Just Call Me Rachael Ray: Recipe #4

The recipe of choice from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals was:
Sweet Potato-Topped Sheperd's Pie

Layers: sirloin, peas & sweet potatoes

My mom says that anybody can cook if you can read, which is true: all I'm doing with these 30 minute meals is following Miss Ray's recipes (almost) to the T. But cooking these recipes is teaching me how to spice meals up and give flavor to things I would not normally think of, and trying new ingredients and food items I definitely did not think I would ever be eating. Like onions? I like them now. Not CRAZY about them, but I can handle them every now and then, like in this Sheperd's pie recipe.

I've grown up eating Sheperd's pie with corn as the main vegetable, so using peas was the first of many differences in this Sheperd's pie vs the one I've been used to for 20 years.

Sweet Potato-Topped Sheperd's Pie

Things that made this Sheperd's pie tasty: the gravy (made with butter, flour, beef stock, worcestershire & dijon mustard), the spices to flavor the meat (onion, garlic, sage & salt and pepper), and the sweet potatoes (mixed with the butter, eggs and paprika).

I'm pretty sure I almost had the 30 minute part of the recipe FINALLY down!...until I was draining the boiled sweet potatoes and dropped one down the garbage disposal. (oops.) Luckily, Elayna (rooms) had an extra one conveniently in our fridge! So I boiled the lone potato which added about another 20 minutes to the recipe, which is probably why it was pretty hard to mash the potatoes when it came time too. Lesson of the recipe: Block the garbage disposal (or any drain for that matter) when draining your food!

Alright, here's your ingredient list and prices:
(Only prices for stuff I had to buy this week, Martin's)

3 large or 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks: (wow, realized this literally as I just typed it. I didn't cut them into chunks, which is DEFINITELY the reason they were so hard to mash.) $2.75
Salt and pepper
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon paprika or sweet smoked paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
8 ounces cremini or white mushrooms, quartered: $.70
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin: $5.80
1 onion, chopped
2 large gloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh sage, thinly sliced, or 2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage (about 2/3 palmful): (1 bottle) $2.59
1 cup frozen peas: $3.29
2 tablespoons flour: $2.99
3/4 cup dark beer (optional)
1 cup beef stock (1 1/2 cups if not using beer): $2.79
About 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce: (1 bottle) $1.49
2 tablespoons dijon mustard: $1.75
A little chopped fresh parsley, for garnish



Grand Total: $24.15

Judges of the week! 

The meal was an overall pretty good meal. Can see this being served as a dish in a buffet style holiday party (Hint hint! Thanksgiving t minus 18 days!)


Bon appetit everybody!


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