Italian Shepherd's Pie

A while back I stumbled upon a recipe for Rachel Ray's Italian Shepherd's Pie. It looked like a fun way to combine our favorite foods... veggies, pasta and cheese :)

From Italian Shepard's Pie

We didn't quite have all the ingredients on hand... so we improvized with an Italian cheese blend that had Parm, Mozzarella and Provolone. Next time, I'll be sure to add Asiago, as I believe that would make this dish superb.

Italian Shepherd's Pie - Rachel Ray (modified by Snow White)

1/2 box of whole wheat penne pasta (Healthy Harvest from Ronzini)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground turkey (we used a little less because we always cut the meat...)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
5 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded provolone
1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese, plus additional

Fill a large kettle with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain pasta when cooked, and place pasta back in the kettle.

Meanwhile, brown turkey in a large skillet until it's nice and brown. Add garlic, and chopped onions to turkey as it cooks. When browned, add the remaining veggies to the turkey and cook about 5 minutes until veggies are tender.

From Italian Shepard's Pie

Add 1/2 C chicken broth, tomato paste, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes until veggies reach desired tenderness, stirring occassionally. Preheat oven to 400.

From Italian Shepard's Pie

From Italian Shepard's Pie

While veggies are cooking, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. In a glass, combine 2 C broth with 3 T flour and whisk together until blended. Add to the melted butter, and stir to combine. Add 1 C milk and heat mixture to allow it to thicken. When the mix has reached desired thickness, remove the pan from the heat, and add both cheeses and stir until completely melted. Season with additional salt and pepper. Pour sauce over the pasta and stir to combine.

From Italian Shepard's Pie

Transfter the bottom of a glass 9x13 pan with the turkey mixture.

From Italian Shepard's Pie

Pour cheesy pasta over the top of the turkey and veggies.

From Italian Shepard's Pie

Sprinkle the top with extra Asiago, and bake until cheese is golden brown; about 10-12 minutes.

From Italian Shepard's Pie

Mushroom Asparagus Quiche

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day... in addition to my love of whole wheat blueberry pancakes, cinnamon waffles, Christmas eggs, baked oatmeal, granola and (the list goes on and on)..., we also enjoy a different twist on breakfast with an asparagus quiche.

We love asparagus and mushrooms... so we love this quiche from Taste of Home! This dish is great for any meal... breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

Mushroom Asparagus Quiche - Modified from Taste of Home
{Print Recipe}

1 recipe crescent roll dough (or, 1 8-oz tube)
2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 eggs, lightly beaten (1 egg + 1 egg white works too)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (for a nice change up, try Parm/Asiago/Mozzarella and Provolone)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano and rubbed sage


Press the dough into an ungreased 9-in. pie plate.   Press onto the bottom and up the sides to form a crust.  You may not need all the dough, so make a few crescent rolls with the extras.

Spread with mustard; set aside.

In a large skillet, saute the asparagus, onion and mushrooms in butter until asparagus is crisp-tender (I omit butter because I have a non-stick pan).

Often, we add a little ham (or leftover bacon)...

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

Then, stir in asparagus mixture.

Pour into crust; may sprinkle with additional cheese.

Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the edge comes out clean. Check quiche to make sure the edges aren't getting too browned during cooking; if they are browning, cover with tinfoil to prevent burning.


Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This quiche is linked at:

• Ultimate Recipe Swap
• Sir Ham A Lot - Leftover Ham Recipes

Vanilla Pudding

If there's one comfort food I enjoy, especially during the winter, it's warm vanilla pudding. For a while, I've been looking around for a homemade version, and I think I finally found my keeper!

From Vanilla Pudding

Vanilla Pudding

1/4 + 1/8 C sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons (I just guestimated the 1/2) cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt (I used less than 1/4 tsp)
2 C milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. butter
cinnamon, if desired

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir to mix well.

From Vanilla Pudding

Add 1 C of milk, and whisk to combine the dry ingredients with the milk. When combined, add the remaining 1 C milk and stir to combine.

From Vanilla Pudding

Set pan on a burner set to medium heat. Stir constantly while heating, until desired thickness is reached. Do not allow pudding to boil. A good "check" on thickness is checking to see if the pudding will coat the back of a metal spoon.

When consistency is reached, remove pan from heat. While pudding is still warm, add butter and vanilla and stir to combine. Pour into serving dishes or a large bowl; cover and chill before serving. Makes 5 servings.

From Vanilla Pudding

I enjoy cooling the pudding for just a little while, and then sprinkling cinnamon over the top of the pudding... the pudding is still a bit warm and it tastes like rice pudding without the rice! You can also add cooked brown rice to the final pudding product, as well as raisins for a more authentic rice pudding. Now... I just need to figure out how to turn this recipe into chocolate! Any suggestions?

