First things first, I GOT A NEW CAMERA!!!! Now does this mean I know how to operate said camera, not really. It means me and a few glasses of Pinot are going to tackle the inch thick manual this weekend. It’s a gorgeous Canon T3i Rebel with a Speedlite flash and zoom lens. I’ve been using my mom’s Nikon which is WAY more technical but I was just starting to understand some of the main settings. So bare with me on the photos, I’ll get the hang of it pretty soon [fingers crossed]!

This week on Idol the remaining 5 contestants are tackling British tunes so I’m sticking to some traditional English fare for Lyndsey Parker’s Reality Rocks Blog post. Tonight’s recipe is a bit more time consuming then a normal snack, but I promise you your taste buds will thank you.

Check out tonight’s recipe feature on Yahoo! Music HERE!

Ingredients

12 pies plus extra

Mash Potatoes

• 4 yukon gold potatoes (around 1.25 pd), peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup low fat milk
• salt and pepper

Pies

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pd hot (or mild) italian sausage, ground
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 2.5 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 pieces pie crust, room temperature
• 1/3 cup French’s fried onion strings

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium sauce pan cover the potatoes with water.

Heat over high, covered, until the water comes to a boil. Uncover and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the potatoes are boiling, in a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high and add the sausage. Crumbling with a wooden spoon saute until no longer pink.

Add the onion and next 4 ingredients, through the rosemary, and cook until the veggies are soft.

Add the flour and cook for one minute until the meat starts to slightly stick together.

Add the beef broth and simmer for 6-8 minutes.

While the meat is simmering, using a 4-inch cutter, cut 4-inch circles into the dough.

Roll out any scraps to make 12 circles. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and press the dough into each muffin cup, covering the bottom and sides.

Poke the bottoms with a fork to avoid bubbling.

Bake in the oven until nice and golden brown, around 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Once they are cool enough to handle gentle pop them out with a knife.

Drain the potatoes and return to the warm pot for a few minutes to remove any access liquid. Stir in the butter, garlic powder and milk.

Mash with a potato masher and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the green peas to the sausage mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Layer each mini pie with a dollop of mash potatoes.

Top with the sausage mixture then add the fried onion strings.

Use any leftover sausage for some yummy pasta the next night!

Bon Appétit!