Monday, April 6, 2009

Shepherd's Pie



So how long did y'all think I could go without totally screwing something up? I had a good streak of a few days. Maybe I shouldn't say 'totally' because it was still edible and actually tasted okay. That's a miracle considering I accidentally omitted oh ONLY FOUR ingredients.

And so the picture doesn't help to convince you that this did taste good. I really do hope to get a better camera soon. Then maybe my mishaps in the kitchen will at least look like they taste good!

It all started when I threw the potatoes on to boil. That went fine and while I waited I thought I'd watch a litte Oprah. She was doing a show on motherhood, and while I'm not a mother, they were interviewing Heather Armstrong from Dooce and that caught my attention. So I forgot about the potatoes. There's a TV in the kitchen, which I was watching, so I have absolutely no idea how the heck I could forget about a pot that might boil over only about 36 inches away. Anyways, that got me all huffy.

Then I chopped up the veggies and decided to throw them in the pan while I was preparing the mashed potatoes. So my mind was fixated on fake-buttery, non-fat sour-creamy, still pretty delicious mashed potatoes and I didn't even grab the right size pan. But I didn't figure that out until I went to throw the ground turkey in said miniscule pan. Way to pay attention!

I managed to shove all the meat into the pan and I seasoned it with salt, pepper and garlic powder. You'll notice that garlic powder is not on the ingredients list, but how was I supposed to know that? By that time I had completely stopped looking at the recipe. I've made shepherd's pie before, how hard could it be?

Yeah, it's not hard at all. But you do forget a whole portion of the recipe sometimes when you totally disregard it. After browning the turkey, I just dumped it into the waiting casserole dish without giving it a second thought. I plopped on the mashed taters and smeared them around until they were pretty and threw some paprika on top (also not in the recipe).

While it was in the oven, I got to thinking...I could have sworn that recipe called for chicken broth when I was making my grocery list. I ran back downstairs and consulted the recipe and lo and behold I realized I screwed up. So I didn't use any rosemary or thyme. I didn't use any flour and broth to make a sauce. Oops.

And then it was done. I pulled it out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes so that I could cut a nice piece for the picture without it all falling apart. And then I took a bite. Still pretty tasty. How bad could some meat, veggies and mashed potato heaven be? But I'm guessing it was supposed to have something "extra" that I neglected to give it. Either way, the husband will never notice. I know I liked it. I may or may not have had seconds.

Here's the recipe that maybe you can manage to follow. It's from Weight Watchers.

Classic Shepherd's Pie

POINTS® Value: 5
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 42 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients
2 large potato(es), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup(s) fat-free sour cream
1 tbsp reduced-calorie margarine
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup(s) onion(s), chopped
2 medium carrot(s), diced
2 medium stalk(s) celery, diced
1 pound(s) uncooked ground turkey breast
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp rosemary, fresh, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cup(s) canned chicken broth, or beef broth

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.

Transfer turkey mixture to a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon, make decorative swirls over the top. Bake until potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

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