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!
