Dream Dinners Review--Cattleman's Pie
Preparing the Cattleman's Pie at Dream Dinners, I was a bit taken aback by the plethora of Ziploc bags we had to use. It included a gallon bag for the mashed potatoes, a quart bag for the carrots and onions, a quart bag for the sauce, a quart bag for the peas and parsley, the two packages of ground meat, and a 2 gallon bag to hold everything. Since it takes up a lot of room, my freezer space is at a premium, and I wanted to try it before Saturday, I cooked this last night. Or, I should say, Mac and I cooked it!
I donated blood yesterday, at the quarterly blood drive we hold at work, and was wiped out last night. When I started donating blood years ago, I never used to get wiped out afterwards, but now, I feel drained afterwards. So, by the time I was hungry, I was also ready for a nap. Mac stepped in and helped me cook dinner, which was nice.
I was a little disappointed that to prepare this, I needed a sauce pan, a skillet, and a baking dish, but I was not disappointed in the end result! I also found that the directions were somewhat lacking. They fail to indicate what size of baking dish you should use (we used a 9X13, and it was a good size for a 6-serving). It says to spray the dish with non-stick, but omits the cooking spray portion of that, and when it tells you to bake it, it says, "Bake uncovered 15-20," which is obviously minutes, but still. The directions read like they were written by someone who assumed all of this would be known to everyone, or who simply omitted words to save space.
Yes, I know, silly complaint. Mac tackled cooking the ground meat and draining it while I cooked the mashed potatoes. I then tackled adding the carrots, onions, sauce, peas, and parsley, then actually creating the "pie" in the baking dish. Mac also prepared biscuits, which was a nice touch.
The time from stove to table was closer to 40 minutes, between cooking everything, layering it, and then allowing it to bake in the oven. The flavor dish recipe is a great, hearty, winter dish. It's comfort food, and would be great for a day when we're having a winter storm, or a chilly spring or fall day with a lot of rain, when all you want to do is stay inside, snuggled up in the blankets, cuddling.
When I placed my extra order, so that Sonja wouldn't attend alone this weekend, I ordered another 6-serving of this. I was a bit hesitant, but figured that if it wasn't flavorful enough for Mac, I could add a bit of pepper and such. No worries, no pepper needed, and he's happy we'll have another batch of it to whip up at a later date!
I donated blood yesterday, at the quarterly blood drive we hold at work, and was wiped out last night. When I started donating blood years ago, I never used to get wiped out afterwards, but now, I feel drained afterwards. So, by the time I was hungry, I was also ready for a nap. Mac stepped in and helped me cook dinner, which was nice.
I was a little disappointed that to prepare this, I needed a sauce pan, a skillet, and a baking dish, but I was not disappointed in the end result! I also found that the directions were somewhat lacking. They fail to indicate what size of baking dish you should use (we used a 9X13, and it was a good size for a 6-serving). It says to spray the dish with non-stick, but omits the cooking spray portion of that, and when it tells you to bake it, it says, "Bake uncovered 15-20," which is obviously minutes, but still. The directions read like they were written by someone who assumed all of this would be known to everyone, or who simply omitted words to save space.
Yes, I know, silly complaint. Mac tackled cooking the ground meat and draining it while I cooked the mashed potatoes. I then tackled adding the carrots, onions, sauce, peas, and parsley, then actually creating the "pie" in the baking dish. Mac also prepared biscuits, which was a nice touch.
The time from stove to table was closer to 40 minutes, between cooking everything, layering it, and then allowing it to bake in the oven. The flavor dish recipe is a great, hearty, winter dish. It's comfort food, and would be great for a day when we're having a winter storm, or a chilly spring or fall day with a lot of rain, when all you want to do is stay inside, snuggled up in the blankets, cuddling.
When I placed my extra order, so that Sonja wouldn't attend alone this weekend, I ordered another 6-serving of this. I was a bit hesitant, but figured that if it wasn't flavorful enough for Mac, I could add a bit of pepper and such. No worries, no pepper needed, and he's happy we'll have another batch of it to whip up at a later date!
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