Shepherd's Pie

This is a hearty dinner for a cold winter’s eve. It is a prime example of how I minimize meat in a meaty meal. The cooked grains not only add nutrition, but something substantial to the meal. The red quinoa doesn’t disappear, but it blends nicely with the ground beef. I recently tried this with ground venison and it works great. This dish is so quick to whip up with the aid of a few helpful tools. I use both my “Ladies”, get them all set up, then I work on the vegetables. A good mandoline (Zyliss) is great for prepping vegetables, easily making them the same size. A potato ricer makes perfect mashed potatoes with no worries of over working them and ending up with a gooey mess.

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/2 cup milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup millet
1/3 cup red quinoa
1 1/3 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon coconut oil or tallow

1/2 lb. ground sirloin
¼ cup teff
3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups beef stock

2 teaspoons worcestershire

1 cup frozen peas

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
salt

2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Pressure potatoes on high for 6 minutes, natural release (or boil). Peel and whip with sour, milk, salt and pepper. Pressure quinoa/millet mixture with 1 1/3 cup beef stock on high for 6 minutes. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef and teff. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. Add chopped carrot, onion, cook with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add flour, cook 2 minutes, mix in stock and worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add grains and peas to meat and vegetables. Stir in parsley, reserving some to garnish the top, then check for seasoning. Preheat broiler to high. Fill a large casserole dish with meat/grain and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with melted butter and paprika, broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

Mandoline from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Fry Pan from Costco.

Red Quinoa and Millet. (The peas look funny because they are freeze dried from my food storage, we were all out of frozen)

Potato Ricer from Amazon.

links; Whole Foods for the Holidays