Guiness Shepard's Pie

03/20/17 249.8 lbs

A Shepherd's pie is a mainstay of the Irish diet. As well as being a quarter Cajun, I have a lot of the British Isles in my ancestry--including Irish. More importantly, I am very fond of potatos, although I don't eat much of them anymore  (high carb, starchy).

But a Shepard's Pie is coated in buttery potatoy goodness...so I have avoided it for years, due to that.

That is, until I came across a Guiness Shepard's Pie. Parsnips and Carrots and Potatoes, oh my! Just mentioning this beast in passing got the demand for it going. And while I eat with some care, it is not best to deny everything, all the time.

And so the search for alternatives began:
and was found in MOAR PARSNIPS! ALL THE PARSNIPS!


And the Cajun noticed this one with a roux.


So, what did I actually do for my blend?

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb button mushrooms, quartered
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 large stalks celery, chopped
1 bellpepper,chopped
3 medium parsnips, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tsp powdered thyme
1 tsp Tony Czachary's
1/2 tap garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 bottle Guinness
2 teaspoons of garlic, minced

Soak all but the beef in the beer overnight. Partially cook the beef before tossing in the veggies, and cook down a bit. Add in 1 scoop (2-3 tbsp) browned coconut flour, for a "roux", right after pulling out the bay leaf, before layering in a rectangular pan. (Of course, somwthing to prevent sticking.)

Topping:

2 large, 1 medium Russet, peeled,  and halved
2 medium parsnips
Shake or two of Tony's
Bottle of water

Boil it, then:

8 tablespoons butter
Splash of milk (3 tbsp?)
1 bundle of scallions, green only.

Mix, then:

Light sprinkle of shreaded cheddar...maybe an 8th of a cup.

Over a regular rectangular pan, the potato covers the top of the rest about an average depth of 1/2 an inch.

The flavor was perfect. The only problem is that there was a hair too much liquid in the end result, but that would be easily remedied by dehydrating the veggies the day before, no more than 8 hours. I prefer the full bottle of beer, and do not want to cut that down. That cuts out the flavor.


Putting it in Lose It!, dividing it into 6 servings (because folks overeat), it still only comes in at 520 calories. That's reasonable for the main meal. Calories are offset by decent root veggie fibers.

And it is decently blanced: carbs, fats, and protein.  We don't need to cut out all carbs, but cut back on the overdoing the carbs.

Let's eat!