Eatin' Like a Shepherd

I'll never forget the look and smell of
one of my favorite meals growing up.
Shepherd's Pie.
Even though I was never fond of veggies
until my later teen years and young adult life,
when my mom prepared this meal I was in heaven.
Shepherd's Pie was one of those comfort foods
that comforted AND
would trick me into eating a few veggies.

My mom always made her Shepherd's Pie
in a good ol' seasoned black iron skillet.
Oh, if THAT skillet could talk!
I remember she would dollop those
homemade mashed potatoes on top,
in five or six mounds, so we would all know
where our serving/portion was.

Then, as if all of that wasn't enough,
there would be shredded cheese
on each mound of potatoes.
Ohh the cheese.
As a kid, melted cheddar on mashed potatoes
was like dying and going to heaven.
At the time, it seemed to be ingenious!
Of course, we used to call it 'grated' cheese -
because we NEVER, EVER,
bought pre-packaged 'shredded' cheese.
Oh no.
Grating that big ol' block of cheddar
was a weekly chore for one of us girls.

Shepherd's Pie has been around since
the late 1700's when it was known as Cottage Pie.
Same principle pretty much -
leftover meat with potatoes on top and/or bottom,
with variations of meats used through the years.
We've always stuck with ground beef for ours.

If you've never tried this classic dish,
please do so as soon as possible!

WHAT YOU NEED:
(to serve 4-6)

1-1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, cooked and drained

1 batch pre-made mashed potatoes
(for us, 8-10 med. potatoes to make homemade
or 2 envelopes if using instant)

2 cans 'Veg-All', as mom used
(on the canned veggie aisle)

OR
1 med. bag frozen veggies, thawed
(green beans, sweet peas, cubed carrots)

1 can petite diced tomatoes, OPTIONAL
OR
1 can mild rotel tomatoes, if you'd like some spice

(sometimes we do, sometimes we do neither!)

appx. 2 cups shredded cheddar

the spice trinity
salt/pepper/garlic powder

green onions to garnish, optional

your favorite baking dish
(iron skillet, 9x13, or other)

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350.
In a medium saute pan, brown the ground beef.
Don't forget to season the meat while cooking.
(salt, pepper, garlic powder)

Drain when cooked.
Place cooked beef in a dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

Spread canned or thawed frozen veggies
on top of prepared beef.
Season a bit with salt/pepper

Prepare mashed potatoes.
Homemade, semi-homemade, whatever works for you.
(We do both.  Depends on how hungry we are.)
Either dollop or spread potatoes
over beef and veggie mixture.

Finally, sprinkle shredded cheddar,
as much as desired, on top of potatoes.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes
or until bubbly and golden.

Mmmmm.
ENJOY!!!

Goodbye Carbs. . .for Now!

I'm not going to name any names or anything,
but the male in our house has decided he wants to
do without 'the white stuff' for awhile. . . .you know, those evil carbs.
Just when I had my 'cooking for 3' routine figured out. . .
now I get to rethink everything.  Arrggh.
The rest of us around here have decided to, kind of,
go along with him. . .because I love my 'mountain man' that much!
(Our new nickname for him. . .have you SEEN him lately?
He just gets more and more handsome every day!)

So, if you see us out in public, remember,
the females in this household may or may not be
as serious as the male is about cuttin' our carbs.
We may partake of a carb once in a while. Don't hate.

I will say that as of week 3. . .I have found that it is actually
harder to figure out WHAT to cook
rather than what we are being deprived from.
It's just a new way of doing things. . .I mean, we love veggies and protein.
We are just so used to having that starch on our plate.
Carbs are actually just tooo easy, aren't they?!?
It's easy to throw together a meal when you can toss
a potato in the oven, or boil up some pasta.
These days are different now. . .and it's time to get creative!

Sooooo. . .since potatoes have always been a staple
around our household, we had to find a substitute....fast!

This week's Free Recipe Friday addresses just that.
It's an AWESOME substitute. . .for potatoes.

   We think it's so good, you could probably even get by with
not even telling anyone it's cauliflower!
Wait, did I just say cauliflower?!

WHAT YOU NEED:

Fresh Cauliflower - 1 head - cut up
Water/Stockpot

Steamer Basket or Colander | optional
Butter or Butter Buds
Salt/Pepper
Maybe a little bit of Milk
Hand Mixer or Potato Masher

It's as simple as that!

WHAT TO DO:

Rinse your cauliflower and cut or break into sections.
Place cauliflower in stockpot with approximately 1 cup water.
If you have a steam basket or colander that fits into your
stockpot, by all means set your cauliflower in that.
I don't have a steamer basket
and not one of my 4 colanders fit in my stockpot.
Place stockpot on high heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and cover with a lid.
Continue to simmer on low/medium until soft and tender.
Approximately 20 minutes.
You will know they are done when they have wilted
and/or they are fork tender - which means you can easily
pierce them with a fork with no resistance.
Drain your cauliflower and keep in the stockpot.
Add several tablespoons of butter into the hot cauliflower.
(Or Butter Buds if you'd like them to be fat free)
Add salt and pepper to your liking.
We probably used 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
You will only need milk if they are too thick.
We needed none.

Now, using your hand mixer or potato masher, blend until smooth.
Well, they won't be perfectly smooth. . .and that's how you want them.
They will have the look and texture of 'smashed' potatoes.
Delicious.
 

YUM.

Disclaimer:  I cannot post this recipe without telling you
the ONLY drawback if there were to be any.
When you eat these faux potatoes, you would
seriously think they were potatoes
IF you couldn't smell at all.
They still smell like cauliflower and maybe even
a bit like cooked broccoli. . . .soooo
if you cannot stand the smell of
cauliflower or broccoli, be forewarned!
In our household, we recognized this fact
and kept on eatin'!  It didn't bother us a bit.
They are yummy! Now, go be healthy.

The end.