Monday, November 11, 2019

Cottage Pie - or as my family always called it Shepherds pie


Shepherd's Pie 

Growing up this was a staple in our house, it wasn't until recently I learned my mom was making it wrong, haha! Shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb, while Cottage pie is made with Ground beef or a mixture of both. I've also done versions of mixing potatoes with mashed cauliflower to make it less calories or less carbs, and a good way to get extra veggies into the kids without them knowing. I'm always  looking for budget friendly, gluten free soy free meals, so I hope this one helps your family stretch the budget and keep your bellies full! 

My serving size may not seem the same as other families, we have a family of 4 but I always cook for 8, because my kids eat like 3 dinner plates and love leftovers.  So if you only want enough for 4 then you can half this recipe. 


Ingredients: 

5lb bag of potatoes (Yukon makes the creamiest potatoes but any taters work) 
1 stick Butter 
 Sea Salt 
4oz (1/2 box) cream cheese
1 cup of Milk
3-4 cups of Beef broth or Bone broth
2 TBS of Gluten Free Flour
1 1/2 cup of Cheddar Cheese
2 lbs of Ground Grass fed beef or Ground lamb or both 
1 bag of frozen Organic Peas 
1 bag of frozen Organic Carrots or fresh carrots
Onion 
1 tsp Mustard powder
1 tsp Onion power
1 tsp Garlic salt



We have fallen in love with using our Instant Pot to start this recipe. We wash all the potatoes, peel them, Quarter them, and then stick in the instant pot with 1 cup of water. Put the potatoes in there 20 min manual high pressure, then do quick release or natural release either way is fine. If you don't have an instant pot then just do stove top for potatoes. Quarter them and then place in water on stove, boil the salted water 15-20 min. 

While the potatoes are cooking you can cook the ground beef or ground lamb. I try to use grass fed beef, I stock up when Aldi or Lidls has it on sale. Grass fed beef has a much better taste in my opinion and it's not as fatty or chewy as average beef from the grocery store. Place the ground beef in the pan on the stove and season well with mustard, garlic, and onion powder. Cook the meat until it is 3/4 way through; then I add in 2 cups beef broth. If you are using the typical grocery store meat, you may need to completely cook and drain the fat out of the pan. When we use lamb or the grass fed typically the meat does not make much in terms of grease. I simmer the meat in beef broth to give it extra level of flavor. Make sure if you are making a gluten  free and soy free meal that you check every single ingredient, Broth, especially beef broth can sometimes contain gluten and soy. We typically purchase broths that are labeled gluten free and do not contain soy. If we can't find any that is safe I use free range Chicken stock or Organic Chicken broth. The last time we made it, we used Swanson  beef broth, which can be found at Walmart or most grocery stores. Again, I check the boxes of everything I buy each time. Then, I add in the frozen vegetables to simmer with the meat. If you would like to use fresh carrots, make sure you boil or steam before adding to the meat. r 

While the meat and veggies are simmering in the pan it is time to make a slurry. A slurry is a meant to thicken the sauce to give it a gravy consistency. To make the slurry take the remaining 2 cups of Beef Stock and add the 2 TBS of gluten free flower to it. Mix the flour in very well till you no longer see any clumps. Once your meat/veggie mixture has had time to simmer and absorb the flavor from the beef stock (about 5-10 min), add in the slurry to the pan and mix it together. Turn, the heat up on the pan and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil; bring it down to a simmer for 5 min. 

It is now time to make the mash potatoes for our Shepard's pie. Set a sauce pan to medium heat and add your cup of milk. Then add in 1 stick of butter cut up in cubes, and 4 oz (1/2 package of cream cheese) to the pan. Occasionally, stir the butter and cream cheese in the pan. Do this until the butter and cream cheese are melted. While that is melting, get your potatoes mashed and ready to mix. Once the butter and cream cheese have fully melted add it to your mash potatoes. Slowly add the liquid to your potatoes as you mix until it is smooth and without clumps. 

Lets assemble the Shepard's Pie and get it in the oven. Preheat the oven @ 350. In a large glass dish add your beef


/veggie mixture with the broth in your dish. Then, take your mashed potatoes and spread covering the entire top of your dish. Finish, by adding a 1 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese to the top. In your preheated oven add your Shepard's Pie and cook uncovered for 10-15 min until cheese it melted. 

