Amanda's Beef Shepherd's Pie

Yep, I'm calling this one my own because while I got inspirations from some other recipes, I made so many changes that it's worth recording so that I can come back to it to make again in the future. It was HEAVENLY.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of frozen cauliflower florets (or 1 head of fresh cauliflower)
• Water for steaming
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 stick butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 pound cooked ground beef, browned and drained
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (or equivalent - I actually used this recipe for inspiration to make my own wheat-free, non-processed version) ***If using canned soup, you'll also need to add enough milk to make this saucy, rather than a condensed jelly goo.
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup shredded/grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
• Paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Steam cauliflower until very tender.
3. Meanwhile, saute onions in 1/4 stick of melted butter with minced garlic until tender.
4. Add cooked, drained ground beef. Stir in cream of mushroom soup, corn and peas. Mix well. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt pepper, other seasonings to taste. Turn heat down to low/medium to simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. Once cauliflower is done steaming, place tender florets in a large food processor with cream cheese and remaining butter. Add salt & pepper to taste (I'm terrible at guessing salt measurements - sorry). Puree until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes.
6. Place beef mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with shredded or grated cheddar cheese, then pureed cauliflower mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover with aluminum foil, bake for 35 minutes.

YUM. FYI - if you've never had steamed cauliflower as mashed potatoes.... The above is the best way to make it - steamed and pureed with butter, cream cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Any kid will eat it. Oh so delicious, and so much better for you than starchy potatoes. I suspect that I will be buying cauliflower by the bulk to substitute this in many recipes. (Must give credit where credit is due - this cauliflower recipe is in the new Wheat Belly Cookbook.)

If you decide to make this - let me know what you think!