Oct 9

Oct 9 Shepherd's Pie & Crackling Seeds

From the dining room table “office” I can hear the snapping and crackling of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds coming from the kitchen. Thanksgiving is upon us and there are ambitious goals for a weekend of feasting, reflection and rest. My kitchen has been a busy place this fall, as I have actually had the energy and persistence to process our yard treasures and garden produce. Typically a summer of cooking at camp leaves me unable to fill my freezer with these summer memories and this is just one of the many blessings I have seen through a time of unrest and upheaval.

Over the past 7 months I haven’t posted a lot of recipes I realize! It has been a busy time. A strange time to be busy though, and still surreal as I reflect on the early days and months of the pandemic. Implementing a detailed meal program has shed light on a lot of things for me, and I can certainly admit that I have not spent a lot of time putting that to paper yet.

Today I thought we all need a bit of an easy, comfort meal recipe as we look at our Thanksgiving meal prep lists! I loved getting feedback on the meals provided in the Food Share boxes, and the Shepherd’s Pie recipe was one of the favourites I think.

Wishing you and your households a wonderful weekend of joy, reflection and giving thanks.

Shepherd’s Pie Serves 4-6

No lamb in this recipe, although traditionally you would find ground lamb listed in place of ground beef, while Cottage Pie is what truly uses ground beef. Not confusing at all….

Meat Mixture:

2 lbs ground beef, extra lean

1/2 cup onion, small diced

1/2 cup carrot, small diced

1/2 cup celery, small diced

200g cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp thyme leaves, dried

1 Tbs cornstarch

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1-2~ cups water, vegetable or a light chicken stock or enough to cover meat mixture

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn kernels

Mashed Potatoes:

6lbs (about 10 avg sized) red potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/2 cup butter/olive oil/sour cream or a combo of all three

salt and pepper

Optional: 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Mashed Potatoes: Peel and quarter the potatoes and place in a medium pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil until cooked. Drain most of the water, partially mash them, then season with salt, pepper, and your fat(s) of choice.

Meat mixture: In a deep sided sauté pan on medium heat, brown the ground meat. Cook fully. Add the onion first and cook until nearly fully cooked. Then add the carrot, celery, and garlic. Stir occasionally and cook 3-5 minutes. Add the seasonings and stir well. Add 1 ½ cups of water. Cover and bring to a low simmer for 15 minutes. Slice the mushrooms. Taste the meat sauce for seasoning and add the mushrooms and frozen vegetables. Add more water if needed so there is a good amount of “sauce”. Cover again for 4 minutes on a medium low temperature.

Serve the meat mixture on top of seasoned mashed potatoes. Or, pour the meat mixture in a casserole dish, top with an even layer of mashed potatoes and a cup+ of shredded cheddar cheese. Place in a 350F oven for up to 40 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the meat sauce is bubbling on the sides of the dish.

*note: in the photo above, I only had yellow starchy potatoes on hand so I sliced the potatoes instead of making mashed, tossed them with olive oil and salt, lay them on top of the cooked meat mixture, covered the pan with foil and baked it for an hour. MMMMmmmm