I don't buy into any one particular method of eating right. I try to eat fresh foods, and prepare as much myself as I can instead of buying frozen. However, carbs tend to wreck absolute havoc on my waistline and my stomach. This is depressing since potatoes are basically the ultimate comfort food and are a part of some of my favorite dishes (fare-thee-well Poutine). Typically the recommended substitute is cauliflower, and though I love cauliflower, it is a little more time consuming to make palatable in place of good ol' potatoes. One dish I have missed because of the potato factor is Shepard's pie, it's like a warm scoop of childhood wrapped up in a luxurious blanket of smooth creaminess. This is meal that my meat devouring husband, and my particularly picky seven year old can both agree on.
I always start with all the cutting and chopping. I don't know why, I just find it easier to get it all out of the way ahead of time. Then I can clear my work space of debris, and move on with a little less culinary clutter. So cut up my carrots, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and celery. I removed the leaves and larger pieces of stem from the head of cauliflower and cut it into food processor friendly pieces.
Then I put my ground beef into a frying pan with the onion and garlic. Traditionally Shepard's is made with lamb, but that would require a trip to the meat market, and honestly... I'm lazy.
After the meat is browned I add the beef broth, tomato paste, and various seasonings without draining the grease, or as my husband would refer to it, the flavor juice. I turn the burner down to low and allow this mixture to simmer. For times sake I threw the celery and carrots into my Pampered Chef Micro Cooker with some water. This thing is a life saver, you can use it for SO much! Seriously, find a rep and get you on. I can't live without mine. If you're not fortunate enough to have found this life changing device you can use a pot on medium heat until the veggies are somewhere between soft and al dente. I nuked these suckers for five minutes, drained them, and moved on with my life.
Prepping the cauliflower got a little messy. I threw the pieces into a food processor and ran it on high until there were no more big chunks. You can do this with a grater as well, but it takes more time and more effort, and well... I'm lazy. After totally decimating the head of cauliflower I dumped it into a towel and spun and squeezed the life out of it until all the moisture was out of it. I fluffed up the dry substance, added some salt, pepper, and cheese. Everything is better with salt, pepper, and cheese.
I layered my meat mixture with the veggies, trying to evenly disperse as best as I could. Then topped it with my cauliflower confetti (sounds more fun, right?). I followed up with even more cheese. We're fans of cheese around here.
It cooked at 400 for about 30 minutes, until the top was a beautiful golden brown. There were no leftovers and my husband didn't even complain about the cauliflower.
Below I have a recipe card with simplified steps, ingredients, tools, and prep time. I have also included nutrition information for everyone who loves them some macros. Hope you enjoy as much as we did!
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