Mary's Shepherd's Pie

MARY'S SHEPHERD PIE

Above is the final presentation for my Shepherd's Pie. I like adding a bit of fruit, and avocado is just something we do here in California. 

Yes.. In my retirement I seem to have become a cook, sharing a recipe blog. LOL. I think this is so funny, so enjoy this with me!

MARY'S SHEPHERD'S PIE

1. 1 pound of ground turkey.. Again.. I prefer Jennie-O turkey... Low fat.

2. 1 red onion, chopped. (I like to also add pearl onions.. but it may be too too oniony for y'all.)

3. Maybe 2 cups of chopped celery.. maybe more.. I like celery.. Make sure you chop the leaves. They    add a lot of flavor

4. About a LB of chopped carrots. They add sweetness so don't scrimp on the carrots. I like to peel and cut my own. I think they taste better, but feel free to use the pre-cut, pre-peeled carrots. 

5. Let's call it 6 healthy cloves of garlic. Peel them and chop them.

6. One cup of cherry tomatoes cut in 1/2.

7. If you like the earthy flavor of mushrooms, cut 6 large sized button mushrooms into slices.. If you hate them.. skip this!

8. 3/4 cup of frozen peas.

9. Tons o' sage. I use fresh Sage. And Rosemary and Thyme!. The sage adds the most flavorful flavor. If you only have sage that is okay too. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH ROSEMARY AND THYME. They are strong flavors. Be gentle.

 

(FRESH HERBS... Most grocery stores sell them like this.)

10. Cooking Spray

11. Butter or not.

12. Milk or milk substitute.. 

Steps:

1. Brown the ground turkey and drain. (Less fat is best!!) (You can also use hamburger, lamb, pork, or.. I guess.. tofu, though I've never tried tofu.)

2. Add chopped red onion, celery, carrots, garlic, mushrooms..

It will look like this.. (okay.. I added some pearl onions, but I am mad for onions... Your choice.)

3. Cook for about 10 minutes on simmer.

4. Add tomatoes and frozen peas.

It will look like this:

5. Cook on low for a bit.. in the meantime....

6. Boil about 2 pounds of red potatoes.. Clearly.. you may use whatever potatoes you prefer.. Phil likes red! I don't peel them.. I clean them and wash them. Again.. Your choice!

7. Cook until almost soft. Turn off the burner. Let potatoes sit for a bit until you can pick up the pot. Drain and cool.

8. Mash potatoes with a potato masher.

. 

9. Add AT LEAST 1 cup of milk (can be coconut milk or unflavored almond milk) and 3/4 stick of butter. 

10. Use mixer and mix until smooth. I like the potatoes airy so I will tend to add more milk a bit at a time at this point. It will look like this: 

 

K.. this kinda looks gross.. The pic didn't come out well.  The red is a spatula. Just smooth it all out.. 

11. Spray cooking spray into an 9X11 glass roasting pan.. pyrex.  Mine is old.. Maybe it is 10X12 .. I have no idea.  But.. whatever you use, spray it with some cooking spray. Trader Joe's has an excellent spray.

12. Put the meat and vegetable mixture in the pyrex glass pan. It will look like this:

13.. Pre heat the oven to  350 degrees. 

14. Put the mashed potatoes on top of the meat/veg mixture: 

15. Loosely cover it with foil and put it on the top shelf of the oven.

(Don't get confused.. PUT FOIL ON THE PIE BEFORE COOKING!)

16. After about 45 min. at 365 degrees, remove the foil. Cook for about 15 more minutes to brown. If you are like me and cooking with electricity, put the broiler on for the last 2 min. to brown the top.. If not.. skip this.

17. BE VERY CAREFUL. The entire thing is extremely hot!!

18. Put two trivets on your table and transfer the entire thing to the table with your "big" spoon. AGAIN.. IT IS VERY HOT! BE CAREFUL!! Use pot holders or oven mitts!!

19.. Serve.. (Feel free to add a little sour cream or yogurt to the top of your serving. I like to add a little chili pepper and avocado.) 

20. Voila:

MARY'S SHEPHERD PIE