicy buffalo sauce and topped with crunchy celery.
Ingredients
  • 8 eggs, hard boiled, peeled
  • 5 tablespoons plain 0% greek yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons Franks Red Hot Sauce
  • ¼ cup Kerrygold Irish Cashel Blue Cheese
  • 5 tablespoons finely diced celery, reserve one for garnish
  • ⅛ teaspoon celery salt
  • cayenne or chili powder for garnish
Instructions
  1. Slice each egg in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks to a medium size bowl, mashing yolks with a fork.
  2. Add in the yogurt, hot sauce, blue cheese, salt, and 4 tablespoons of celery into the mashed yolks. Combine ingredients till smooth, adding more greek yogurt 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture reaches desired consistency. It should not be too dry, but easy to pipe out of plastic bag.
  3. Scoop the blue cheese mixture into a piping bag or ziploc bag. Pipe about a half tablespoon of the mixture into each egg white half.
  4. Garnish the eggs with remaining celery, and sprinkle cayenne or chili powder on top of each.
  5. Refrigerate till ready to serve. Can be made up to a day before.
13
Nov
2014

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

categories: Appetizers, Main Dishes, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized

vampire blood

There are so many reasons I love fall.  The cooler weather.  The sporadic but present Southern California rain.  The Halloween candy bags filled with Reese’s Peanut Butter cups left for me to steal from my own children.  Yes, I steal candy from my children, don’t judge, you know you do it too.

My absolute favorite part of fall is the ability to make soup and grilled cheese for dinner without breaking out in an unattractive sweat.  Yes, that is important.  No one wants to start eating a hot bowl of creamy tomato soup and start sweating into it.  Yuck!

I am sure you are wondering how in the world do I eat tomato soup and grilled cheese while still making it healthy.  I do and don’t at the same time.  Yes, very contradictory.

As I mentioned in my last post, all of October, and now into November, I am eating all unprocessed foods.  I was eating mostly ‘clean’ foods before, but I still consume a lot of processed healthy and unhealthy foods.  I didn’t realize the amount of processed foods I was putting into my body until I completely took them out.

In the October Unprocessed challenge I didn’t eat anything I couldn’t make in my kitchen.  I made tortillas for the first time and loved them!  They were thicker than store-bought, but incredible.  I made wheat bread (from veganbaking.net) for my kid’s school lunches.  They went crazy for it because it was pretty much the tastiest, healthy wheat bread we have ever had.

wheat bread_Fotor

It was hard at times to keep on the unprocessed route.  I ate more peanut butter than I ever have in my entire life to fuel myself.  I love me some PB so it was fine by me.   I have never felt better in my life.  I have never had more definition and fewer headaches.  I never post ‘progress’ pictures, but I felt this time it was appropriate.  This is what eating unprocessed for 30 days can do:

bekah unprocessed

I’m pretty proud of myself!  I’m actually starting to see ab muscles!

Because I was making everything unprocessed, some nights I was tired of cooking by the end of the day.  Plus I had a lot of events that I was attending that needed new recipes or required me to cook.  One night I was over it.  I wanted something simple.  So I grabbed one of the home-made loaves of whole wheat bread, some Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, roasted jalapeños and Kerrygold butter.  The marriage of these ingredients created a melty, crunchy grilled cheese baby that I dipped into a pool of creamy tomato soup.

I loved the combo so much that I brought it to share at my monthly IEFB (Inland Empire Food Bloggers) meeting at fellow member Natalie Orozco’s (The Devil Wears Parlsey) house.  Of course I had to dress it up for the event, since our meeting was a Halloween theme.  Vampire blood test tube shots with Frankenstein and Bat grilled cheese fit in nicely among my fellow member’s awesome contributions.

choco bones myimp_Collage

Top:  Silly Cupcakes from My Imperfect Kitchen, middle left:  Autumn Harvest Croissants from It’s Okay to Eat the Cupcake, middle middle:  Meatloaf Skulls from The Devil Wears Parsley, middle right: Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, bottom:  Halloween Cookies with assorted frosting from The Devil Wears Parsley.

I hope you all had a healthy and fun Halloween.  Do those two words even go in the same sentence with Halloween?  Sure, why not?  Even if they don’t I hope I have inspired you to take an unprocessed challenge of your own.  It doesn’t have to mean only fruits and vegetables.  Just make your own clean foods and see what changes take place.  I dare you.
                  

 

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for any portion of this post.  The Kerrygold cheese and butter was supplied to me by Kerrygold.  All opinions and ideas are my own unless otherwise stated.

Dairy Free Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 4-6 servings
  • Serving size: 1 cup
  • Calories: 129
  • Fat: 6.8
  • Saturated fat: .9
  • Carbohydrates: 13.2
  • Sugar: 7.9
  • Sodium: 977
  • Fiber: 3.8
  • Protein: 4.8
Recipe type: Soup
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Print
Adapted from Nordstrom Cafe's Tomato Basil Soup A hearty tomato soup that will stand up to your pickiest grilled cheese accompaniment.
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 3, 28 ounce cans organic diced tomatoes
  • 1 quart chicken stock (preferably homemade)
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add carrot and onion and cook until beginning to soften, 10 minutes, then add basil and cook until vegetables are completely soft, about 5 minutes more.
  2. Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.
  3. Allow the soup to cool somewhat, then purée until smooth in a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender.
  4. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.