How a Chef Eats
Real recipes that I actually make at home!
Hey everyone!
Happy Spring—I hope you’re all having a fantastic month so far! This week, I’m excited to share some recipes that reflect how my husband and I love to eat at home—think of them as a fresh and healthier twist on the classic meat, potatoes, and veggies dinner we all know.
Honestly, I spend a lot of time dreaming up creative and fun dishes for work, but when it’s time to cook at home, I often lean towards simplicity. Give me a high-quality protein, some seasonal veggies from the market, and a few fun sauces to zhuzh things up, and I’m ready for dinner!
This week, I want to share a handful of my go-to meals that I’ve been enjoying this month. For our free recipes, I have a fun and delicious take on a shepherd’s pie, and a super simple sheet tray dinner with minimal prep time, almost zero cleanup, but tons of flavor.
And for you, my “let’s get sexy” paid subscribers, I have a tried and true Valentine’s Day fave—a simple fish dinner with a bit of a bougie twist. I hope you find them as delightful as I do. Let’s get cooking!
This first recipe is what I like to call a “kitchen sink special.” It all started when I found a few leftovers hanging around my kitchen: some braised beef lurking in the freezer from Super Bowl taco night, a couple of sweet potatoes, and half a butternut squash left over from a client meal prep. A forgotten bag of kale and spinach that was practically begging to be used before it wilted.
On this particularly chilly and rainy day in LA, I found myself craving something warm, rich, and comforting. So, I decided to whip up a shepherd’s pie—something I’ve never tackled before, but how else do we learn new things?
Not only did this dish turn out to be exactly what I needed, but it also yielded far more than just what Landon and I could consume in one sitting. The best part? I managed to prepare two extra shepherd’s pies in freezer-safe containers right alongside our dinner. Now we’re all set for the next cold, rainy day—no cooking required!
Winter Veggie Shepard Pie
Ingredients
1 lb stew beef or lamb
4 C beef stock or veggie broth
1 ea yellow or sweet onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic
4 ribs celery, sliced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and deseeded
1 small bunch kale, destemmed
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
2 russet potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
1 egg
1 tbsp butter
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Method
Cook your meat
Place meat in a Instapot or Dutch oven along with stock or broth. If using Instapot, cook on the meat setting for 40 minutes or until meat is fall-apart tender.
If using a Dutch oven, braise for about an hour or until me is fall-apart tender.
Remove meat from Insta pot or Dutch oven into a large bowl, shred into small chunks. Reserve any leftover stock or broth.
Build your filling
Heat a tablespoon of oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced onion, celery, and garlic. Season lightly with salt and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and celery is softened.
Roughly chop butternut squash into chunks, approximately 3/4 to 1 inch. Add to Dutch oven along with 2 cups of reserved stock or broth.
Roughly chop kale into strips, and add it to Dutch oven. Season with cumin, paprika, an additional sprinkle of salt, and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Bring your stock or broth to a boil, cover, reduce, and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until squash is just able to be pierced with a fork.
While your squash mixture is cooking, roughly chop russet and sweet potatoes, and put them in the top portion of a steamer. If you do not have a steamer, you can add them directly to boiling water.
Once the squash is cooked, remove from heat and stir in shredded meat, adding additional reserved broth if needed.
Make your topping
Steam or boil potatoes until they are soft enough to easily mash.
If boiling, strain potatoes well, and add to a medium bowl, along with butter, egg, salt, and pepper to taste. Mashed potatoes well, it’s OK if you have a few rustic chunks here and there, but they should be easily spreadable. Taste, and add more butter or salt as needed.
Build your pies
Preheat oven to 400.
You can build this dish either in a large family-style baking dish or individually portioned smaller pies.
**For a family-style bake, you will need either a 9 x 13“ baking pan or a large cast-iron skillet.
**For individual portions, I prefer a 6-inch mini cast-iron or ceramic baking dish.
Add your beef and squash filling into your cooking vessel.
**For individual portion pies— add about a cup of filling to each small baking dish. Do not overfill these; you want to leave at least 3/4 to an inch of space below the rim of the baking dish.
Add a dollop of potato mixture to each dish, and spread evenly over the whole surface of each pie. If you have additional potato mixture leftover, you can add a little extra to each dish or save it for another use.
For a large family-style pie, add filling to a large baking dish or cast-iron pan. Do not overfill these; you want to leave at least 3/4 to an inch of space below the rim of the baking dish.
Add dollops of potato mixture across the top of the filling, and spread evenly over the whole surface of the pie. If you have additional potato mixture leftover, you can add extra to your topping, or save it for another use.
Bake pies for 15 to 20 minutes to get everything heated through and bring all the flavors together. Finish by broiling for 2 to 4 minutes or until your potato topping gets nice and brown.