Take it out and let it rest. Serve immediately, or cover with cling wrap and aluminum foil to reheat and serve later!




Monday, October 16, 2017

A lot has happened since even August....

After I saw the lung Dr I had a barium swallow he ordered. The barium swallow showed that I have reverse peristalsis and esophageal dysmotility. " Esophageal motility refers to contractions occurring in the esophagus, which propel the food bolus forward toward the stomach. When contractions in the esophagus become irregular, unsynchronized or absent, the patient is said to have esophageal dysmotility. The areas of dysfunction in the esophagus may be in the upper esophageal sphincter (UES), the body of the esophagus or the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).

Oropharyngeal and UES dysfunction may be caused by neurologic and neuromuscular diseases or may be of unknown cause. Oropharyngeal dysfunction may result from certain surgeries, such as tracheostomy, laryngectomy or cervical dissection.

There are primary idiopathic motor disorders that include achalasia, diffuse esophageal spasm, nutcracker esophagus, hypertensive LES and nonspecific esophageal motility disorders. " 
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gastroenterology_hepatology/diseases_conditions/faqs/swallowing_disorders.html

We are still trying to find the cause of my esophageal issues. Sometimes Im ok, then others its really bad with pain and not being able to eat and drinks right.  Its frustrating. 

Ive been having even more severe pain in my hip and left leg. My rheumatologist ordered a stat MRI because he feared I may have avascular necrosis. Waiting on results. 

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

The past few month have taken me down roads I never thought I would travel. Some were good, fun, learning experiences while others have torn my heart more than it was. I have found I can not really eat any gluten free bread. It makes my stomach just stop working, increases my joint pains, give me head fog and very bad bloating. I was doing well on the AIP diet, but life became so overwhelming with my dad having strokes and subsequent blindness, it has taken up all my time and energy. I am sensitive to pea protein as well as random spices and seem to be sensitive to pepper. I feel my best on AIP, but paleo works better than just gluten free. The AIP diet is very expensive to follow It is really hard because it severely cuts what I can and can't have. The good news is both paleo and AIP don't allow gluten nor soy so it follows my diet already.

Today is one year since my mom passed. I'm having a hard time eating at all today. My sugar is actually high today which is weird because I havent eaten that much. I believe I need to go back to doing liquids for right now with everything I have going on and try to detox my body again.

I had my appointment with my pulmonologist today and we went over what the hyperinflation in my lungs mean. Basically I can inhale but my body isnt exhaling properly so my lungs are over expanded. This makes doing any task physically impossible because my body cant pump the oxygen I need to the rest of my body. This is why even talking on the phone too long or too fast, or laughing, I get very short of breathe and/or go into a coughing fit. Every test Ive had that is for asthma has come back negative but I seem to have indications of a copd sort of lung disease. The other test he was focused on today was from over a year ago. It showed I was aspirating into my lungs when I drink. He remembered this after I told him I have been choking on my water very simply for no apparent reason. It keeps "going down the wrong pipe".  Normally this happens in stroke patients or people with MS. We don't know whats causing these new issues, but we need to do another test to see if it is going into my lungs and how much is going into my lungs because this will prevent lung infections from occurring. Speaking of infections, I'm currently suffering through my 5th kidney infection in 3 months. I'm in severe pain! The urologist is tired of me getting these infections and bugging them so I was referred to Infectious disease and Kidney Dr. I normally end up in the hospital and/or IV antibiotics at home because my infections get so bad I cant fight them off. My white blood cell count is low and my body is fighting all it can. I'm in pain, nauseous, exhausted and down right over all of the medical crap my body keeps throwing at me. My joints are inflamed and hurting a lot more than they normally do and I havent changed any of my rheum medications.

Last week I saw the kidney Dr and he thinks I have class 3 or class 4 kidney disease related to the autoimmune diseases. I am having a tough time accepting this. Even when my infections clear I still have blood and protein in my urine, indicating kidney disease. I am very high risk for kidney disease with all of the medications and disease I am currently fighting. I also keep having bilirubin in my urine. The most frustrating part of all of this is when people tell you that you look so healthy and don't believe you when you tell them everything you are fighting through. I believe people when they tell me things. Because my pain tolerance is high I know what its like to be sitting perfectly still and be in severe crushing pain.

