#I feel like I'm writing in a betty crocker cookbook

[knightinink]

can u share ur cottage pie recipe?? <3

Why, of course I can! I'd be happy to!

Now I'm not sure if this is how it's done traditionally, but this is how I make it & I'm very happy with it every time.

-Ingredients & Stuff You're Gonna Need-*

1lb ground beef

4-5 good-sized russet potatoes

2 carrots, peeled & diced

1 ear of corn, cooked & shucked

1/2 of a white onion, diced

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

a handful of portabella mushrooms, sliced

1-2 celery stalks, sliced

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1-2 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp butter

3/4 cup milk (more or less may be needed)

fresh parsley leaves (for garnish)

one 8" round cake pan

strainer/colander

*feel free to modify the ingredients however you like! I usually just add whatever's available in the fridge!

-Instructions-

*I do recommend doing the steps below the potatoes as they are cooking, as it can take a while!

-Preheat the oven to 350F

-I usually start with the potatoes, since they take the longest to prep. Set a medium pot of water to boil on the stovetop. While you're waiting, peel, dice (not super tiny, just around a 1" piece is good), & pat the potatoes dry. Once the water is boiling, carefully put your diced potato pieces into the water & wait until they are soft enough to poke a fork through with little resistance. (If a starchy-foam starts to collect at the top of the pot, carefully use a spoon or ladle to spoon it out into the sink). Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them in the strainer or colander & put the cooked potatoes in a bowl. Combine with butter & milk (adding 1/4 cup at a time, you can always add more!) & mash until they reach a consistency you're happy with. Season with salt & pepper!

-Cook your ground beef on the stovetop until it is all cooked through, not leaving any pink spots. Carefully drain the grease from the pan & return the meat to the stovetop, though you don't need to keep it heated, as it will be heated once it goes into the oven. Season the meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder & onion powder, mixing it around to coat as much as you can. Set off to the side.

-Dice, slice & chop your veggies as directed, & throw them in a pot or pan with the olive oil to sauté. (you can add a bit of seasoning to them too, if you'd like!)

-Once the veggies are sautéed, add them to the cooked beef & stir it around, just to mix everything together nicely.

-Spoon your veggie-beef mixture into your cake pan, filling it up nearly to the top, maybe leaving about an 1/8" or so (you can just eyeball it though, that's what I usually do).

-Gently spoon your mashed potatoes on top, covering the entire surface of the filling evenly, & feel free to add as many layers as you like! I like to cover mine as if I were frosting a cake.

-Add a pinch of salt & pepper to the top of the potatoes & pop that sucker into the 350F oven for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the mashed potatoes are golden brown. Once it's ready, garnish with fresh parsley leaves.

And there you have it! My homemade cottage pie recipe! I hope you enjoy, & let me know if you've tried it!

[staceymcgillicuddy]

🦴🍄🧃 for the ask game :)

Mwah! Thanks for... throwing me a bone. BA-DUM-CHING!

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

I feel like there are certain vibes that inspire me, and certain authors. I'm big on trying to be precise with the rhetoric in certain sentences, and I lean heavily on Tolkien and "cellar door" for that. But I also really love stream-of-conscious writing and very introspective stuff, so I think that bleeds in a lot, too.

The above makes me sound wildly pretentious, but I swear I'm not. I'm just aping people who are much better than I am like a dancing monkey!

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

So many Hellcheer headcanons, but I think that the first time Chrissy gets a cold after they move in together, Eddie gets out the Betty Crocker cookbook and figures out how to make chicken soup from scratch for her because he's convinced that his mom used to do it for him. Later, after they have thrown away the bad soup, he runs to the grocery store and they discover his mom was just heating up Campbell's.

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

I don't know how much personal lore I have! I'm assuming this means about me, personally, and not about anything I ship? So I'll say... I have ridden in a helicopter with the doors off and only a seatbelt between me and death.

Writer's Truth & Dare