Serve with lemon-tahini sauce and fresh chopped chives
**Tips and Tricks**
Got some leftovers in the fridge? This recipe is the perfect solution! Our test kitchen (my husband and I) came up with this delightful dish after finding some leftover braised beef in the freezer that was begging to be used. It’s a delicious way to give those remnants a second life. You can easily customize your own filling with any leftover grains, beans, and cooked veggies that you may have hanging around your fridge!
When it comes to the mashed potato topping, I love to mix things up. I used a blend of regular and sweet potatoes since that’s what I had available, and I loved the little bit of sweetness that it brought to balance the rich meat filling. You could certainly stick to just regular potatoes or just sweet potatoes if that’s your preference. But here’s the key: don’t skip the egg! It’s the secret ingredient that not only helps the topping hold its shape but also gives it that gorgeous, golden-brown finish.
This second recipe is the ultimate go-to for an easy weeknight dinner, and honestly, it’s the foundation of about 80% of the meals my husband and I make at home.
The basic components: a marinated protein, simply dressed with a drizzle of oil, a sprinkle of salt, and your favorite spices to bring the flavor. Pair that with a healthy carb, like lentils or sweet potatoes, and some vibrant seasonal veggies—this time, we’re using brussels sprouts and squash. But wait, there’s more! This sheet tray dinner gets a delightful boost from sweet cherry tomatoes roasting right alongside the lentils.
This dish has earned its spot as a household favorite and a staple for good reason. It’s quick, easy, and wonderfully adaptable to whatever you have on hand. And let’s be honest: after a whirlwind weekend of food inspiration for work, there’s nothing more satisfying than coming home, pulling out a few ingredients from the fridge, chopping them up, and tossing them on a sheet tray. In just 30 minutes, you’ll have a beautiful, healthy, and colorful meal ready to go—just don’t forget to drizzle on your favorite sauce or two for that extra zhuzh!
Mediterranean Sheet Tray Chicken and Veggies with Lentils and Burst Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
1 lb chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 Tbsp shawarma seasoning blend
1 ea lemon
1 ea large sweet potato, sliced into rounds
1 sm butternut squash, diced
1 lb Brussels sprouts, root end removed
2 C cooked beluga lentils
12 oz cherry tomatoes on the vine
Good olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Method
Preheat oven to 375. Line a large baking tray with parchment and drizzle with oil.
Place your chicken thighs in a small bowl and season generously with your seasoning blend. If you have a favorite seasoning mix, feel free to use that… I’m always a big fan of Mediterranean flavors, so I went with my trusty Shawarma blend— more info on that down in the tips and tricks at the bottom of this recipe.
In addition to your seasoning mix, add a hefty sprinkle of salt and some olive oil. Mix all of that into the chicken until it’s evenly coated, and set aside to marinate while you prep the rest of your veggies.
Place your sweet potato rounds on one end of the baking tray, and then add your diced butternut squash alongside them.
Make sure the root ends are cut off from all your Brussels sprouts, and any large sprouts are cut in half. Place those on the tray next to your squash.
Add your cooked lentils alongside your Brussels, and then place all your cherry tomatoes on top of the lentils.
Using your good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar, give everything on the sheet tray a generous drizzle, and season with salt and fresh cracked pepper
Finally, place your chicken thighs on the remaining portion of the sheet tray.
Roast for 20 minutes, and then check on your veggies. All of these veggies are what I think of as “hearty veggies” and should take about the same amount of time to cook as your chicken, 25 to 35 minutes. However, everyone’s oven is different, so it never hurts to check. Once your veggies are tender enough to be pierced with a fork easily, they’re done. If your veggies are done before your chicken comes up to temperature, just use a spatula to remove those veggies from the tray, place them on a plate off to the side while things finish cooking.
Your chicken is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165°. You can use an electronic meat thermometer to check the temperature as it cooks.
Once everything is done, I like to serve it with a variety of fun sauces, like my yogurt-lemon tahini sauce, or herb salsa Verde
**Tips and Tricks**
I have to say, this is one of my all-time favorite recipes because it’s so incredibly versatile! You can easily swap out the chicken for a juicy steak, a flavorful pork chop, hearty sausages, or even a light and flaky fish—just be sure to check and temp your protein while your veggies are cooking. Things like seafood and steak cook much quicker than chicken, and will need less time in the oven.
I’ve used some of my favorite go-to veggies in this dish, but don’t hesitate to mix it up! Use whatever you have on hand to make it your own.
When it comes to seasoning, let your creativity shine! You can try your favorite spice blends or keep it simple with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
And let’s not forget about the cherry tomatoes on top of the lentils! I love adding them for that extra touch. As they roast, they break down beautifully, creating a deliciously saucy element that I can’t get enough of. Plus, they help keep the lentils beneath them nice and tender, preventing them from getting too crunchy.
