Lentil Shepard's Pie

Boy have we come a long way....if you would have told me years ago that I would be making this dish for my family and that they would EAT it and LIKE it, I would have called you a liar.  Because NEVER could I imagine this happening!

This dish is easy to make but it's one of my more time consuming ones.   Typically it takes me roughly an hour to assemble everything and then another 45+ minutes to bake.  But it is totally worth it you guys!  100%!

Lentil Shepard's Pie

Filling:

1 1/2 cups lentils
2 large carrots
2 celery sticks
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 cup green beans
1 cup peas
1 potato
2 cups beef broth
1-2 cups milk
heavy cream, optional
salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons dried
2 tablespoons flour

Topping:

Mashed Potatoes
salt & pepper

Step One:  Start your lentils on to boil with a 2:1 ratio.  So for 1 1/2 cups of lentils, you'll need at least 3 cups of water.  We like our lentils a little softer so I allow them to boil a little longer and use more water if needed.

Cook your lentils separate! 

Step Two:  Start your potatoes on to boil for your mashed potato topping.  You'll be working on making your mashed potatoes while you're prepping the filling.

Step Three:  Dice your veggies and potato and saute in a little coconut or olive oil.  Add in spices.

Step Four:  Once your veggies are cooked, sprinkle with the flour and cook another minute or so.  You just want to "cook off" the flour flavor.  Now begin adding in your beef broth and milk.  The flour coating the veggies will allow the liquid to thicken up nicely.  Start by adding just one cup of milk and if you find that you need more, then add to it!  You do want it a little "liquidy" because you'll be adding your lentils to this mix and it will firm up as you cook it.

Finish with a little heavy cream if you like.  I typically use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup.

Step Five:  At this point, your lentils should be cooked.  Drain any remaining water and add them to your veggie mixture and turn the burner off.

Finish your mashed potatoes for the topping.  A word on this- I make my mashed potatoes with lots of butter, sour cream and a little milk.  So when making mashed potatoes as a topping (rather than a side dish) I still make them the exact same way.  Do not try to skimp out on delicious buttery mashed potatoes mmkay.  Just don't ok....

Step Six:  Assembly time!  Spray a glass 9 X 13 pan and dump in your veggie mixture.  Evenly layer your mashed potatoes on top and season the top with salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Assembly Time!  

Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes to one hour.  You're really just combining flavors here as everything is already cooked, so just keep an eye on it.  Tip- you'll probably want to put a sheet pan underneath your glass baking dish as this WILL bubble over.  Yum!

Enjoy!!!

So good!

Savory Creamy Noodles and Veggies

Hmmm....savory huh?  Yeah buddy!  Sometimes you just get in a MOOD where you want comfort food and nothing else will do.  The more creamy and savory, the better.  This dish was born from that desire to eat something hearty but keeping in mind this Mama's super busy schedule and our Flexitarian diet.  Done in 30 minutes and cooked all in one pot- I'll take it!


Savory Creamy Noodles and Veggies

2 large carrots, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup peas
1 cup green beans
1 package noodles, use spaghetti or fettuccine
6 cups liquid *I use milk, water & chicken broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 cup fresh parsley or 1/2 tablespoon dried
salt & pepper to taste


Step 1:  If you have extra time, go ahead and saute your veggies in a little butter.  Otherwise, just dump all your liquid, spices and veggies in a large pot.  I always use frozen peas and frozen green beans because that's what I have on hand.  You can totally use different veggies but I really like this combo together.

For the liquid- I use a about 3 cups of milk, 1 cup of chicken broth and the rest water.  You can use any combination you like but I have found that you'll need to use more milk than chicken broth or water.  The milk is the secret here.

Dump it all in a pot.

Slowly bring to a boil so you don't scald your milk.

Step 2:  When your liquid is boiling, add in your noodles.  I always break them up into small pieces, makes them easier to eat!  This dish works best with long, flat noodles.  For that reason, I use either spaghetti or fettuccine pasta.  Trust me on this one mmkay....

Small pieces mmkay....

As soon as you add in your dry pasta, turn the heat down to low.  You want to slow simmer this goodness.  You want the liquid to just barely cover the pasta and you'll need to watch this.  If you've got your burner turned up too high, your liquid will be all gone before the pasta has finished cooking.  And nobody wants that mmkay...So if you need to add more liquid as it cooks, this is totally ok!  You just don't want this to become more "soup" like.  The goal here is to have the pasta soak up all the yummy liquid.

Just enough liquid to cover.

Step 3:  Oh wait, there is no step 3.  You're done.  Now eat it mmkay....

A few tips here-

• Adjust your seasonings to your taste.  Not everyone likes poultry seasoning and so I recommend starting with a half teaspoon if you're unsure.  But the poultry seasoning really makes this dish, so just go for it alright!
• Switch up your veggies depending on the season.  Psst....frozen veggies are totally cool.  Do what you need to folks and don't feel bad for using the frozen veg if that's what you've got.
• Makes a great side dish or main meal.  If you're meat people, then add in some chicken breast or something.  I suppose you could also serve this along side some pork chops?  But what do I know, I haven't eaten a pork chop in almost 20 years.
• You can easily make this dish vegan by leaving out the milk and of course substituting the chicken broth for veggie broth.  Just use more veggie broth to add to the "hearty-ness" of the dish.

Dude.  How easy is this!?!