What’s For Dinner: Healthy Shepherd’s Pie {Cauliflower-Potato Topping!} from SimplyRecipes.com

Comfort more than nutrition usually comes to mind when you think of a meat-and-potatoes meal. This recipe qualifies as both. It has all the comfort of classic shepherd’s pie, but works in extra veggies, olive oil instead of butter, and leaner beef. Nobody will be the wiser, since it remains so flavorful and satisfying.
INGREDIENTS
For the potato-cauliflower topping:
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for salting the cooking water
8 ounces cauliflower florets (2 heaping cups)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup low-fat milk
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
For the filling:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more if needed
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh or frozen English peas
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine (substitute chicken broth, if desired)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
— Read on www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/healthy_shepherds_pie/

We have most of these ingredients on hand. But I have to substitute more cauliflower for potato, swap the dairy milk for nut milk, and swap the cheddar for Swiss, so my dear hubby can eat it. May add some parsley, garlic, and paprika to the cauliflower too. We’ve had good like making faux mash potataux that way.

Want to Eat Healthier? Simply Recipes Wants to Help! | SimplyRecipes.com

It’s a brand new year, and one of our big projects on Simply Recipes is finding ways to help YOU eat healthier. No diet plans. No restrictions. Just good food. What exactly do we mean by that? Here’s everything you need to know.
— Read on www.simplyrecipes.com/want_to_eat_healthier_simply_recipes_wants_to_help/

Behold, The Incredible Farting Clogs!

Flickr

Just bought these at Lowe’s, after trying them on with socks. Without

socks, every step makes a fart sound.

Time to go fart around in the garden!

Fartfartfartfartfartfartfartfartfartfartfart
UPDATE: And so, I have finally committed shoe crime, not with ugly, yet trendy Crocs, but with ugly, unfashionable flatulent Sloggers ™.

The really irritating thing is that there are actually some cute gardening clogs and rain boots at that site, but the cheapo “Nautica Blue” ones Lowe’s sells are the farty ones. I’ll have to drill or melt some decorative little ventilation holes to try to cut down on the flatulence, which I admit is pretty damn entertaining but also kind of distracting.

I should have gotten an earlier start on the garden stuff today, when it was foggy and cool, but I was too busy drinking coffee and listening to NPR on WBEZ. And then I spent some time watching the family of polyandrous ducks that seem to have decided our backyard pond is a nice place to hang out (Riley was very intrigued). Too bad the pond will go away as soon as the draintile project is done, sorry Mr and Mrs and Mr Duck.

I spent some time hoeing out weeds in the front beds and spreading a little mulch, but it soon got hot enough that I decided I’d gotten enough vitamin D for the day (no sunscreen) and went inside. That’s when I realized that there were omens telling me it was really a good time to stop:

  • Accidently turned the shower on as I stood, fully clothed, in the tub to rinse my feet
  • Bobbled the water bottle bite-valve I was trying to clean right into the toilet

Quitting time, or “Time to quit slogging and start blogging.”

Via: Flickr
Title: Behold, The Incredible Farting Clogs!
By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 22 May ’10, 1.09pm CDT PST