Middle Eastern Shepherd's Pie

The night before payday and Susan had one red pepper and one pound of ground turkey in the back of her refrigerator. As if by magic, a recipe she tore out of somewhere long ago requiring those two ingredients and not many more revealed itself to her. She doesn't know how ketchup, cumin and raisins make something middle eastern but she didn't care because she had all the ingredients and she was committed. Her expectations were low. It didn't smell like much as she cooked and no one had a word to say while they ate. She was delighted to discover that her family loved dinner and gave permission for her to make it again which is fantastic because it's bloody simple.

POTATO TOPPING;
2 lbs POTATOES, scrubbed
1/2 cup chicken BROTH (bouillon, whatever)
1 tablespoon OLIVE OIL
1/4 teaspoon SALT
Prick potatoes all over, microwave for 7 minutes, turn & give them 7 more (unless they're small potatoes, in which case you won't need the additional seven minutes).
Cut in half & let cool.

MEAT FILLING;
1 lb GROUND TURKEY (ground beef, whatever you like)
1 RED PEPPER, diced (substituted from the original green pepper)
1 ONION, chopped
2 tablespoons CAPERS (Susan hates these & left them out)
1/2 teaspoon CUMIN
1/2 teaspoon SALT
1/4 teaspoon CINNAMON
1/8 teaspoon BLACK PEPPER
1/4 cup RAISINS
1/4 cup KETCHUP

Preheat oven to 425*
Combine ground turkey, cumin, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, red pepper & onion in a skillet. Cook over medium high, stirring to break up meat until it's no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Stir in capers (yuck), raisins and ketchup, cook a few more minutes until mixture is fairly dry. Transfer to pie plate or any similarly sized receptacle and press to flatten.

Scoop out potato flesh and combine with broth, olive oil & salt. Mash and spread evenly over top of meat. Into the oven for 15 minutes or until potatoes begin to brown.
This serves four, but next time Susan's going to double the recipe and make it in a lasagna pan.

Ed. note: Susan modified the cooking process thusly: Saute the diced pepper & onions first, cook the turkey, drain. Combine everything and cook for the last few minutes.

Is Anyone Interested In A Potato Salad Recipe?

Susan's little sister was over for a certain eleven year old's birthday party and had nice things to say about Susan's potato salad.
Susan doesn't like her potatoes cold and slathered in mayonnaise, but she likes this recipe because it uses sweet potatoes, garlic and balsamic vinegar. Susan's recipe allows for all sorts of substitutions but she will stick close to the original form.

1.5 pounds of small red potatoes (or any potatoes really), scrubbed & quartered
1.5 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced (add more)
1/2 onion, finely chopped (use the whole thing)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, basil or oregano, whatever's handy
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons plain yogurt (feel free to use fat free,
Susan does)
1/4 teaspoon salt
pepper

Susan has also been known to chop up a red and/or green pepper for a little crunch.

Simmer potatoes 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain & rinse under cold water.
Combine vinegar, oil and garlic in a LARGE bowl.
Add the onion and potatoes, toss to coat.
Combine the cilantro, basil or oregano with the mayonnaise, yogurt, salt & pepper.
Pour over the potatoes and toss to coat.
Refrigerate until cold.
Susan finds it tastes best the day she makes it.
Will anyone be put off to learn that it's a WW recipe?

How Many F*cking POTATOES Does One House Need Anyway?

Susan's family are a bunch of POTATO eaters. Every once in a while the POTATOES get eaten all up & must be replaced. This is exactly what happened just a few days ago; no POTATOES.

Susan picked up a 5 lb bag of RED POTATOES at the market easily enough. However, she asked the husband to bring home some SWEET POTATOES because she's on an obsessive curry making tear & wanted to incorporate them into a red curry she's working on. They're also higher in certain vitamins than REGULAR POTATOES and good to eat at any time with anything.

The environmentally devastating plastic bags from the market sat on her kitchen table till the next morning when Susan got an opportunity to put the contents away.

One bag held seven big WHITE POTATOES hand picked by the husband. The other bag held a 5 lb bag of RED POTATOES, exactly like the one she had purchased & put away in plain sight a few days earlier. Susan questioned The Husband in order to ascertain whether he understood her request or just couldn't bloody see that these POTATOES were white and not orange. It was the latter. He threw the bag of RED POTATOES in for good measure because you can never have too many F*CKING POTATOES in one house, you know.