Luck of the Irish

Top of the mornin’ to ya.  According to an Irish name game, today I’m Greenie McFeverish.  Although we have no Irish heritage, we still wear green and decided to try this scrumptious recipe: shepherd’s pie.  It was so yummy that we scarfed it down and there was a fight over the scraps in the pan!

If you want a simple, healthy dish, check out skinnytaste.com for several ideas.  This recipe was easy to make it just took time.  It takes about an hour total if multitasking the potatoes and meat mixture.  FYI in case your family is starving…like mine.

I had my Irish style on with top hat and necklace part in due because I didn’t have any other green and part in due because I’m going out tonight with the girls in Tempe. :P 

My helper did the potatoes because I hardly make them and I was focusing on the main ingredient of veggie and meat mix….YUM!

Some tips about this recipe

1.     It takes about an hour so don’t wait before you get hungry to start cooking.

2.     We skipped the parsnip because the grocery store was out (WHAT), but it worked out.  Parsnips are a starch that would have taken the place of regular potatoes in actual shepard’s pie.  It would have soaked up more of the gravy sauce, but we decided that we liked the gravy, so make your own decisions.

3.     If you’re like me and really don’t care for cooked celery, get over it!!! It adds another dimension to the dish.  So, don’t skip it.

4.     We substituted yellow sweet potatoes for the white ones.  Again, we blame the grocery store, but the white ones are sweeter making the dish delish!

5.     We make ours as one giant dish, which means you’d need more time to brown the mashers.  If you have individual ramekins, then your taters will brown more.

    6.     Also, you can substitute fresh veggies for the frozen ones just keep in mind that it needs to be a carrot, pea, or green bean kind of mixture.  They should be precooked before going about half the time and then cooked in the mixture for another bit of time.

    7.     You can use any type of meat.  Turkey and chicken should be used for health freaks like myself.  But, beef can be used for super flavor profiles.

    8.     Most importantà use the same pan for the meat and veggies.  Using the juice of the meat to 

cook the veggies allows for less olive oil and some extra flavors.

We definitely found our pot of gold under the rainbow with this recipe.  Well, enjoy your day with a pint of your favorite beverage ;) or splurge on this delicious meal.