Week 2: Shepards Pie and Brisket – “The Reality”

The body achieves what the mind believes.

The verdict is in on my Shepards Pie — IT’S AMAZING!!  I gave a few bites to my co-workers today and they were shocked at how creamy the califlower mash was on the top…I call this a WIN!

Shepard’s Pie (Inspiration recipe: Easy Shepard’s Pie Recipe):

• MJ’s Recipe with modifications
  • 3 tbsp Earth Balance Butter (dairy-free and I use the soy free version as well)
  • 3 heads califlower
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 bag (16oz) frozen veggies (carrots, peas, green beans, and lima beans)(I got the 365 brand from Whole Foods with no salt added)
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 cup beef broth (low sodium)
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 cup cheese (I use dairy-free)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the califlower into florets and steam until it is easy to puncture with a fork. (linked to week 1 post that shows different steaming methods)
2. Once califlower is cooked, place in either a blender or food processor with the earth balance butter.  Blend until smooth.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Blend for an additional 10 seconds to mix the seasoning in.  Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. In a large skillet, combine the onion and garlic and heat on medium-high heat.  The kind of minced garlic that I use has a little bit of olive oil in it, so I don’t add any additional olive oil when I cook my onions.  Cook onions until tender (roughly 5 to 8 minutes).
6. Once onions are tender, empty the bag of frozen veggies into the skillet and mix with the onion/garlic mixture.  Cook until the frozen veggies are tender.
7. Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook until no longer pink.  Season with salt and pepper.
8. Add the beef broth to the skillet with the beef, onions, and veggies.  Bring the broth to a simmer and reduce to low heat for 5 minutes.
9. Pour the contents of the skillet into an oven safe 9×13 dish.  Top with the califlower mash and sprinkle the cheese on the top.  Cook in the oven for 30min.
10. Ready to serve.

Nutritional Information:

I have been making this Brisket recipe for years — when I use to have roommates, they would devour this as I was taking it out of the crockpot…its THAT good!

Easy Slowcooker Brisket:

• MJ’s Recipe:
  • 5 lbs brisket, cut into thirds for easy of putting it in crockpot
  • 3 12oz jars of banana peppers

1. Pour the 3 jars of banana peppers into a crockpot.  Sometimes I use one of those GIANT jars from Costco.  Other times I just grab a few jars from the grocery.
2. Place the brisket into the crockpot and fill remainder of crockpot with water.
3. Turn the crockpot on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours. I normally put this in the crockpot and go to bed, then wake up in the morning and pull it apart.
4. Once the brisket is cooked, remove from crockpot and pull the brisket apart.  I normally put it in 4 oz ziplock bags and freeze it so it is ready when I need it.
5. Ready to serve.  The nutritional information below represents 4 oz as 1 serving.

Nutritional Information:

Some of my favorite things to use this brisket for are tacos, nachos, breakfast eggs, and snacks.  It is definetly a staple in my house!  You can also add a jar of jalapeños to the crockpot as well if you would like to spice it up — if you haven’t noticed already…jalapeños are one of my favs!

Also – I need to get better about taking pictures while I am cooking becuase I took NO pictures of the Shepards Pie or the Brisket #FAIL.