Flexible Shepherd’s Pie

This is a "Flexible" recipe, because it easily adapts to different tastes in vegetables, meat, and seasonings. It also can be finished in the oven, so it is hot when you (or the family you gave it to) is ready to eat!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef/turkey


• 1 onion chopped


• 2-3 cups chopped mushrooms


• 1-2 cups vegetables (chopped carrots, spinach, peas, corn, soybeans, or whatever you like)


• 2-3 large potatoes (Yukon Gold is my favorite, but anything works)


• 2-3 cloves of garlic (optional)


• One can of Cream of Tomato soup (any tomato sauce will do)


• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil


• Worcestershire sauce (you can substitute any seasonings you want)


• Salt, pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil potatoes and garlic in salted water.




2. Mash potatoes, adding a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.



3. Saute mushrooms. Set Aside.



4. Saute onions. Add meat with a little salt and cook until brown.
   
   



5. Take the meat mixture off the stove, mix in tomato soup/sauce and vegetables. (If you are using mushrooms, don’t mix them in yet.)
   
   



6. In a 13x9 casserole dish, first spread the meat mixture on the bottom.
   



7. Add the mushrooms...
   



8. Finally, add the mashed potato.
   



9. Score the top of the potato layer with a fork.
   Optional: Sprinkle with a little butter or cheese (Cheddar, Colby Jack or Monterrey Jack)



10. Cooking Instructions : Bake at 350 deg F for 45 min or till the tips of the mashed potato turn brown. (Put these instructions on a sticky note and put on the dish if the recipient is baking it.)

Enjoy!

- Sabina

Wrapping Things Up

Disposable or not? This is up to you. Disposable can make things easier for the recipient. Consider how important it is to you that you get your dishes back also. On the other hand, it is hard to find to a disposable container that can hold a large quantity of steaming stew. I tend to just take it in the pot in which it was cooked. Sometimes, the recipient will just pour it into one of their own and hand the pot back to me. But I don’t stress about my dishes. I have pots to spare and by and large my dishes have found their way back to me.

If you are taking the meal to a family that’s at a hospital and away from home, disposable would just be necessary. In that case, don’t forget napkins and disposable cutlery!

- Sabina

Importing Email Addresses

Virtually every major email system (Yahoo, Google, and Hotmail) can export email addresses (Contacts) to an Outlook CSV format. CaringMeals can now import Outlook CSV files, so you can save typing and quickly invite all your Friends to bring meals!

Here are the steps:

1. Export your Contacts to an Outlook CSV file. When prompted to save the file, choose your "My Documents" or "Documents" folder.
   
   Here are examples from the 3 major email providers:
   
   • Gmail
     
     
     
     • Click Contacts | Export
     
     
     • Select Outlook CSV and click "Export"
       
     
     
     
     
   
   
   • Yahoo
     
     
     
     • Open your Contact List and select Export
       
     
     
     • Click Export Now next to "Microsoft Outlook"
       
     
     
     
     
   
   
   • Hotmail
     Open your Contacts and Click Manage | Export
   
   
   • For other email systems, look for an "Export" function, and select "Outlook CSV" when asked for the format to export. If you have questions, please check with your email provider.
     
   
   
   
   


2. Login to CaringMeals, Open the Plan you are coordinating, and click INVITE FRIENDS TO HELP. You will see this screen:


3. Click the "Choose File" button, and select the file from step #1 in your "My Documents", "Documents", or whichever folder you saved the file.


4. Click UPLOAD, and then you should see a screen like this:If you see one of the following messages:
   - File too big
   - No Addresses found
   - Not a CSV file
   Please correct your file, and try again.
   


5. Enter a note to your Friends, and then click SEND!

This is another feature which was requested by our YOU, our users - Keep sending us your feedback and suggestions! We want to keep providing features which help you coordinate more meals, in less time, with less stress!

Food Safety - Your Refrigerator

Why do we refrigerate foods?

Refrigeration slows bacterial growth. Bacteria exist everywhere in nature. They are in the soil, air, water, and the foods we eat. When they have nutrients (food), moisture, and favorable temperatures, they grow rapidly, increasing in numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can cause illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, the “Danger Zone,” some doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. A refrigerator set at 40 °F or below will protect most foods.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Refrigeration_and_Food_Safety.pdf

Stay out of the "Danger Zone" in your refrigerator!
When it comes to meal preparation and storage (Leftovers), knowing how refrigeration affects different types of foods can save you from making yourself or, even worse, someone else painfully sick.

Here are the refrigeration times for some of the most common CaringMeals:
- Opened Luncheon Meats: 3-5 days
- Ground Meats: 1-2 days
- Chicken: 1-2 days
(be careful with chicken and ground meat!)

For an in-depth explanation of this topic, the USDA has provided a complete guide to food safety:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Refrigeration_and_Food_Safety.pdf

Their Food Safety home page is:
http://origin-www.fsis.usda.gov/Food_Safety_Education/index.asp

You can even call them at 1-888-MPHotline! Your tax dollars at work!

Who did I Invite?

As your friend list grows, sometimes you forget who you already invited to a Plan. No need to worry - when you click "INVITE FRIENDS TO HELP" and look at your list of friends, the "@" will be your guide. If you see "@" next to your Friend's name, they have already been invited. (Even if someone else invited that friend to the Plan, you will see the "@" symbol!)

Prepare and Conquer

To allow for shopping time and preparation, try to begin planning your meal 2 days before the delivery date (CaringMeals.com will send you an email reminder 2 days before your delivery date). Let's look at some tips for planning and cooking your meal...

When choosing a meal to cook for someone else, I have found that this generally is not the time to try out a new recipe. Figuring out a new recipe and wondering how the dish will turn out only adds stress. Meals that your family likes are a good place to start. Of course you want to pick one that is easy to pack and transport. If you decide to try something new, make to cook it at least once for your family (if you have the time).

It’s good to have a stock of recipes that have worked in the past. You don’t need too many because typically you'll only take one meal to a family. It really doesn’t matter how many times you take the dish because it is always "new" to the recipient. Besides, the more you make your favorites, the better you get at it and the easier it is to make!

Having said all that, my favorites are Shepherd’s Pie and Stews/Soups. Most adults and children like these. Casseroles can be assembled bit-by-bit over a couple days and can include all the main food groups. Most of them also refrigerate or freeze well.

A Simple Suggested Preparation Schedule:

1. 2 Days Before : Shop and make sure you have all ingredients. Start chopping veggies.

2. Day Before : Start cooking and assembling dish. Make the dessert.

3. Delivery Day : Finish final cooking, packing. Make call to confirm delivery, if necessary.


- Sabina James

Gawking at Food

There are a million recipes online, but when you can see beautiful pictures of the food being prepared, the recipe really becomes inspiring.

For example, take a look at this:
http://iowagirleats.com/2009/11/24/id-marry-this-soup/
Seeing the meal is so much more exciting than just reading about it! If you like what you see, browse all of the pictorial recipes on Iowa Girl Eats.

If you love looking at food (and getting ideas for cooking CaringMeals!), take a look at http://foodgawker.com/. It is user sorted directory (the most popular sites are at the front) of food pictures and recipes from all over the Internet.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!