Rain..And bit more rain.. True fall day today.Gray and wet,yach!

Punkins..Jep…I hope you are not fed up with my pumpkin hype yet because this will go on still for a while.

I need soul food today.Something with spices,hot comforting stuff.I wanted to try how pumpkin would work in Shepherd’s Pie.. Pumpkins are all over the place right now and they are so tasty!

Shepherd’s Pie is one of our families winter staple foods. Easy to make,you can vary the recipe easily and praise the Lord..It freezes well..Perfect emergency food to make to be eaten when you really are too busy to cook..

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 250 g frozen corn & pea mix
• 500 g pack  minced meat
• 1 small can tomato purée
• Pinch of caraway,nutmeg and oregano
• 1-2 garlic gloves
• 500 ml beef stock
• 400 g potatoes, cut into chunks
• 600 g pumpkin (cut 300 g into dices,set aside and boil the rest of the pumpkin with potatoes)
• 85 g butter
• 3 tbsp milk

 Method

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then soften the onion and pumpkin for a few mins. When soft, turn up the heat, crumble in the minced meat and brown, tipping off any excess fat. Add the tomato purée and spices, then fry for a few minutes. Pour over the stock, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 40 mins, uncovering halfway.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180C, then make the mash. Boil the potatoes and pumpkin in salted water for 10-15 mins until tender. Drain well, then mash with the butter,nutmeg,caraway,oregano and milk.
3. Put the mince into an ovenproof dish,pour pea & corn mixture over and top with the mash and ruffle with a fork.( The pie can now be chilled and frozen for up to a month.To bake from frozen, cook at 160C for 1 hr-1 hr 20 mins until piping hot in the centre. Flash under the grill to brown, if you like) Bake for 20-25 mins until the top is starting to colour and the mince is bubbling through at the edges. Leave to stand for 5 mins before serving

Note:I added some cheddar on top of my pie…Yummy!