Cottage Pie

Do you pat yourself on the back when you swap out one ingredient and your family thinks you’ve made a totally different meal than the one they ate last week? No? Just me? K. Me neither. Seriously, this cottage pie is amazing with BOTH Yukon Gold potatoes AND sweet potatoes. And yes, I did them about a week apart because it was so easy AND tasty. My boys agreed they both liked the sweet potato option better. (I think I liked the Yukon version best!) You could always hit the easy button and get those mashed potato flakes and put that on top. No judgment, but I’ve always thought the flakes were a weird concoction. Please let me know if my hunch is wrong!

The best part about the dish is hands down the flavor, but the second best part is not having to remind anyone to eat their vegetables! If you live with a picky eater, the veggies soak up the flavor from the beef and the seasonings, and it’s all super delicious going down. Once you’ve had it, you’ll keep it in your winter dinner rotations and enjoy that comforting, warm and yummy flavor combination that this cottage pie delivers!

Cook time: 1 hr 15min total

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold or sweet potatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream or half n half

2 Tbsp salted butter

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 pound ground beef

Olive oil or coconut oil spray

10 oz pkg frozen peas and carrots

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp wworcestershire sauce

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Parsley for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cover your potatoes with water in a medium saucepan. (If using sweet potatoes, you could also roast them in the oven 45 min at 400 or until tender). Boil 15-20 minutes until fork tender. Drain and add to large mixing bowl.

3. Add cream, butter, and salt and mash or mix together until well blended.

4. Spray skillet or dutch oven and brown beef. Add peas, carrots, tomato paste, worcestershire, spices, and combine well and cook for about 5 minutes. Transfer to oven-safe casserole dish if not using dutch oven, and spread potato mixture on top in an even layer.

5. Bake 30 minutes, garnish with parsley and serve warm. Enjoy!!