Welcome dear family and friends. It’s so nice to have you back. I hope you join me in embracing a new year full of endless possibilities. Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Our family started a fun, possibly new tradition on December 21, 2024, which was the darkest day of the year, it was Winter’s solstice. Each of us took 10 little pieces of paper and wrote an “actionable” wish we desired for 2025. Then we all put our wishes into our own little red paper cup.
Each night, we would take one of the wishes out and without reading it, we would burn it in a pot. On New Year’s Eve, each of us had one wish left. This wish, we opened, and read out loud to the family. We all laughed over the ones that were left for us to read. (Mine was a wish to spend more time with each of my children!) Then we all trooped outside into the bitter cold and inky darkness; the last night of the year. As our final wishes burned, it was exciting and rather magical. I imagined the golden flames were transforming our wishes and handing them over to our Universe’s higher power, which I felt knew exactly how to help us bring them to fruition.
Dreams and wishes come true!
Also, there was something mystical and powerful about starting this ritual on the darkest day of the year and taking our wishes every day closer to the light. With this thought in mind,
New Year’s Day was truly a fresh start.
I plan to take all of the ashes from our pot and dig them into the garden. Perhaps, the secret to growing a bumper crop of vegetables is planting them above our wishes!
And so the New Year has begun. Harrison flew back to his new home in Vancouver. Alyssa returned to her relatively new job locally. And the kids returned to school. Life hums with music, bounces with basketball, and strokes by with swimming practices and running commitments at the gym. With the kids so active, it’s nice for me to make dinner earlier in the day. That way, all I have to do is put a casserole dish in the oven, make a salad and I know we have a nutritious meal to come home to.
Shepherd’s Pie has always been one of our family’s comfort foods so I thought I would share my recipe with you. I’m not surprised that our family enjoys this dish, since it originates in England and Ireland, which is where our ancestors hail from. I believe lamb was often their source of protein though, however I use ground beef. If you want to make a vegetarian version, you can easily use lentils instead of the meat. If I don’t have very much hamburger, I will also add lentils to extend the protein quantity, as I’m feeding three teens now. It’s nice to have these quick, easy dinners to make in the winter and I find it freezes well too. It’s also relatively frugal, which is one of my goals this year; to live more simply and mindfully with regards to our pocketbook.
Okay, ready to cook? Here’s my Easy Shepherd’s Pie recipe: I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Let’s hit the kitchen.
Shepherd’s Pie….a perfect winter meal
Ingredients:
Meat Filling/bottom layer
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 lb of beef hamburger/lamb or lentils
2 teaspoons dried parsley leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves -minced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup frozen mixed peas and carrots or mixed vegetables….I love peas. I know weird hey as many people don’t but my Irish Grandma, Flossie Kilfoyle Clark said, “eating peas puts hair on your chest!” (I think this meant it made you stronger at least I hope that’s what she meant)
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels….optional….this makes the pie sweeter
Potato Topping:
6 Large russet potatoes or 8 medium
1/2 cup butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk….the greater the fat the better
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dried Parsley to sprinkle on top
Instructions
Make the Meat Filling and get potatoes cooked
(Cut the potatoes into cubed chunks and place into large pot of boiling, salted water. Cook until tender. When the potatoes are cooking, make the meat filling below)
Saute the onions in oil. Add ground beef/lamb or soaked lentils. Cook well. Add spices and cook until well combined
Add the worcestershire sauce and the garlic. Add the flour and tomato paste. Once it thickens add the broth and vegetables.
Bring everything to a bubbly boil and then simmer for around 5 minutes.
When the meat filling is simmering you can drain your cooked potatoes, mash them, add the butter, milk, garlic and salt and pepper. Sometimes I add a few tablespoons of sour cream too.
Finally, pour the meat filling in a large casserole dish and top it with the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley and if you want some parmesan cheese too.
Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 30 mins
While the Shepherd’s pie is baking, make a green salad. I often serve the casserole with a piece of my sourdough bread too…..of which I will be sharing an updated recipe with you soon as I’m getting really good at making it. See picture of a yummy loaf below.
Enjoy!
(I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for almost 2 years…..hence the date stamp on the photos, ha! Finally, finally have got it up on my blog…..see, some of my wishes are already coming true.)
And along with a plate of comfort food, I thought I would include the “Happy New Year’s,” video I made today of our kids, Will, Kathryn and Victoria playing a celtic tune they learned last year. Since Shepherd’s pie heralds from the U.K. it seems appropriate to share it at the end of this post. So without further ado, here is The Second String Trio, our kids playing; “Si Bheag Si Mhor,” A Celtic Fiddle Tune, which they call, “So Big, So little.” We have to thank Will’s cello teacher for suggesting they play this. She even found the music for them. Thank you M for all you do!
Finally, they played this piece and several more at our little town’s garden tour last spring which raised money for the Hospice House.
I hope you enjoy it and the magic of wishes made at this time of the year allow all your dreams to come true. I’m a GREAT believer in wishes and dreams coming true. All I have to do is look at my three youngest and I know magic exists in the world.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope