Yesterday

I had a so-so day yesterday. It was my day off from work (yes!), but Teddy had to work all day (boo!). It was rainy and dreary and kind of chilly, and I couldn't stand the thought of staying in the apartment all day, so I put on my cowgirl boots and headed straight for the Antique Mall. I hadn't been there in probably at least a year, and saw a billboard for it the other day, so I decided it was time to stop by. Man, am I glad I did. I ended up spending like 2 hours there, perusing the shelves for interesting little bits. I ended up getting some pretty things for the shop (which I'm going to try to add this afternoon, after work) and a paperweight with a scorpion in it for Teddy. There was so much I wanted to buy, but I just can't right now... I still have to come up with almost $700 still for the Wallops class! Not good.

I had the cooking bug again yesterday, so at about 8:15 last night I decided (ambitiously) to make vegan Shepherd's Pie. It was actually pretty easy; it just required me to be doing like 6 different things at once. All in all, it took a little less than an hour, and it was sooooo delicious. Teddy absolutely loved it, so that made me happy. :D

Vegan Sherpherd's Pie

"Meat" layer:

1 bag of Morningstar crumbles

1 small onion, chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

a few tablespoons of spaghetti sauce (optional, to taste)

Corn layer:

2 cups of frozen corn

1 cup of frozen green beans

spices: turmeric, garlic powder, salt, pepper (to taste)

Potato layer:

About 3 large potatoes, mashed

*I used instant mashed potatoes to save time. I used about 3 cups of flakes and ended up having a little bit extra. I added a little bit of garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the potatoes for some added flavor.

Nutrional yeast flakes for garnishing.

OK, here's what you do:

Saute the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil. Add the Morningstar crumbles and a little bit of tomato paste or spaghetti sauce, if you want. Simmer on low while you prepare everything else.

Cook the corn and greenbeans together in a pot; add the spices while they're cooking.

Make the mashed potatoes according to the directions on the box (or, if you're using real potatoes, just make 'em however you normally would!)

Once all of the layers are done cooking individually, layer them in a casserole dish in this order: meat on the bottom, corn/green beans next, potatoes on the top. Sprinkle the top with nutritional yeast flakes.

Poke holes with a fork through the mashed potatoes, all the way to the bottom, so steam can escape while it bakes.

Bake at 375, until the top is lightly browned, or juices from the 'meat' layer start to bubble up.

Enjoy!!

Today, I have to work a nice, short shift (9:30-2:00), run a few errands after work, then I plan on getting some inventory added to the shop! My 'shelves' are empty, as I've had a little influx of sales all of the sudden this week. 4 items sold in one week!