Shepherd's Pie

When I travel a ton in the fall, I love to try to prep something for Frank for the week to help him out when it comes to meal prep. I usually take requests on the weekend when I'm home and this past week he asked for one of his favorites, shepherd's pie. I love this so much in the fall and winter, and its one of those make it and forget it because its so easy to assemble. The ultimate in comfort food, I've tweaked to make it gluten and dairy free, so you can go ahead and grab a second scoop.

First things first, I start the potatoes. I like a mix of small red and yellow potatoes, and I like to leave the skin on. If you prefer without, peel ahead of time. Bring your water to a boil and prepare mashed potatoes how you'd like. When you're ready to strain, save yourself a cup of the starchy water, we'll use this later. I like to use unsweetened almond milk and broth, so that they can be creamy but not too much milk. I also will use a plant based butter to keep it dairy free.

Now you'll want to pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. In a saute pan over medium to high heat, brown one pound of ground beef (or turkey) all the way through. I like to use corn and peas and I use one cup of each to get in a ton of veggies. You also could not use meat at all and replace with lentils instead to keep it vegan. I then will add all of my seasonings and lower my heat. About a quarter cup and one tablespoon at a time, add in the reserved water and flour. I use gluten free flour here as well. I usually use the entire cup of water and 2-3 tablespoons of flour. Allow it to thicken slightly before you remove from the heat. I use a large baking dish and then pour the filling in. I (very messily) then pour the mashed potatoes on top and spread evenly with a spatula. We like our mashed potatoes a little more chunky, so make them how you want. Lastly, I love to top with a little nutritional yeast to add some nuttiness (and extra protein) to top it off. Into the oven she goes for about 25 minutes, and then 5 minutes under the broiler. Its ready when its gravy is bubbling up around the mashed potatoes. Let it cool for a few minutes and serve.

PS Makes great leftovers :)

Shepherd's Pie (dairy free/gluten free)

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Cook Time: 25-35 minutes

Ingredients

• Potatoes

• 4 cups potatoes, diced into 1" cubes

• 1/2 cup almond milk

• 1/2 cup no sodium broth

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• Salt and pepper to taste

Filling

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 1 cup corn

• 1 cup peas

• 2 teaspoons oregano

• 1 teaspoon basil

• 1 teaspoons garlic

• 1 teaspoon minced onion

• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

• 1-2 tablespoons gluten free flour

• 1 cup of reserved water from potatoes

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Optional: nutritional yeast

Directions

1. First, bring a saucepan of water to boil. I do about 6-8 cups of water. Then dice your potatoes into 1" cubes. When water is boiling, throw potatoes in. They are ready when you can easily prick with a knife. Save 1 cup of the starchy water before straining, and set aside.

2. Put potatoes back into sauce pan. Make mashed potatoes to your taste. [I do 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk and salt and pepper.

3. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

4. In a saute pan, brown ground beef over medium to high heat. Add in corn, peas and seasonings and stir thoroughly.

5. Pour in 1/4 cup at a time the remaining water from potatoes and the flour. Stir and let simmer on lower heat until gravy becomes desired consistency.

6. Pour into a 8x11 inch pan, and top with potatoes, spread evenly and sprinkle with optional nutritional yeast.

7. Place in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until bubbly. Put under broiler for 5 minutes to brown.

8. Let cool for a few minutes, serve and enjoy.

xx

Rita