Sherpherd-less Pie

All four burners and the stove going for this one. My family loves shepherds pie so this was a tricky one but so yummy and worth it. Also it took me only about 1/2 an hour to assemble My husband makes a beef one that my daughter is nuts over. He challenged me to make one as good. Here it is.

YIELD: 1 shallow oblong casserole dish


INGREDIENTS:

5 medium potatoes
2 carrots
1 cup frozen peas
9 or 10 mushrooms (I prefer cremini but any kind would work)
I package of ground round (an Yves product)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 mushroom flavour bouillon cube in 1/4 cup hot water
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soya sauce (or Tamari)*
2 heaping tbsp tofutti cream cheese
olive oil
Earth Balance butter
2 / 4 tbsp flour*
Salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven 375˚ 

Pot 1 ~ Wash and cube potatoes (skin on). Add to boiling water and cook till well done.

Fry pan ~ Dice the onions and add to a hot frying pan with a good glug of olive oil. Cook over medium heat and once they are soft add the garlic and cook a few more minutes. Cut 6/7 mushrooms to desired size and add to onions and garlic. (I mince some and leave some in 1/2 slices.  The kids pick out the big chunks and unknowingly eat the little pieces, evil Mommie) cook till starting to shrink and brown. Add the ground round and mix it in with the rest in the pan. Add 1 tbsp Worcestershire and the soy sauce.  Let cook while preparing the rest.

Pot 2 (steamer) ~ Check your potatoes.  Are they ready? No, okay peel the carrots cut lengthwise in 1/2 and the 1/2 again. cut into pieces about twice the size of a pea. Add them to a steamer and cook till tender but firm. Chuck in the peas and let them heat through. Turn off burner but reserve the water. Add veggies to the frying pan.

Pot 3 (small one) ~ Melt a good dollop of Earth Balance in the pan. Mince up the remaining mushrooms and saute them in the butter. Once they are cooked reduce temp to low and add the flour till it forms a thick paste. Add the 1/4 cup water with bouillon and whisk till thick. Add a bit of the reserved carrot water at a time, whisking in between to keep it thick. keep adding and mixing till you have about 1 cup of mushroom gravy that is a thick gravy consistency. Add the remaining tbsp of Worcestershire.  Add to the fry oan and mix everything together.  As all this whisking and adding water is going on you probably want to check the potatoes and drain them.

Mash the potatoes adding the tofutti and veggie water (as needed) till you get the right consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

Grease the casserole dish and add the ground round mixture evenly over the bottom. Cover with potatoes and bake for 30 minutes uncovered.



* if you use tamari and and cornstarch or other alternative to wheat flour this is easy to make gluten free,

I had 3 helpings which was totally unnecessary but I'd been left out so many times and my mouth was so happy that I just went for it.

Mushroom Gravy

So I know I am supposed to be posting the pie crust tonight but I am sitting in bed and too lazy at the moment to go downstairs and get it. So instead I am posting my mushroom gravy. I love gravy and sauces and not being able to eat them is just not acceptable to me. I made this tonight to put over the Veggie Curry Pie from yesterday.

YIELD: 1/2 cup


INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp Vegan Margarine
1 large mushroom diced
2 tbsp rice flour*
1/4 cup rice milk
1/4 mushroom bouillon cube
1/4 cup hot water


DIRECTIONS:

(Basically we are making a roux.) Melt margarine over medium low heat. Add mushrooms and pan fry till cooked through.

Dissolve the bouillon cube in the water.

Once the mushrooms are cooked through sprinkle it with flour. If the pan is very dry you can add more margarine before you put in the flour. whisk together to coat the mushrooms and absorb the margarine.

Add the rice milk a bit at a time whisking between each addition. Allow time for it to thicken between each addition, but stay close to it, it burns quickly. If the mushrooms get caught in the whisk just tap it on the side of the pan, they'll pop back out.

Once all the milk is added and you have what looks like a paste begin adding the water. Add as much of the 1/4 cup as you want slowly till you get the consistency you like.

I leave the mushrooms in because I love love mushrooms, but if you wanted a smooth gravy just strain them out or use a slotted spoon.


*I think cornstarch or any other alternative flour would work here, I just only had rice.