Paleo Shepherd's Pie

I grew up eating the Canadian version of Shepherd's Pie which is a layer of ground beef cooked with onions, a layer of corn, and finally topped with a layer of mashed potatoes dotted with butter and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Each layer is already cooked and layered in a cast iron skillet and then the top gets browned under the broiler for a few minutes.  This Paleo version has no corn and no mashed white potatoes, but it does have a layer of sauteed vegetables covered with a gravy and a mashed root vegetable mixture for the top.  This dish turned out to be quite tasty and a good substitute for a comfort food.

Paleo Shepherd's Pie
Makes 6-8 servings

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
3 celery stalks, small dice
4 carrots, small dice
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
4 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (remove ends)
3 turnips, peeled, ends cut off and cut into cubes
5-6 parsnips, peeled and cut into thirds (remove ends)
Salt to taste

Fill an 8-quart pan with water to boil turnips, parsnips and one carrot.  Turn the heat to medium-high.  Add the turnips, parsnips and carrot and boil for 30 to 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put a large skillet on medium-low heat.  Add 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil to pan.  Put the small diced onion, celery and carrot into the pan and cook till onions are translucent, which takes about 7 minutes.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Using the same pan, turn the heat to medium and add the ground been, 2 teaspoons of sea salt and 1 teaspoon ground pepper.  Stir to thoroughly distribute the salt and pepper and cook until the meat is cooked through.  Once the meat is completely cooked, drain the meat from the fat and transfer the meat to a bowl.  Drain the remaining fat and discard.

Return the vegetable mixture back to the same pan (it's totally okay if it has some fat coating from the beef) over medium-low heat.  Add the  minced garlic, chicken broth, thyme, and rosemary to the vegetable mixture.  Allow the liquid to heat up for a minute or two.  Add 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.  Stir to mix.  Add the arrowroot powder, one tablespoon at a time and mixing after each tablespoon , in order to thoroughly dissolve.  This should thicken the liquid to more gravy form, but not completely thick.  Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.  Remove pan from heat.

Using a casserole dish (or a 9x13 pan), pour all the cooked ground beef inside by evenly spreading it out.  Next, evenly spread the veggie/gravy mixture.

The turnips, parsnips, and carrots should be thoroughly soft.  Each should be easily pierced with a fork.  Drain the water and add 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil and 2 tablespoons water.  Puree the mixture in a food processor to process until smooth (you might need a little more water).  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon the mixture over the top of the veggie mixture and smooth it out making sure to cover all the veggies.

Bake for 20-25 minutes and serve hot.

From JoGoGym

Our rating:
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Cheese Enchiladas

Since the girls come for dinner once a week on Tuesdays,  I decided to get a jump start on Cinco de Mayo with a Mexican focused meal tonight.  We started with tortilla chips with Ina's homemade guacamole which is one of our favorites.  The entree was Cheese Enchiladas which is a family favorite that I have been making for several years now.  I started by making a flavorful tomato based sauce which got simmered for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken.  I then quickly dipped tortillas in hot vegetable oil just to soften them before dunking them in the tomato sauce.  They then got filled with a little cheese (a combination of shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack), rolled and placed in a casserole dish.  The remaining sauce went over all the enchiladas, more cheese got sprinkled on top before being baked in the oven for 15 minutes.  This dish is quite simple to make (it does require a little time) and delivers big flavors.

Cheese Enchiladas (Serves 6)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, large
1 tablespoon chili powder
28 ounce whole tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, 6 ounces
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, 6 ounces
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 tortillas, 7-inch diameter
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce, for serving (optional)
1/4 cup ripe olives, sliced, for serving (optional)
sour cream for serving (optional)

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook onion, garlic and chili powder in oil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender.

Stir in tomatoes, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, breaking up tomatoes.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low.  Simmer uncovered about 30 minutes or until thickened.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cheeses.  Heat 1/4 cup oil in 8-inch skillet until hot.  Dip each tortilla lightly into hot oil to soften; drain.  Dip each tortilla into sauce to coat both sides.  Spoon about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture onto each tortilla; roll tortilla around cheese.  Place tortillas, seam sides down, in ungreased rectangular baking dish 13 x 9 x 2 inches.  Pou remaining sauce over top.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture.

Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are hot.  Top with lettuce and olives.  Serve with sour cream.


Adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook

My rating:

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Every once in a while, I just crave this very classic dish. This is a family favorite that I have been making for about 35 years. It is just your basic elbow macaroni folded into a white cream sauce with lots of shredded cheddar cheese melted in. Once everything is combined in a casserole dish, a little more shredded cheddar goes over the top before going into a hot oven for 20 minutes. It always comes out creamy and cheesy which is a wonderful combination in my book. I served some oven roasted broccoli and cauliflower as our side.


Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 4-6

2 cups elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

While bringing water to the boil for the macaroni, start the sauce by melting butter in a large saucepan. Stir in the flour and salt and pepper and continuing stirring with a whisk until the mixture is bubbling. Simmer and continue stirring for 1 minute. Gradually add milk (I like to warm the milk in the microwave to speed up the process of making the sauce), and continue stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and continue stirring for one more minute. Add 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and stir until melted.

Once the macaroni is cooked and drained, add it to the cheese sauce and mix well. Pour mixture into a shallow 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over top. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Our rating:

Turkey Pie

I turned to a casserole for dinner tonight. My latest issue of Cuisine at Home featured a Turkey Pie recipe (which is somewhat similar to a Shepherd's Pie recipe I grew up with featuring a meat/vegetable combo topped with potatoes and baked) and since Zeb and Melissa were here for dinner and grading papers, I decided we could make a dent in the 8 servings indicated for this recipe.

The base of this casserole was browned ground turkey with onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and thyme. A mixture of flour and tomato paste were stirred in before the liquids were added; a can of diced tomatoes, chicken broth, dry red wine, Worchestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard. Once everything came to a boil and the sauce was slightly thickened, the browned turkey went back in along with some frozen peas.

The mixture was poured into a casserole dish and topped with frozen hashed brown potatoes drizzled with melted butter. After baking for 30 minutes, the casserole was topped with grated white Cheddar cheese and baked for an additional 20 minutes. The pie was allowed to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

I served this with Gardener's Salad with Dijon vinaigrette which combined baby greens, sliced cucumbers and sliced radishes dressed with a Dijon vinaigrette.

This dinner was fine but not as good as some other meals I have turned out recently.




Adapted from Cuisine At Home, October 2011
Turkey Pie (Serves 8)
1 1/2 pound ground turkey (for the most flavorful pie, choose ground turkey labeled no more than 93% lean)
4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 cup each diced onion, carrot, and celery
1 tablespoon each minced garlic and fresh thyme
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 cup frozen green peas
Salt and black pepper to taste
8 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup shredded which Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 2-quart oval or rectangular baking dish with nonstick spray.

For the filling, brown turkey in 2 tablespoons oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat, 8-10 minutes Transfer turkey to a paper-towel-lined plate; discard any liquid.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same pan over medium. Add onion, carrot, and celery; sweat, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and thyme, and cook until fragrant, 1 minutes.

Stir in flour and tomato paste; cook 1 minute.

Whisk in diced tomatoes, broth, wine, Worcestershire, and Dijon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in reserved turkey and peas; season with salt and pepper. Transfer filling to prepared baking dish and place on a baking sheet.

For the topping, arrange potatoes on top of filling, then drizzle on butter.

Bake pie 30 minutes. Sprinkle top with Cheddar and bake until potatoes are cooked through about 20 minutes more. Let pie cool 10-15 minutes before serving.




Adapted from Cuisine at Home, October 2011 edition
Gardener's Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette (serves 4)

For the vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

For the salad:
4 cups mixed baby salad greens
1/4 cup seeded, sliced English cucumber
1/4 cup sliced radishes

For the vinaigrette, whisk together vinegar, shallots and Dijon. Drizzle in oil while whisking until combined, then season with salt and pepper.

For the salad, toss greens, cucumber, and radishes with vinaigrette.


The overall rating for tonight's dinner: