Last week I shared what would be the first recipe in a new series called College Cooking. My 21 year old bonus-son and his roommates requested some recipe inspiration.

College Cooking Challenge

“Start a recipe series called College Cooking and give us a new recipe each week that we can prepare in our off-campus housing kitchens!

Be sure the ingredients are readily available (and affordable) but help us break free from blue box mac ‘n cheese, frozen pizzas, and fast-food meals.”

When we went down for their initial move-in visit, little did I know that they had planned a cooking challenge for me. A ‘Chopped-like’ College Cooking Competition.

They gave me 5 typical college survival ingredients and asked me to turn them into an Appetizer, Entree and Dessert.

Oh boy!

My College Cooking Challenge Mystery Ingredients

• Instant Mashed Potatoes
• Ramen Noodles
• Frozen Chicken Tenders
• Steak-umms
• Cap’N Crunch

I can honestly say all but ramen noodles were making their debut on Lemony Thyme!

Before I planned my recipes, I was able to ‘shop’ from their pantry and fridge/freezer. No question they have their staple ‘survival’ ingredients, but they also had a nice array of spices and cooking essentials.

We made a run to their local Walmart for the remaining ingredients! That was an adventure in itself. Envision a college town Walmart the day after move-in weekend. Chaos but we nailed it!

The College Cooking Challenge Results

Cooking for these kids was a blast! I found some pretty creative ways to incorporate their go-to staple ingredients. And most importantly they loved the results and ate every last bite!

For the Appetizer Round I made Nashville Hot Chicken & Waffle Sliders, incorporating the frozen chicken tenders.

And I also made these Loaded Baked Potato Tots with Sour Cream & Cheddar Dipping Sauce! They were a huge hit!

Loaded Baked Potato Tots

My challenged included a 4-pack of microwavable instant mashed potatoes. Let me say a couple things about that. Of all the mystery ingredients, this was the one I feared most. All I could envision were thin and flavorless ‘watery’ mashed potatoes.

I now feel a bit foolish! They are nice and thick and taste pretty darn good straight out of the microwave. I can see why these meat & potato loving kids stock their cupboards with them.

*Partly attributed to the sodium count which weighs in at 690 mg. per serving.

So for this recipe, whether you use instant or have leftover homemade mashed potatoes is completely your choice.

Loaded Tots Ingredients

• You’ll begin with 3 cups of mashed potatoes
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crispy cooked bacon
• 2 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives
• Panko or plain breadcrumbs

• Combine all ingredients and mix well
• Using a teaspoon, scoop out mashed potatoes and shape into ‘tots’
• Roll each tot in breadcrumbs
• Place tots on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet
• Bake at 375 deg. F. for 25 minutes
• Serve with Sour Cream & Cheddar Dipping Sauce

You can certainly pan-fry these tots but oven-baked yielded a nice crispy tot with cheesy loaded mashed potato inside! And this dipping sauce is crazy good with cheddar cheese and bacony love.

There was not a tot to be found after the appetizer round!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our Instagram Story Highlights for how the entire College Cooking Challenge went down! More recipes to follow!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Loaded Baked Potato Tots Recipe

You can certainly pan-fry these tots but oven-baked yielded a nice crispy tot with cheesy mashed potato inside!

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

For the Loaded Baked Potato Tots

• 3 cups mashed potatoes cooled
• 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup crispy cooked bacon finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons fresh chives snipped
• 1-2 cups dry plain breadcrumbs

For the Sour Cream & Cheddar Dipping Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons cheddar cheese shredded
• 2 Tablespoons crispy cooked bacon finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh chives snipped
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (or garlic powder & salt)

Instructions

For Loaded Baked Potato Tots

• Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Using a teaspoon, scoop out potato mixture and form into tots. Roll tots in breadcrumbs then place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve with Sour Cream & Cheddar Dipping Sauce.

For Sour Cream & Cheddar Dipping Sauce

• Combine all ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from Rachel Hollis.

The post Loaded Baked Potato Tots Recipe appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I would request it for my birthday dinners, when a celebration was in order, or when I just craved Mom’s home cooking. 

The fresh herbs in this classic comfort food recipe make it sing…Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme; Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine. 

Mom called her version *Chinese Pie which was slightly different than this Shepherd’s Pie recipe (creamed corn in place of carrot, onion, zucchini, peas), but had all the comfort that only a casserole (or maybe a fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie) can bring.

Another similar dish to the Irish Shepherd’s Pie is Cottage Pie, one made with lamb and one with beef, although the variations are many.

The Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• In a large skillet sauté mushrooms until golden brown on both sides and reserve
• Meanwhile boil potatoes until tender, drain, and mash with butter, buttermilk, sage, salt & pepper
• If using fresh English peas simmer those as well

• Brown the meat and drain fat
• Add garlic, tomato paste, fresh herbs and Worcestershire, stir to combine
• Add wine and allow to mostly cook off before dusting with flour (or arrowroot for gluten free)
• Stir in broth and simmer until sauce begins to thicken
• Return sautéed mushrooms to pan to combine
• Season with salt and pepper to taste

• Pour browned meat and mushrooms into 2 quart buttered casserole dish. Reserve.