From Vanilla Pudding

This post is shared at the Grocery Cart Challenge, Ingredient Spotlight

Cinnamon Waffles

From Cinnamon Waffles

Our George Forman Grill came with a great cookbook... and a recipe for "Perfect Morning Waffles", which we've come to enjoy with cinnamon for a special treat! I grew up only have "hot breakfasts" on special occasions, so it's been fun to be challenged to eat hot breakfasts this month!

Cinnamon Waffles - Modified from George Forman

1/4 C butter, melted
1 1/2 C flour (we've been able to use 1/2-3/4 C whole wheat flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 T sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 C milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon + extra for sprinkling on top

In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients including cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk the egg and stir in milk, vanilla and butter. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ones, and whisk until just blended -- do not over mix.

From Cinnamon Waffles

Heat waffle maker, and spoon waffle batter into waffle maker, cooking until slightly browned.

From Cinnamon Waffles

From Cinnamon Waffles

Serve sprinkled with additional cinnamon, if desired; fresh fruit (blueberries and peaches are great with the cinnamon, or are sauted apples), and/or syrup/honey.

These freeze well, and are great toasted in the toaster in the morning!

Thanks to the Happy Housewife for the Hot Breakfast challenge!

Garlic Muffins

From Garlic Muffins

A fun, tasty, light muffin -- makes a great side for almost anything!

Garlic Muffins - Modified from Cynthia

2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 T butter, melted
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 T minced onion

Heat oven to 400°F.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a small bowl, mix together egg, milk, garlic and onion. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture and melted butter.

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Mix together using as few strokes as possible. The batter should have small lumps in it.

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Pour into 12 muffins tins coated with cooking spray, filling about 2/3 full.

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Bake 20 minutes or until muffins begin to turn golden on top.

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For an extra treat, spray butter over the top of warm muffins and sprinkle with garlic powder or garlic salt.

Turkey and Black Bean Soup

From Turkey Blackbean Chili

Turkey Black Bean Soup - Modified from Rebekah's Recipe

1 lb. ground turkey
2 garlic cloves
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth (roughly 2 C)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced Italian diced tomatoes, undrained - we used regular diced tomatoes + 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 T minced onion
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 cup corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T sugar
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp. chili powder
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

Brown ground turkey in a skillet, and season with 2 garlic cloves (minced), salt and pepper. Drain excess fat from the turkey. Transfer turkey to a slow cooker.

From Turkey Blackbean Chili

Add all other ingredients, save the beans and rice. Stir to combine and cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4-6 hours). 1 hour before serving, add black beans and cooked rice. Serve with cheese and some tortilla chips, if desired (we enjoyed it with garlic muffins).

From Turkey Blackbean Chili

Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

From Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

This is one delicious chicken dish! My hubby LOVED it. It's not super healthy for you, so it won't be a regular... but it will make frequent appearances in our menus.

Smothered "Aussie" Chicken - Modified by Snow White (from Sherry at Happy to be at Home)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp. seasoning salt
6 slices of bacon, cut in half
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
3-4 T spicy brown mustard
3-4 T honey
1 T dried minced onion
1 C shredded cheeses; extra sharp cheddar and Monterey jack

Sprinkle chicken breasts with seasoning salt (we used salt-free season salt); cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cook bacon (either in a frying pan or in the microwave) until crispy; set aside. Place chicken breasts in a skillet and saute for 3-5 minutes per side, or until browned (if you need to, add a little olive oil). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While chicken is browning, in a medium bowl, combine mustard, honey and onion flakes. Stir well to mix.

From Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

Place chicken in a 9x13 glass pan. Coat chicken with honey mustard mixture (we dipped our chicken in the sauce and then applied leftover sauce to the top of the chicken breasts).

From Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

From Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

Top chicken with fresh mushrooms, cooked bacon strips and sprinkle with cheese.

From Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

From Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

Bake at 350 for 15-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned and chicken has reached 180 degrees F.

From Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

From Smothered "Aussie" Chicken

This recipe is shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

About Finding Joy in My Kitchen

My paternal grandmother raised 9 children.  I hear stories that she used to bake more than 10 loaves of bread at a time. She and my grandfather butchered their own cows and chickens, made their own pickles and grew all their vegetables and grains.  

I'm not like that.  

I work full time outside of the home, teaching college kids about plants, food and the basics of biology.  My husband works full time too, and although we have a garden, I can't imagine having cows and chickens in our backyard.  Did I mention I'm not an animal person?  Hence why I study plants.  

I did inherit (whether by genes or default) my love of cooking and baking from my mom and grandmothers.  All three of these amazing women were committed to feeding their families wholesome meals -- one did it in record time as kids were running in and out, one did it while working full time outside of the home, and one did it while working at home.   

