It could have gone bad.  Dad was gone all day with Rose and Baby G kept me busy.  We spent the day celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe.  The girls had another ice indoor-soccer game. 

I’ve been here before, it was once a typical pizza night.  I prayed for the graces to fight the urge to order a take-n-bake pizza.  I decided just to make some ground beef.  I figured I’d be inspired once I started to cook.  Sure enough, I planned on making lettuce roll tacos.  I checked the fridge and saw the potato soup (made with coconut milk and carrots) that I had made on Friday.  (It was a splurge for us.  In hindsight, I should have made sweet potato soup—next time.)  The potato soup lead me to recall the Shepard’s Pie recipe that I found here.  I modified the recipe and put together the dish before dad got home and we dashed out the door for soccer.

I popped the already assembled dish into the oven when we returned home.  Everyone showered and got into warm jammies while dinner baked.  It was perfect timing.  So long pizza night!

The dish was a warm and soothing meal on such a cold night.  Everyone enjoyed it.  Papi had seconds. 

Here is the original recipe from Wellness Mama with my alterations.

Ingredients for Healthy Shepard/Cottage Pie:

• 2 (or more) pounds of ground beef, turkey or other meat
• 2-3 heads of cauliflower or 3-4 bags of frozen cauliflower 3 cups of left over soup
• 1 bag of frozen mixed veggies (no corn! It’s not a veggie!) – 3 cups of Kirkland Normady Style Veggie Blend
• 1-2 onions I was  too lazy to add the onions.
• 1 egg
• Seasonings to taste (I used natural beef bouillon, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and a little cayenne) garlic and all the spices that I could reach
• 3-4 Tablespoons of butter
• 4 ounces of cream cheese (optional) 2 ounces to thicken up the left over soup
• Cheese to top (optional)

How to Make Healthy Shepard/Cottage Pie:

1. Brown meat in large skillet and season to taste when cooked. Set aside.
2. Saute diced onion in skillet until somewhat soft. Set aside with meat.
3. Pour mixed veggies in the skillet to heat on low heat and in the meantime…
4. In large pot, boil several cups of water. Add cauliflower, cover, and cook until soft enough to mash.
5. Remove the pot from the heat, pour off the water, and add butter and cream cheese to the pot.
6. Add spices and mash. (I use a hand blender to make it really smooth)
7. Mixed veggies should be cooked by now.
8. Mix the meat, onions mixed veggies, raw egg and any additional seasonings and put in bottom of 9×13 baking dish.
9. Spread mashed cauliflower soup mixture over it until smooth.
10. Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes.
11. Add cheese and bake 5 additional minutes (optional).
12. Serve warm (ore reheat later)

O.k., so this dish isn’t really an Italian dish but it is the closest we’ll come to a pasta dish these days. 

It reminded me of a veggie lasagna.  Dad had to acquire a taste for it since I overcooked the zucchini and they were a bit mushy.  My four year old son and six year old daughter, loved it.  In fact, she is still talking about it. (Two of my girls were out the evening we had this dish.)

The meat sauce was divine.

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Paleo Spaghetti