I needed to get back to cooking this week. It’s hard, but I’m pushing through. Nothing has turned out spectacular so far. I made two meals this week, Onion Chowder with Cheese Popovers and Sweet Potato Topped Shepherd’s Pie. Both recipes are from Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine. I’ve made the chowder before, but I had never tried the shepherd’s pie and thought it seemed like a good Fall dish. The only complaint cooking wise that I have for the week is those dang onions. They are killer to my eyes. I feel like the pain will never end! It’s on my list to try cooking something without onions! Sadly even though my kitchen experience this week has been going fairly well, the food just hasn’t been up to par.
The soup was a bit too oniony. I probably didn’t cook the onion long enough. There really isn’t anything other than onions, chicken broth, and milk in the chowder. It was also too watery to be chowder. Chowder is supposed to be a bit thick. Not quite a stew, but like a stews little brother. The popovers are normally good, but not this time. They were starting to brown so I pulled them out and still they didn’t cook all the way through after 35 minutes in the oven. Are you kidding me?! The popovers are good with any soup; they have a piece of cheddar cheese in the middle of them. I will be making them again, but I think the soup is a lost cause and I won’t be attempting that again. I’d rather just make French Onion Soup if I’m going to make onion soup. Anthony agrees that I didn’t cook the onions enough and that the popovers were not quite done. I’m sad about that, he usually loves those popovers.
Final Product: 
On to the Sweet Potato Topped Shepherd’s Pie! It seemed like a good idea at the time, now that I’ve thought about it for awhile I guess it really isn’t a good idea. I have this issue where if I already know how to make something (Shepherd’s Pie), then I have to try to one up it with a different version of it. Anthony always tells me I should leave well enough alone, but I just don’t learn. I honestly don’t think that it has ever worked out in my favor when I’ve tried cooking something a little different then I have cooked it in the past. At one point I had 3 pots on the stove which is never a good idea when I’m cooking. I can only truly concentrate on one item at a time. In one pot was sweet potatoes, another had the ground beef mixture, and another had the sauce/gravy. That is way too much stimulation for me. Nothing turned out bad. I did have to use pumpkin beer in the gravy since that’s all we had in the house. I also forgot to add the peas to the beef, onion, garlic, mushroom mixture. Oops! The gravy tasted fine, but was too thin. Using sweet potatoes didn’t ruin the Shepherd’s Pie, but it certainly didn’t bring anything to the table. I would rather have it the good old fashioned way. Anthony just thought this was weird. It didn’t taste bad, but it isn’t worth the effort. It's also not very attractive. Just look!
Final Product: 
It looks as if my rut is continuing. What can I do?! If tonight’s meal doesn’t turn out awesome I am going to get really sad. At first this was just making me mad, now I’m starting to feel depressed about. STOP MESSING WITH MY EMOTIONS COOKING!! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!
Tonight is Shrimp and Grits with Okra, southern food here I come! COOKING YOU BETTER STOP MESSING WITH ME!
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