Blanco Shepherd’s Pie

Not very colorful but lower carb. How? I substituted cauliflower and parsnips for potatoes and carrots, respectively.

Almost done! Waiting for the top to brown a little more.

Here’s my substitutes for today. The parsnips have already been peeled.

I boiled the cauliflower just covered with water with a little bit of sea salt for 20 minutes. Drained them, then mashed them with my immersion blender.

Look like potatoes, don’t they? Mike was tripping out how much they look like potatoes!

No photo, but I browned the ground turkey next and, in hindsight, I realized that I didn’t season the meat which you should always do, especially with poultry which has such a mild flavor; it has virtually no flavor without salt and pepper, so at the minimum, salt and pepper. I will add garlic powder next time also or just a lot more Worcestershire sauce!

Parsnips and shallots in half a stick of butter to soften.

Add the frozen veggies to warm.

Just enough heat to take the frost off. I’d like the veggies not to over-cook in the oven.

The other half of the stick of butter wrapped into the cauliflower while the cauliflower was cooling. I intentionally left it uncovered to cool, evaporating as much moisture as possible. I planned on patting it dry, but at this point, I was too tired; so I let more moisture evaporate by leaving the prepared recipe in the oven 20 minutes past the usual 30 minutes (in addition to waiting for extra browning of the top)!

Difficult to see, but I added chicken stock (Better than Bullion, actually) and Worcestershire Sauce here.

Non-stick spray in the pan, then the meat mixture on the bottom.

The cauliflower dropped on top in scoops, then spread out towards the edges making sure to fill in the gaps.

Smoothed out the top with a spatula making little waves as this dish tends to display. Sprinkled it with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

On the grill (we have a convection grill, so it cooks like an oven) for a total of 50 minutes (30, if you cooked everything through on the stove), warm everything back up and crisp the top!

What’s in it?

2 heads of cauliflower, florets only

2 parsnips, chopped

2 lbs ground turkey

1c frozen peas

1c frozen corn

1t Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavor, plus 3/4 c water to dilute it

1½ t Worcestershire Sauce

Salt and pepper

I used this recipe as a guide. https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_shepherds_pie/

Slow Cooker Pot Pie

2 large chicken breasts, roasted and chopped

4 cups water

4 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Chicken

12 oz bag frozen peas and carrots

½-1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

One large shallot, chopped

Lb bacon cooked, extra crispy and crumbled

One cup of heavy cream

2 T flour, for thickening (can substitute or leave out)

Salt and pepper

Butter

Biscuits: (optional)

1 ½ cups Bisquick

½-1 cup milk, start with ½ c and add a little at a time until all flour is moistened

Don’t let the photos make you dizzy! They do look sideways because they are; that was the best angle for optimum lighting. I had food on my hand and used my iPhone camera. This recipe went quick!

Starting with frozen chicken breast I had cooking in the Crock-Pot on High for two hours, I used tongs to remove and chop them on a cutting board and transfer them to my second Crock-Pot. Side note: I absolutely love having two! The frozen chicken releases a bunch of goo. If I remember correctly, it’s protein which makes a mess in the pot. Instead of removing the chicken and having to clean the pot before continuing, I just use the second pot when I’m in a hurry.

Add the chopped shallots, sliced mushrooms, bag of frozen veggies, water, and Better Than Bouillon, and then salt and pepper everything. Cook on High for two hours.

I waited to add the bacon with the cream and flour to keep it as crispy as possible. Stir the flour into the carton of cream to save from dirtying another dish and add it 30 minutes before serving as well as dollops of the biscuit mix.

Bacon and cream stirred in.

Result after two hours. I added a tab of butter to my bowl of goodness. So yummy!

I noticed the result was better after I turned off the heat and let the leftovers cool for storage. This is common when making recipes with gravy (flour). The leftovers, I suspected, would be ever more delicious!

Notice the biscuits cooked this way are not crispy, but more like dumplings or pancakes without the browning on the outside. That’s the give for this method. The Crock-Pot steams the dough rather than baking it, and I actually added foil under the lid of the pot during the last 30 minutes to make sure the dough cooked through. You would have to use the conventional oven for crispy biscuits which I love, but they take more time, dishes, and effort. Also, using the oven warms up the kitchen which I like to avoid.