My Little Angel Turns One !

Before I realized, my little one has reached the one year milestone...it only felt like yesterday, when we went on shopping sprees for the newborn, dedicating day and night to be at her side....

It has been a super busy year with the husband going off to do his Masters and end up being a weekend father, me resigning my 5 year job that I loved and taking up an offer nearer to my parents with better working hours so I won;t be tired when I come home to an eager little one......

So, it definitely called for a celebration. People say 1 year olds won't appreciate birthday parties..well, to me it's a party to celebrate her reaching the 1 year mark and being a wonderful kid and mainly for both of us to have done an excellent job holding on during the ups and downs of this 1 year....

My daughter is a princess in the making...trust me, she does behave like one..so, I chose the little, cute Princess Sofia as the theme party....with early planning, I managed to pull off the simple yet lovely party. Here are some of the shots....

Chicken n Mushroom Shepherds Pie

I made this yummilicious shepherds pie for dinner last week and the husband truly loved it ;)
There was nothing left at the end of dinner when I actually thought I've made loads and will have leftovers...haha...

You need :

300-350 gm boneless, skinless chicken meat, diced small
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 can of button mushrooms, sliced thinly
some olive oil
1 tbsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp paprika (or more)
1 tbsp flour
1 cup water

5-6 medium size potatoes, boiled, mashed well without lumps
1 tbsp butter
salt and ground pepper to taste

mix together the mashed potatoes with butter, salt and pepper. It has to be smooth. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Saute onion till soft, add in carrot. Let carrot cook a bit. Then and add in chicken meat and mushroom. Cook a little and add in the flour. Mix well and pour in the water. Let it cook well. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and paprika. The gravy should be thick, you can add more water while cooking if needed. Turn off fire. Now transfer it to a heavy oven proof casserole, spread it evenly.

Top it with the mashed potatoes, spread evenly, covering well. You can make simple design on the surface with a fork. Then drizzle some olive oil on the surface.

Heat oven 180 C. Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Serve with some salad.