Tourtiere

4 pounds ground pork butts 

1 ½ cups water 

1 medium onion, ground or finely chopped 

2 tsp salt 

1 to 2 tsp cinnamon, start low and adjust to taste 

1 to 1.5 tsp cloves, start low and adjust to taste 

1 cup bread crumbs 

Your favorite pie crust 

Put meat in large pot.  Break it up and add water. Mix in onions and salt. Adjust heat to keep meat cooking at a low boil; stir at intervals to keep from scorching.  Add more water if necessary. Cook with cover on for about 45 minutes, adding the spices halfway through. 

Near the end of cooking time, add the bread crumbs.  Adjust the amount of crumbs according to the amount of fat.  The mixture shouldn’t become too dry. 

This amount makes filling for 2 large pies or 9-11 small ones.   Fill uncooked pie crusts.  Top with either a second crust or mashed potatoes. May freeze at this point. 

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes 

Note: this is Grant’s great-great grandmother’s recipe 

One-Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
2-3 sweet onions
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce (omit if vegetarian)
1 cup red wine
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
salt + pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
3 cups low sodium chicken broth + 3/4 cups water
1 pound of your favorite short cut pasta (use gluten free if needed)
2 bay leaves
2-3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
pinch of cayenne pepper
6 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded
1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (optional)

Instructions"

Heat a large high-sided dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the butter. Add the onions + brown sugar and cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. At this point you want to slowly add the Worcestershire sauce and the wine, let them cook into the onions, add more and continue to cook. Do this until the the wine is gone or the onions are caramelized to your liking. Make sure the wine has evaporated.

Preheat the the broiler to high.

Toss the mushroom and garlic in with the caramelized onions, season with salt + pepper, cook another 3-4 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft.

Pour in the chicken broth + water and bring to a boil. Add your pasta, bay leaves and thyme, cook, stirring often until most of the liquid has been soaked up by the pasta and the pasta is al dente. If you feel your pasta needs more water to continue cooking, add around 1/2 cup.

Stir in the cream and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Stir in half the gruyere cheese and the gorgonzola cheese. Cook 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Top with the remaining cheese and place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Serve warm, top with fresh thyme and parsley if desired.

Notes:

• Nice flavor profiles
• I skipped the broiling step, but put it in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese.
• There's a slight kick, depending on how much cayenne you use. (I probably used a little more than a pinch.)
• Serves ~6
• Source