Meal Idea Mondays: Shepard's Pie

 Happy day after St. Paddy's Day!!! Hope many of you (adults) are doing well on this Monday. If you haven't noticed or are new to reading our blog, we have a strong Irish background so of course we celebrated.  Instead of going out and partying however we stayed in, made a traditional irish dish and enjoyed time together. Our dish of choice was Shepard's Pie! Full of vitamin c loaded potatoes, yummy veggies and some beef it is pretty much the perfect meal for us and is also super simple to make! Don't worry you can make this anytime of the year not just for St. Pat's Day! Traditionally it is made with lamb ("Shepard's" Pie after all) but since we don't eat much beef we decided to opt for that, plus it was much less expensive. Super filling without feeling heavy you can enjoy a great meal and have a great time.



Shopping List

• 3 Medium Potatoes
• 3 Medium Carrots
• 3 to 4 Cremini Mushrooms
• 1 Onion
• 1 LB Ground Beef (or lamb, you can even make it with turkey if you want super healthy!)
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1/2 TSP Salt

Spices

• 1/4 TSP Salt
• 1/2 TSP Pepper
• 1/2 TSP Thyme
• 1 TSP Rosemary
• 1 TSP Sage
• 1 TBSP Parsley

Hardware

1 Large Pot

Strainer

Masher

Medium Sized Skillet

Cutting Board

Cutting Knife

Measuring Cup, TBSP and TSP

Baking Dish

Aluminium Foil

Stir Spoon

Vegetable Peeler

Mixing Bowl

Small Bowl

Pestle 

Time 1 Hour and 12 Minutes
Prep 50 Minutes
Cook 22 Minutes
Yield 8 Slice/8 Servings

Time To Get Cooking!!!

Start off by washing your potatoes, carrots and mushrooms*

Fill your pot about 3/4 of the way full with water, set on stove and heat on medium-high
Cube the potatoes and add to the water
Stir in 1/2 TSP Salt
Let boil for about 30 minutes to 40 minutes
If you would like to peel your potatoes feel free to do so, just remember you'll be losing a lot of yummy vitamins and minerals!
Peel your carrots, slice them thin and drop into mixing bowl
Mince your mushrooms and add into mixing bowl
Now grab your onion!
Peel and give your onions a rough dice. If your prefer small pieces chop them smaller, if you like large pieces chop them larger
Add the onions to the mixing bowl with the carrots and mushrooms and set off to the side

In the small bowl mix together the spices and grind them together using the pestle and set off to the side
Once your potatoes are done and super soft, turn off the stove and gently strain them. We say gently because they will be very soft by this time
Add the strained potatoes back into the pot
Add 1 TBSP olive oil, water and almond milk to the potatoes and mash
Make sure to mash and mix well
Once the mashing and mixing is done set off to the side

Now it is time to cook some meat!
Grab your skillet and put in on the stove turned on to medium heat
Add 1 TBSP olive oil and let the oil heat up until it is shimmering
When your oil is shimmering add in your beef and sauté until it starts to brown

Once the meat is browned add your veggies and spices
Sautee until the veggies start to soften
Turn off heat
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Get your baking dish and line the bottom with aluminium foil
Scoop enough of the mashed potatoes to line the bottom of the pan and spread around
When you have a thin layer of potatoes spread evenly, pour the meat and veggie mixture on top
Spread the mixture evenly though your pan
Layer the rest of the mashed potatoes on top of the veggie and meat mixture and spread evenly as well

Once the oven is at temperature put the baking dish into the oven for 20 minutes on the top rack
After the time is up turn on your broiler and let cook for 3 more minutes to brown the top
Remove from oven, let cool for about 5 minutes and serve!

Serving
1 serving and eat with any side you choose! We ended up eating fries as our side (potato addicts, can you tell we have an irish background?)

Storing and Reheating
Cover in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and store in the fridge for about 3-4 days

Nutritional Information
Calories 121
Fat 8g
Carbs 10g
Protein 4g

Cost Information
Recipe Cost:$5.13
Cost Per Serving:$0.64

Tricks
-To wash the potatoes and carrots simply soak them in hot water for a few minutes, scrub and then dry
-To wash your mushrooms rinse in hot water and use a paper towel to gently rub dry
-We kept the potato water for a future post. So be on the look out!

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