WhatiLiKEtoEAT: Shepherd's Pie .. MY WAY. :)

I meant to put this recipe up DAYS ago, but i just never got around to it, LOL .. SORRY! :) A lot of you wanted my dessert recipes first, lol, so i posted those up before this one. :)

This is my famous Shepherd's Pie recipe that everyone DIES for .. no joke, anyone who's ever tried this from me tells me it's Comfort Food at it's finest. Lol, of course there are a ton of other different styles of comfort food for other people -- this is a recipe that's adapted from an original British or Irish peasant dish. Some people like it traditional, but i've changed it each time i've made it and this is my official perfected recipe. :) We're talking cheesy, gravy-covered goodness, ya'll .. without further ado .. this is by far one of the best Shepherd's Pie recipes i've ever made .. and tried. :) and i'm not just saying that cuz it's my own recipe ... i have a big head about it because people blew up my confidence in it. :) haha ... no forreal though, i really think you'll love it. :)

Best Shepherd's Pie ... EVER.

(without gravy)

(smothered in gravy)

What You'll Need:


(For the Shepherd's Pie)

• 1-2 lbs Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 2 medium-sized Zucchini
• 1 cup chopped baby carrots
• 1/2 medium-sized Onion, chopped. (Save 1/4 of it for the gravy, see recipe below)
• 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped (save half for mashed potatoes)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 large block of Pepper Jack cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (for topping)
• 1 stick of butter
• Splash or 2 of milk
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Garlic Salt to taste

(For the Gravy)

• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1-2 tbsp flour
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 of chopped onions from earlier
• Salt & Pepper to taste + a little Garlic Powder :)

Side Note(s):

For the ground beef: you can choose any type you want, but i suggest ground chuck and around 80% lean or so. It has better marbling and will produce better "juice" :)

Gravy is OPTIONAL. I suggest it because it makes this SO MUCH BETTER. But i used to make it WITHOUT gravy and it was still super yummy. If you're lookin for a bad case of the itis, i'd make the gravy. ;) It will make the most out of this recipe, i promise you. :)

For the mashed potatoes: the reason i suggest YUKON GOLD potatoes is because they retain cheese and butter much better than your normal ol' spuds. It has a much creamier texture as well, which of course is a huge deal with mashed potatoes. So if you like your mashed potatoes rich like i do, use YUKON GOLD -- you'll thank me later. :)

What to Do:

• Wash your potatoes and cut them in half. The smaller ones (about the size of a gumball) can stay uncut -- you just want the potato pieces to be the same size so they cook evenly. Cook the potatoes until they are fork tender.

• Chop your zucchini and carrots into small "cubes".

• Chop your onions and your garlic as well. Remember to save 1/4 of the onions for the gravy later and about 1/2 of the garlic for the mashed potatoes later also.

• Heat up about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat.
• Saute your onions and half of the chopped garlic. Season w/ salt & pepper.

• Add in your ground beef and cook until browned. Season with salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste.

• Add in your carrots and cook halfway. Then add in your zucchini.

• Cook everything only until veggies still have some "bite" to it. It shouldn't take very long -- this will have an additional 25 mins to bake in the oven, so you don't want to overcook them.

• While all that is cooking, you can work on your mashed potatoes. :)
• Add 1 stick of butter (I know i know i knowwww), splash or two of milk, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt (all 3 to taste) and other half of chopped garlic (from earlier) -- mash everything together.

• Evenly lay your beef/veggie mixture in a 13x9 pyrex/glass baking dish.

• Evenly distribute your cubes of pepper jack cheese over the mixture like so.

• Layer your mashed potatoes on top of everything.

• Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar on top of the mashed potatoes. Bake for 25 mins or until cheese is evenly melted (don't brown it!).

• While your Shepherd's Pie is baking, you can work on the gravy if you chose to make gravy. :)
• Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a small saucepan and saute the rest of the onions.

• Add the mushrooms and saute until soft.

• Add about 2 tbsp of flour and stir until "cooked" (until the flour isn't "powder" anymore and it's absorbed).

• Add 1 cup of beef stock. Allow the flour to absorb and then add the 2nd cup of stock. Whisk often and cook on medium heat until thickened. Add Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste.

Your shepherd's pie should look like this once it's "done"!

This is what your gravy should look like ..

You can serve this WITHOUT gravy ... 

Or make the most of it and serve it WITH gravy ... :)

I hope you like this as much as everyone else does ... LOL. I can honestly and safely say that this is one of my most requested dishes from all my friends and family .. among other things, hahaha. :) But this shit will put you in a major food coma with a bad case of the ITIS! :)

ENJOY!

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FOTD :: Springtime Smokes

This was a look i did over a week ago when i freelanced one weekend. I was testing out Bare Minerals makeup and no joke -- i'm extremely impressed. I love their MATTE Foundation and their Primer, but recently i've found a real love for their eyeshadows, blushes, all-over powders, etc etc etc. :) That weekend i really got a chance to wear a full face of BareMinerals ... that literally lasted ALL ... EFFIN .. DAY.

