Every winter, I find myself craving comfort food.  So many of our traditional comfort foods, such as mac n' cheese, biscuits, and chicken pot pie, aren't conducive to the gluten-free, dairy-free diet I now subscribe too. Over the several years now that I've been eating this way, however, I have found new warming, winter meals to satisfy this craving. One of my favorites is Shepherd's Pie. In the recipe below, I use potatoes, but for those of you who are following a strictly paleo or nightshade-free diet, you can easily substitute cauliflower in place of the potatoes.  Feel free to also play around with different veggies and spices in this recipe! 
 

Shepherd's Pie
Filling: 1 lb of ground beef
1T of lard or coconut oil
1 onion, diced
2-3 carrots, thinly sliced
2 c chopped kale or other greens
1 cup of canned peas
2 cloves garlic, minced OR 1-2tsp garlic powder
1 T of Italian seasoning (even mixture of sage, rosemary, & thyme)
sea salt & black pepper to taste
Optional: 1/2-1tsp red pepper flakes

Crust: 3-4 med/large potatoes, chopped OR 1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1/2-1c almond milk or milk of choice
1T lard or other fat
salt & pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
 

Step 1: In a medium pot, place chopped potatoes or cauliflower and cover with water.  Bring pot to boil and then down to a simmer. While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil/lard in an skillet and saute onion for 5 minutes.  Add in carrots and ground beef, along with spices. Once beef is cooked through, add kale and peas and garlic.  Allow this mixture to simmer on med low, until carrots are tender.

Step 2: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Check on potatoes or cauliflower (if substituting). Once they are mashable, strain and begin mashing the potatoes in your pot.  Add in fat, milk, salt, & pepper to create the mashed potatoes of your liking. If using cauliflower, I recommend taking strained cauliflower and pureeing it in a blend with almond milk, fat, salt & pepper until it has reached a fairly smooth consistency. 

Step 3: In a 9 X 9 pyrex dish, place your beef/veggie mixture. On top of this, place a thick layer of mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and serve. Delicious!