I should be at the hospital but last time I went in they said I was a drug seeker and did not believe that I had the problems that I have. Its beyond frustrating to fight the same battles over and over. I have to pray that tomorrow when I see the infectious disease Dr that she will listen and understand the immune deficiency and how serious it is when I have an infection.

To top off everything my dad still hasn't been approved for placement right now into a new rehab facility and today is a year that my mom passed away. This is all on top of being a wife of a fireman who is gone and exhausted when he is home and mom to asperger/adhd daughter and a beautiful but emotional another daughter. I'm so blessed to have so much but I do wish God would take some things off my plate at the moment.

Monday, May 8, 2017

Something has to give

I'm dying from complications of all my autoimmune conditions. So no matter what I've been doing eating healthy it just hasn't been enough. I've been eating  gluten free for my celiac for almost 6 year, Ive been eating paleo since January this year but have not lost any weight and continued to actually feel worse and worse. My anti thyroid antibodies went up and a lot of my blood levels dropped so I ended up needing blood transfusions. So now Im here, asking whats next?

Am I doomed to suffer, stuck in bed for the rest of how ever long I have on this earth? Im weak, depressed, and in ridiculous pain. So I decided I can't live like this anymore. My immune system and stress is so overloaded I keep getting more allergies. My immune system keeps attacking itself and giving me more autoimmune conditions every time I turn around. so I need to make it take a chill pill without shoving more pills down my throat! So alas I've been toiling around with researching for years but even deeper the past few months.

Through the past few years I've fell in love with Young Living oils. Thieves oil has saved me many times from infections. I've done numerous "experiments" and not put it on vs putting it on when I go out and I can tell you 100% of the time I get sick when  I go out without my thieves oil. If there was something I would buy for the rest of my life its this! AND its natural with NO side effects, plus it smells fabulous! Ok, back to food. SO I'm trying to eliminate problem foods and eat foods that feed my body!

I've been learning more and more about a diet called the Autoimmune Protocol diet. I purchased this book on Amazon and have been eating the AIP diet for a little over a week.
thing I have learned:

Even with mostly eating healthy there's a lot of chemicals I didn't know I was ingesting.
I lost 5 lbs. Need to lose 20.
I am thoroughly exhausted and need to do big batches of food to freeze.
Its ok if you have a weak day and eat a gluten free cracker.
Too much veggie and fruit will spike your sugar too high.
Even sweet potatoes need to be eaten in moderation.
This diet is HARD but Ive read countless people and in support groups where people have had breakthroughs.

To me this isnt an option, Im trying to live out my life as healthy as I can. I want to actually live and stop spending every day shackled to my house. Its depressing, lonely and Im over it!

So I will update here how my progress goes. The good, the bad, and the ugly...well prob only a tiny bit of the ugly!


Thursday, January 19, 2017

Day after treatment



This is one of the days after treatment. Leave me some comments!



Treatment days



This year Ive vowed to focus on not only getting better but educating people along the way. Too many times people who suffer with chronic conditions are looked down as lazy or weird. I want to break the mold and explain sometimes what we go through behind the scenes, in the scenes, and things no one really knows. This is my first video and it may be low because I was really tired and sensitive to sound and light. I want to open the door so people can step into my life instead of closing it to people who dont understand! Have a great day! Leave me some comments 





Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Hello 2017

I dont know about you but I am ready and expectant for 2017 to be MY BEST YEAR YET! 

Im going to be sharing more of my journey with you, up close and personal ;) So strap in and get ready for the ride! Life goes up and down and all around sometimes. I want to help educate, empower,  and encourage people to learn more about different people that struggle. We all need people who will take the time to SEE really see what it is we are fighting and encourage our fight! We all need team support system. SO I will be your team support system. Im here to cheer you on in whatever area of life you have a challenge in! If you need prayer please dont ever hesitate to comment, leave email, or pm and I will promise to get back to you as soon as I can. 

Here is my first video of 2017 and my first treatment day of 2017.... first pic looks a little crazy! haha but its ALL GOOD we will be healing and overcoming this year together! 
Thanks for joining me! I love comments and messages so message away :) Have a great day!!





Its January 4th!