[ Eyes ]

(ALL BARE MINERALS)

Prime Time eye primer

Enlightened (used wet)

Oz (used wet)

Black Emerald

Wildflower (used dry in the crease and wet on lower lashline)

Queen Linda

Clinique brush-on cream liner in True Black

MAC Engraved PowerPoint liner

Ardell Demi Wispies lashes

[ Face ]

{ALL BARE MINERALS)

Prime Time primer ORIGINAL

MATTE Foundation in Golden Tan

[ Cheeks ]

Warmth (bronzer)

Tropical Radiance

[ Lips ]

Pretty Amazing Lipcolor in Free Will

From experimentation, i've learned to use a lot of BareMinerals colors WET rather than DRY -- they not only wear so much better (and longer) but they're SO much more vibrant! :)

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[ BRIDAL Work ] :: Nina's Wedding - May 15, 2011

I did a wedding back in May for my girl Nina .. i have to say this was one of the weddings i did where everything just kinda came together for her in the end .. when we first did our Bridal Trial, it just came out "okay" and we had some concerns and finishing touches that we wanted to focus on for the real wedding day .. She was probably my happiest bride since i started doing Weddings. :) She was extremely pleased with how everything turned out and was happy to report that he rmakeup stayed put and her hair never fell. :)

She has oily skin and major eye baggage, so her biggest concern was controlling her face's natural oils, but still having the "dewy" skin look for "Natural Beauty's sake." lol. I started with MAC's Fix+ and MUFE's HD Primer before applying any face makeup. She wanted full, but light, coverage because she was looking for a flawless, even skintone but didn't want to be caked up and still look as natural as possible. So in order to achieve this, i used NARS SheerGlow foundation in Barcelona with a damp sponge and then set it with Rimmel's StayMatte powder in Translucent.

For the eye baggage, we concealed with a mix of Benefit's Erase Paste in No. 2 and MAC's ProLongwear concealer in NW25 and then set it with Maybelline's DreamMatte powder in Medium Honey and BareMinerals' Well-Rested. It hid the "shadow" but not the "baggage", which she cared more about because the discoloration was a huge concern for her.

We went for a soft smoky plum eyes using all MAC shadows

[ Eyes ]

(All shadows are MAC unless otherwise stated)

Satin Taupe (lid)

Haux (Crease)

Fig. 1 (crease/outer V)

Blanc Type (brow highlight)

For eyeliner, i stuck to my tried and true Clinique brush-on Cream Liner in True Black and for the waterline, i used MAC's Engraved. For lashes, i used ELF's Dramatic Lashes. :)

For her lips, just used a plum lipliner (MAC's Plum) and coated her lips in a sheer pinky nude gloss to bring out the natural pigmentation in her lips (i don't remember what i used, sorry!). For blush, i just contoured with NYC's Sunny Bronzer and brushed some MAC Melba on the apples of her cheeks, then topped it off with NARS' Orgasm. I also highlighted a bit with MAC's By Candlelight MSF just for some added glow. :)

Then of course, i set her face with Urban Decay's All-Nighter setting spray.

For her hair, she wanted a romantic side-updo with bigger, but defined curls. In order to achieve this, i used my BaByLiss PRO Hot Rollers, using the bigger purple ones at the top of her head and down the middle of her head for added volume around the crown. I used the blue ones for the sides and the pink ones for her ears and below. When using hot rollers, it's best to use the biggest size at the top and work your way to the smaller sizes on the sides and bottom half of the hair.

This look worked great for the flower she wanted to put in her hair, which she specially ordered off Etsy. :) 

In order to get it to stay all night and to add some shine, i used my BedHead Massive Shine hairspray. Other products i used were my Paul Mitchell Heat Seal protectant spray and Paul Mitchell Extra Volume finishing spray as well as a shitload of bobby pins. :)

I gotta say tho ... i LOVE doing weddings. :)

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NEW LOVE :: Maybelline WATER SHINE Pure lipsticks (Asia only)

This is a product you unfortunately can't get here in the States (unless you can find it in some random Asian beauty store that imports them), but i couldn't say NO when i saw it in SM in the city when i was in the Philippines because i know it's not something we get here. Here in the states, we DO have something similar with Maybelline -- the ColorSensational HIGH SHINE lipsticks.

These are the amazing ColorSensational WATER SHINE Pure lipsticks. :)

Price-wise, they convert down to about $5-6 U.S., so it's no different than buying a lipstick here in the states from Maybelline.

The difference between the WATER SHINE and the HIGH SHINE lipsticks is simply in pigmentation and finish. the HIGH SHINE lipsticks are more of a extreme glossy, opaque finish, while the WATER SHINE lipsticks are very sheer with a natural glossy finish, but more pigmented than a tinted lip balm. They both have moisturizing qualities about it -- i could wear these without lip balm and my lips wouldn't go dry.

L: BM31 - rosey mauve

R: C11 - peachy bronze

The colors don't have names, they're numbered. I typically only buy bright-colored lipsticks if they're more opaque, i didn't quite like the bright shades in this shiny "water" finish, so i only purchased 2 more natural-looking shades that were easier to wear with anything and everything.

Packaging is super pretty :) you may not be able to see it well, but it's kind of mirror-like. :)

C11

C11 is a peachy bronze shade that's perfect for summer if you're more on the tan side. It pairs really well with Revlon's ColorBurst lipgloss in Sunset Peach.

BM31

BM31 is a rosey mauve shade that's perfect for everyday. It's also a good nude shade for those of you with more of a rosey pigmentation to your lips, like myself. :)

Swatches!

L: C11

R: BM31

Overall i'm loving these so far -- although i don't suggest them for those of you who prefer more opaque lipsticks because these are very sheer. It's similar to that of a MAC Lustre finish, but unlike the MAC Lustre lipsticks, these lipsticks don't have buildable color -- which can be a downfall for some people.

Still, it's nice to have in my collection "just to have it." ;)

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