• Top meat/mushroom layer with sautéed vegetables. Reserve.

• Spread mashed potatoes over veggie layer
• Make a criss-cross pattern with a fork
• Dot with butter pieces 
• Bake until edges start to become golden brown 40 – 45 minutes  
• Finish under broiler for nice brown peaks
• Let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving

This Shepherd’s Pie is rich and hearty and just as comfortable as I remember. Hope you love it like we do!

*I just had to know where the name Chinese Pie came from so I did a little culinary digging. Apparently Chinese Pie, also known as Paté Chinois, originated in Canada and is a staple French-Canadian dish. During the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 19th century workers were fed rations of beef, potatoes and corn. Many of the workers of primarily Asian origin would combine their rations, creating a family-style dish to be shared. This serving style took off with the French-Canadian workers as well who dubbed the dish Paté Chinois (or Chinese Pie in French). And now you know ~ the rest of the story.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Shepherd’s Pie

This Shepherd's Pie is rich and hearty and just as comfortable as I remember. The fresh herbs in this classic comfort food recipe make it sing.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Meat & Mushroom Layer

• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon butter & olive oil
• 2 lbs. ground beef and/or ground lamb
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage) minced
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 Tablespoon flour or arrow root (for GF Version)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the Vegetable Layer

• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced, about 1 cup
• 2-3 carrots diced, about 1 cup
• 2 small zucchini julienned, about 1 cup
• 1 cup fresh or frozen English peas

For the Potato Layer

• 3 lbs. potatoes or cauliflower for a low-carb alternative
• 5 Tbl. butter divided
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp. fresh sage minced optional
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Meat & Mushroom Layer

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon butter & 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add mushrooms in single layer and cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet and reserve.
• Brown meat over medium high heat, drain fat, then add tomato paste, garlic, fresh herbs, and Worcestershire. Stir to combine and cook 1-2 minutes. Stir in wine and allow to mostly cook off before dusting with flour (arrowroot for gluten free version). Stir to incorporate, then add broth and stir until sauce begins to thicken. Return browned mushrooms to the pan. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Pour meat/mushrooms into 2 quart buttered casserole dish.

For the Vegetable Layer

• In skillet saute onion & carrot until just tender, then add zucchini continue cooking for 3-4 minutes. Stir in frozen peas (or cooked fresh peas). Season with salt & pepper to taste. Pour veggies over browned meat/musrooms in casserole dish.

For the Potato Layer

• Boil potatoes until tender, drain, then add 4 Tablespoons butter, buttermilk, 1/2 tsp. fresh sage, salt & pepper and mash. Spoon potatoes on top of meat/vegetable layers.
• Take a fork and scratch a pattern into top of mashed potatoes. Dot with remaining Tablespoon butter. Bake until golden 40 – 45 minutes. Finish under broiler for nice brown peaks. Let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you’re looking for a low-carb option, use cauliflower mash instead of mashed potatoes.

The post Shepherd’s Pie – A Classic Comfort Food appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

The key to really good Potato Pancakes is starting with really good mashed potatoes.  THE BEST Mashed Potatoes.  Hand mashed boiled potatoes with roasted garlic, buttermilk, fresh herbs, butter, salt and pepper turn into bites of heaven.  So naturally these Herbed Potato Pancakes are quite heavenly themselves.

Form cold leftover mashed potatoes into pancake patties.  Dip both sides of each patty in seasoned panko breadcrumbs.  Gently cook in butter over medium-low heat until golden brown on both sides.  Remove to a 300 degree oven while frying the eggs.

I served our Herbed Potato Pancakes over a bed of wilted spinach, topped with a fried egg and sprinkling of scallions.  Fabulous breakfast or brunch dish and the perfect way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.  Not that we have those all that often.

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Herbed Potato Pancakes {with Fried Eggs}

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
• salt & pepper

For pancakes…

• 2 cups Herbed Mashed Potatoes
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbl. butter for frying
• scallions thinly sliced for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Form cold mashed potatoes into 4 pancake patties. Combine bread crumbs, paprika, salt & pepper in a shallow bowl. Dip both sides of each pancake in seasoned bread crumbs, pressing gently so crumbs adhere.
• Melt 1 Tbl. butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Fry two patties at a time, until golden brown on both sides, add additional butter and fry remaining patties. Remove to oven proof pan and hold in 300 degree oven while frying eggs.
• In same skillet, add spinach leaves, with pinch of salt & pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes until wilted. Reserve. Fry eggs in same skillet.
• Serve on individual plates, with a bed of wilted spinach, a potato pancake, and a fried egg. Garnish with scallions

The post Herbed Potato Pancakes {with Fried Eggs} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.