Sheppard's Pie

Sheppard's Pie
#St.Patrick'sDay!

In light of the upcoming holiday and by request from my lovely cousin-in-law Holly, I thought I would post about Sheppard's Pie this week. This a great all-in-one meal.  Meat, veggies and potatoes all together in a casserole style dish. You can't beat it! Again, I advocate for the use of local pasture raised beef.  I do understand that it is more expensive then conventional beef and for good reason (better health of the beef, better health for you), but one way to make this dish more affordable is to use less beef and more vegetables.  We all could use more vegetables in our diet and in many dishes that call for meat you don't need to use a lot, just good quality.  Most Sheppard's Pie recipes call for 1 1/2lbs -2lbs ground beef or lamb and about 1-2 cups vegetables.  As you will see I wound up using only 1lb ground beef and 3+ cups vegetables and it was still delicious!   This time of year is great for Sheppard's Pie because you can still find many of the storage crops such as potatoes, onions, and carrots for sale locally.  As for the peas and carrots I used the frozen organic kind.  Another way in which I changed this recipe slightly from the traditional was by using a sweet potato mixed in with the traditional russet (I actually used red and kept the skins on!).  It gave it a little bit of a sweeter flavor and all the health benefits of sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 3 large local organic potatoes cut into chunks
• 1 large organic sweet potato cut into chunks
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1lb local pasture raised ground beef or lamb
• 1 large local onion diced
• 1 cup local carrots diced (about 4 medium to large carrots)
• 1 cup organic peas
• 1 cup organic corn
• 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4-1 cup beef broth

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add all potatoes and cook for 12-15 mins
3. Drain water, mash potatoes and mix in butter.  Cover and set potatoes aside
4. While potatoes are boiling heat olive oil in pan
5. Add onion and cook for 2-3 mins
6. Add carrots and cook for additional 5-7 mins or until tender
7. Add beef or lamb and cook until no longer pink
8. Drain out fat
9. Add peas and carrots and cook for 3-4 mins
10. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 cup beef broth  
11. Cook for another 7-10 mins adding additional broth to keep moist if necessary.
12. Put beef and vegetables into 9x13 baking dish  
13. Spread mashed potatoes on top and bake for 20 mins.

Why it's good for you:

• Grass Fed Beef-  When cows are healthier you are healthier.  Cows are supposed to eat grass not grain.  When they eat grass they stay healthy and don't need antibiotics.  They also get lots of wonderful nutrients from the grass which they pass onto you including Omega-3 fatty acids.
• Sweet Potatoes- Vitamin A (great for eye sight),Vitamin B6,Vitamin C (supports immune system), Vitamin D (improves mood, energy levels, helps build strong bones, skin, teeth and nerves) Iron, Magnesium (stress reducer), Potassium, Beta-Carotene (eye sight and immunity) and fiber
• Red Potatoes-B6 and a good source of potassium, copper, vitamin C, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, dietary fiber, and pantothenic acid.  And keep the skins on, that's where you will find many of the nutrients.  
• Peas and Corn-  both are loaded with lots of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients.
• Carrots- best known for containing high amounts of Vitamin A, but also contain 17 other nutrients.  
• Onions- High in vitamin C and fiber along with other key nutrients