Shepherd Pie?? I'm not sure what it was...but we ate it.

Well.. I'm not really sure if this would be Shepherds pie...I started with good intentions and ended up with this.  It was okay but would have been better with a few adjustments.  Like flavor.  The recipe I started to follow was for one serving so I guessed on how much of everything to use. I guessed wrong I think.

Heck, we threw a few hot peppers on the top and ate it up.

1lb of ground beef
1 carrot - Medium size, Shredded
1 celery stalk, chopped
handful of chopped mushrooms
4 small white potatoes. I used the baby ones with very light yellow skin. (not paleo part)
1//4 of a large yellow onion
1/2 can black beans (I had these left over from the kale dish, so why not?)
about 1 heaping table spoon minced garlic (I used the kind in a jar already minced)
1/2 tablespoon roasted garlic - minced (I used the kind in a jar already roasted)
splash of Almond milk
1 Tbl spoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper for taste

I started by throwing the potatoes in boiling water. Then browned the beef.  Once the beef was almost done I strained the grease, rinsed it and set it aside.  In the same pan I added the onion and garlic and sautéed about 1-2 minutes then added the shredded carrot, chopped celery, mushrooms, salt and pepper.  I cooked this about 5 minutes and added the beef into it, added more salt and pepper and the black beans. Mixed it and heated through another minute maybe.  I layered the casserole with the meat mixture.  (in my former life a would have added some cream of mushroom soup)

By this time the potatoes were done.  I added about tablespoon of olive oil to a mixing bowl along with the roasted garlic.  I added the potatoes, cut them up and started mixing with a hand mixer.  Added enough almond milk to get a chucky mashed potato consistency and added salt and pepper to taste. 

I put the potatoes on the top of the beef and carefully spread it, making a cover for the meat. This is where in my former life I would have added the cheese and butter....but instead I just gave it a good sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Baked in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes were crusted.

What I should have done was added some fresh herbs from the garden when I sautéed everything.  I think that would have helped. And maybe added a little chicken or beef broth.  I'm going to defiantly make this again with some variations.  To make it Paleo I'd mash cauliflower for the topping for sure.  Stay tuned to see what the next one ends up like!