Rainy & windy days and comfort food...

Rainy days indeed, thanks to Hurricane Florence. I live in the Carolinas, which as most of you know, are currently being inundated by wind and rain. I live further inland, so we’ve had three days now of winds and two days off and on of rain. It is currently pouring outside and is expected to continue through Monday. So far, we have a little over 4 inches of rain at my house ~ and never have I ever been more grateful to live on higher ground. And we still have power, though it has blinked about a half-dozen times. Fingers crossed we keep it.
Being somewhat housebound, I decided to do a little puttering around the house. I began decorating for fall ~ I’ll show you that later ~ and decided a warm glow in the fireplace was needed to combat the sheer nastiness outside.
Comfort food is always welcome as well during times like this. I threw together this recipe based on what I had on hand and the time I had the other night and it turned out so yummy I thought I would share it with you. I’m calling it Quick and Not Quite Shepherd’s Pie. Here is a shot of the “filling,” which is full of good things like beef, onion and vegetables.

Quick and Not Quite Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 4

Time: 30 minutes total

Ingredients:
1 lb. of ground beef
small yellow onion
mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup
steamable bags of peas and corn (or mixed vegetables)
white rice
2/3 cup pepper jack cheese (optional)

Directions:
Begin browning the ground beef in a large saucepan. Add chopped onion and mushrooms to cook. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir as needed.
Make rice according to instructions on box.
Steam bags of vegetables in the microwave. Let sit in bags for a minute.
Once beef, onions and mushrooms are cooked, add can of Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup. Stir in bags of cooked vegetables. If mixture is too thick, add 1/4 cup water and stir. Let mixture settle together and taste for seasoning.
If you would like a bit of a kick, add pepper jack cheese and stir so the cheese melts.

Serve over portions of rice.

Photos and recipe by The Art of Living Beautifully