Venice Kitchen Silicone Baking Cups + Shepherd’s Pie

Guess who’s running her first giveaway ever?!?

I swear it’s not because I don’t want to give you guys things, because I really would more often if I could! It’s just that I’m swimming in mountains of student loans, and don’t have much to offer, unless you want anatomy review sheets or med school notes, of which I have an overabundance. ;]

For the record, I’m not giving away the shepherd’s pies, because you probably wouldn’t want em’ by the time they got to you. I am, however, giving away the awesomeness that is 5 sets of these Venice Kitchen Silicone Baking Cups! (I’m pickin’ 5 winners!)

These silicone baking cups made their first debut in my Spiced & Stuffed Samosa “Baked Potatoes” recipe a short while ago, and I’m back with another savory recipe!

But what’s so awesome about these cups, you ask?

Well, for starters, I’ve made over 50 recipes in these cups thus far and they’re still going strong! (This is what I actually spent my vacation doing when I wasn’t stuffing my face on the cruise—the things I do for my family. D: )

So how did I come across these cups?

R’member my brother? He’s one of my best friends and super-interested in anything to do with business. Since he knew that silicone baking cups had been hangin’ out on my Amazon wishlist for a good while, but that I was too much of a cheapass to actually buy them…he decided to start selling them! And he gave me a free set! (Score one for yours truly!)

I guess this is where I reiterate that I received a free set of Venice Kitchen’s Silicone Baking Cups out of the goodness of my brother’s heart, and was not compensated for my time.

They’ve been through fire and ice (by that, I mean oven and freezer), as well as drowned through water (dishwasher, which goes against my basic Asian instincts in treating the dishwasher as a fancy dishrack).

Our friends and family members probably loved and hated us for bombarding them every day with new treats to try, but seeing as how I suckered them through 50+ recipes in a very short span of time, I can very much vouch for their durability.

Other things I love about em’ include:

• I love the bright & cheery colors. :D!
• They’re reusable, so you don’t have to keep buying paper ones.
• Built-in portion control: if you’d prefer single or double (etc.) servings vs. a whole pan, that can easily be accomplished!
• Your creations can easily pop right out of the cups even without non-stick spray, butter, or oil, which is awesome because gouging them out would have been a real pain.
• The cups are super easy to clean and also dishwasher-safe.
• They’re very versatile, in that they’re microwave-, oven-, and freezer-safe!
• An alternative use for these cups is to use them as miniature bowls when you haven’t had the time to finishing doing your dishes. Very useful. 10/10. (Thanks Trish! ;)
  

Fine print is full of fun. Please note the following!
Winners will be notified by email, and will have 48 business hours to claim their prize. If original winners do not claim the prize within 48 hours, alternate winners will be selected. Contestants must enter on Rafflecopter widget in order to win. All winning entries will be verified. If a winning entry can’t be verified as completed, a new winner will be drawn. Fairyburger & Venice Kitchen are not responsible for any damage that may occur during shipping of the product.

>> a Rafflecopter giveaway <<

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. 5 winners will be selected via the Rafflecopter widget. Open to residents of the United States 18 years of age or older. Winners must have a valid email and mailing address.

Shepherd’s Pies

Ingredients:
(Topping)

• ½ head of cauliflower, steamed and mashed
• 1 sweet potato, mashed
• ½ cup of Parmesan cheese
• freshly ground black pepper, to desired taste
• Himalayan pink sea salt, to desired taste

(Filling)

• ½ cup canned black beans
• ½ cup corn
• ½- ¾ lb. 99% lean ground turkey
• ½ jalapeno, chopped
• ½ large tomato, diced
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• freshly ground black pepper, to desired taste
• pink Himalayan sea salt, to desired taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. (Filling) In a large skillet, brown the turkey and season with salt and pepper. Add onion, beans, corns, cilantro, jalapeno, tomatoes and cumin. Mix well and simmer on low for ~15 minutes.
3. (Topping) Peel a sweet potato and stab it with a fork several times. Microwave for ~6 minutes, and mash with a fork. Cook cauliflower florets and steam in water, covered, for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash with a fork. Combine in a bowl with sweet potato, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well.
4. Fill each cup with equal portions of the filling (~¾ full) and top with cauliflower-sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle with melted cheese and place in oven for ~5 minutes until cheese has melted.
5. Serve hot!

What what!? Did you make it all the way to the bottom of this post!? :O Your patience shall be justly rewarded.

If you love free things, head on over to Giveaway Hub, courtesy of Jamaica @ rarax3!