Thursday, July 13, 2006

Cajun Shepherd's Pie

An unbelievably oversimplified version of K-Paul's Cajun Shepherd's
pie (full version http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/americas/cajun/shepherds-pie-paul-
prudhomme1.html">here
).

Flavor's pretty good. You need quite a bit of mashed potatoes and not very many carrots at all.

The original, as made by my Mom, is a sovereign cure for colds, flu, allergies or a bad mood, but it takes two days to make (no joke). Oversimplified, it's still more steps than I like to take (note the title of this blog) but it produces some of the same soothing effects, even if it does not actually have the power to heal.

In terms of cooking for a week, it makes at least six portions which do not reheat super-well (perhaps better if you break up the chunk of meatloaf when you package up the portions). That plus the labor involved make it generally unsuitable for a full-week plan, but it's still worth keeping the recipe around.

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Mix 2 eggs, breadcrumbs and ground beef.

In saucepan, combine butter, tabasco, green pepper, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic. Saute 5 min, scraping often.

Let cool, add 1/4 c milk and mix with the meat. Make meat into 12x8 "patty," center in ungreased 13x9 pan, bake at 450 for 30 min; save drippings.

Boil & mash the potatoes.

Combine meat drippings with carrots, salt, garlic powder, pepper and cayenne. Saute 1 1/2 min on high, stirring.

Put the carrots on top of the meat, not around the edges; layer the mashed potatoes over everything.