ground beef Archives - Authentic Simplicity

So the weather outside today felt more like summer than autumn but I was still in the mood for my autumnal version of the perennial classic, Shepherd’s Pie. I had some acorn squash that I was looking forward to cooking up, and Shepherd’s Pie was the perfect use for it.

It’s a simple meal, but both my DH and I love Shepherd’s Pie. I especially love changing it up a little, as I did tonight. Enjoy!

Autumn Shepherd’s Pie
1 lb of potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 acorn squash, cooked
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese, divided
1 lb ground beef
2 TBSP flour
1 cup beef broth
2 TBSP ketchup
3-4 cups vegetables

First, make the mashed potatoes. Boil the potatoes and garlic in water or broth until tender (alternatively, you can just add garlic powder later in the mashed potato mixture). Mash the potatoes together with the cooked squash, yogurt, milk and 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese.

Brown the ground beef in a large pan. When it’s completely browned, sprinkle the flour over it and stir in. Add the broth and ketchup; mix thoroughly. Add the vegetables (note on the veggies: you can use pretty much any veggie you have on hand, but root vegetables work especially well. I used a combination of carrots and acorn squash this time around. Also, frozen veggies work best; if you use fresh, steam them a little to soften them before adding them to the ground beef.) and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

Pour the meat mixture into a casserole dish. Drop large spoonfuls of the mashed potato mixture over the meat mixture.

Carefully spread the potato mixture over the meat mixture, sealing it in.

Cook at 375 F for about 15 minutes or so, then top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until cheese is melted.

This recipe is so flexible: you can get really creative with the vegetables, and the cheese too. Try it also with ground turkey or chicken for different flavors.

This post was originally published in Oct 2009.

Back in January, I introduced my new obsession, to which I very appropriately ascribed a hashtag, namely, #bakingmyheritage. In case you’ve forgotten the details, my mom is of Finnish descent; and when I was visiting her over Christmas in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I happened upon The Finnish Cookbook in a consignment store there. I’ve been having tons of fun baking and cooking all sorts of recipes from this awesome treasure of a cookbook. (Oh, and PLUS! It’s a vintage cookbook! You know me and vintage cookbooks...)

My first post about my Finnish baking adventures was this deliciously awesome (and very easy!) Spice Cake, which I actually plan to bake this weekend for our church’s annual International Banquet. Today’s post goes in a decidedly different direction with a savory recipe (which I suppose would then be #cookingmyheritage. Nah. Doesn’t have the same ring to it.), known in Finnish as “lihamurekekaaryleet”.

Yeah, we’ll just call ’em “Stuffed Meat Rolls”. (Although my DH calls them “the bomb”… or maybe it was me that was “the bomb” because I made them. Huh! Anyway, they have his stamp of approval!)

If you want to keep up with my Finnish baking adventures, follow me on Instagram!

Recipe: Stuffed Meat Rolls

Ingredients

1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 small apple, sliced thinly
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, sliced or cubed

Sauce:

1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 t. salt
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
Parsley, fresh or dried

Instructions

Soak the bread crumbs in the milk until they are soft. Stir in the beef, egg, salt and pepper until thoroughly mixed.
Pat the meat mixture out onto a sheet of waxed paper into a 16″ square. Use a pizza cutter to cut the square into 16 smaller squares.
Place a slice of apple and a slice of cheese into each square, and then carefully roll up the meat, making sure to seal the cheese and apple inside.
Heat a large cast iron (or other oven-safe) pan over medium heat with bacon grease or some other fat, and brown the meat rolls on all sides. You may have to do this in batches.
Remove the meat rolls from the pan, and pour in the boiling water. Scrape up all the browned bits into the water, and add the salt and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for just a minute or so, then return meat rolls to the pan.
Place pan in 400F oven for about 15 minutes.
Serve over rice, sprinkled with parsley.

Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8

Notes:

I used 1 pound of ground beef because I didn’t feel like defrosting another package (ha!), and it turned out OK. I only got 12 rolls instead of 16, and the mixture was not quite as sturdy, but they were still very good.

I also used cheese sticks, which were very easy to use.