Learning as I go

In the last 5 years I have really taken to cooking. I didn't do much at first, some baking mostly. I have discovered it is a new passion of mine and felt that this would be a great way to share the many recipes that have come my way along with some originals of my own. In the last couple weeks we have started receiving CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) - local grown fruit and vegetables and boy have I had fun figuring out what all I can do with it. Ive been making and cooking things I never imagined I would. So if you have found a passion in cooking like I have you have come to the right place. I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Paleo Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie







Trying to expand my Paleo Horizons and make some of my favorite recipes the Paleo way. I found this one by way of Google on PrimalPal's website. I don't know that Im that crazy about the seasonings they used, its a little much for my tastes but it was still good. I will most likely try it again using different flavoring and post both recipes. For now, here is how this one was made:


Prep Time: Approx 20 mins.
Cook Time: Approx 30 mins.
Serves: 4 ( I cut this into 6 servings)

Ingredients for Savory Paleo Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
1 lb ground beef
2 large sweet potatoes
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup of mushrooms, chopped ( I opted to leave this out and replaced with chopped green bell peppers)
2 tbsp of butter ( I only used 1tbsp and it was just fine this way)
1/4 cup of full fat coconut milk ( I used almond milk instead)
1 egg
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of allspice
1 tsp of nutmeg
3 tsp of salt ( I went light on the salt as I am not a big fan)
2 tsp of black ground pepper

Directions for Savory Paleo Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
1. Rinse of your sweet potatoes and place them in a glass microwave safe dish with about a 1/2 inch of water. Pierce the potatoes a few times, cover and cook in the microwave for 10 - 15 minutes. All microwaves are different so you'll just want to ensure the potatoes are cooked all the way through and are soft. ( I do not like to microwave potatoes so I peeled and boiled them for 8 minutes instead)

2. While the potatoes are cooking take your cast iron skillet ( I do not own one of these so I just used a regular frying pan) and cook the beef, onion, carrots and mushrooms until the beef is no longer pink and the carrots are soft. Mix in the cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 2 teaspoons of the salt.

3. Take your sweet potatoes out and give them a minute to cool so they are easy to handle. You'll make a cut down the middle of the potatoes and then scoop out all the good stuff into a mixing bowl.

4. Mash the sweet potatoes with the egg, butter, coconut milk, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mash the potatoes until they are smooth.

5. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes over the ground beef as evenly as possible. (since I do not have a skillet I placed the meat mixture in a casserole dish and baked it in that)

6. Bake the dish in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 22 - 25 minutes.

7. Broil the dish for 8 minutes to give it a nice finish.

8. Serve it up and enjoy.

Love and Enjoy!