To do just that requires simple ingredients; you know, the ones you always have on hand.  Not some one-time-use spice or herb that requires an extra trip to the store and never gets used again.  What do I use capers for again?  

And, that's my goal.  Frog Prince and I want to feed our family meals that are as much from scratch as possible.  We believe in good food, and good food that is easy to make!  

About Us

I (SnoWhite) have been married to the love of my life -- my Frog Prince -- since 2007.  Since then we've:

• Completed our PhDs
• Acquired real jobs
• Moved 600 miles 
• Bought our first house, & 
• Started gardening

We picked up cooking as a hobby during graduate school, motivated to find a way to manage my food allergy while cooking healthy, easy meals on a budget.  We started with an apple pie {not the easiest place to start, but, alas, that's where we began} and from there we quickly learned that cooking from scratch was not only easy but it was fun too.

About Finding Joy in My Kitchen

I was standing in the bread aisle of Meijer -- 600 miles away from home.  

As I picked up and read the label for each loaf of bread made with some type of whole grain they all contained the same warning about being processed with, made on equipment with or actually containing nuts.  Urg.  

Nearly in tears - I called my mom.

"Mom.... how do you make bread?"

It was either that, or a loaf of Wonder Bread.  

I've never been a white bread girl - I've loved my whole grains and certainly have a love for food.  But that moment in the grocery store took my cooking to a whole other level.  I had to rely on what I learned from my mom and start figuring out how to cook on my own.  

When I had success with a recipe, I'd call my mom to tell her all about it.  After a few weeks of calling her to see if she'd actually tried the recipe I had sent to her, she confessed that she needed to see a picture of the finished recipe before she would try it.  

Turns out, she's not the only one who likes seeing photos of what they are aspiring to make.

I decided to start Finding Joy in My Kitchen during our first year of marriage -- just for my mom.  I began posting recipes we tried, complete with step-by-step photos of the food.  And, you know what?  She started making some of our recipes.  And you did too!

Finding Joy in My Kitchen started as as a place to document our cooking journey; now, it's a ministry to you.  God has taught us much about using the food resources He's given to us to make wise and healthy food choices, and we've found that eating well and cooking from scratch is fun and enjoyable!  

It is our hope that as you browse and try these recipes that you too will find joy in cooking food for your family too!

Parmesan-Italian Pork Chops

One word... num.



Through Meal Planning Monday I stumbled upon a recipe for pork chops. Since we buy in bulk (it's cheaper that way), and there's only 2 of us, we have at least 2 more meals of pork chops in the freezer, and I've been looking for ways (other than our traditional Italian Pork Chops and the mushroom/onion soup version) to enjoy them. Boy, did I stumble onto a keeper!

This recipe from the MotherLoad called for sage as a seasoning on the chops, but low and behold, when I went to make them tonight, I learned we actually don't have sage in our spice rack. Improv time. I modified the recipe a bit, and it turned out amazing (in my humble opinion)... my hubby thought so too (but he might be biased -- I invite you to try it out for yourself). As a plus, they were super easy to prepare!

Parmesan Italian Pork Chops - Modified by Snow White from The MotherLoad
3/4 bread crumbs (I made my own from our homemade wheat bread)
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 T Mrs. Dash salt-free Italian Seasoning
1-2 tsp. lemon juice
1 egg, whisked
2 heaping T flour, seasoned with pepper and salt (if desired)
2 T butter
1 tsp. olive oil
4 pork chops (we used thin sliced without the bone)
fresh parsley, if desired

In a bowl, mix together bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese.



Spoon flour onto a plate and season with salt and pepper, as desired (I used almost no salt, and a dash of pepper). Combine lemon juice and egg and mix well. Create an assembly line positioning the pork chops, flour, egg mix and bread crumbs next to one another (can you tell I'm a type-A?). Meanwhile, over a medium flame, melt butter so that it coats the bottom of a frying pan. Add olive oil.




Coat the pork chops in the flour mix, and then dunk the pork chop into the egg mix. Then, dip into the bread crumb mixture. Place the chops in the frying pan with the butter and oil, and brown the chops on both sides (about 3 min/side). While pork chops are browning, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.




When browned, transfer the chops to the oven. If you have an oven-proof skillet, you can place the skillet directly in the oven, if not, transfer to a glass baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chops) or until a meat thermometer reads 150 degrees. Our chops, being super thin, were almost cooked before we put them in the oven... but we did anyway, and got a great baked-in flavor and tender chops!



mmm, mmmm, good.




The original recipe calls for lemon rinds to be grated and mixed in with the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, as well as for lemon juice to be squeezed over the top when they are done... we didn't do either this round (due to the fact that I didn't have a lemon), but I believe the lemon would be delicious!