Bariatric Foodie Play with your food
Here’s another idea to throw onto the heap. I love cooking with ramekins. It’s so fun! You can make a perfect portion (by purchasing the ramekin size that suits you), it’s easy to ditch starches (like pie crust in this instance) and they are just darn cute, don’t you agree?
I love Shepherd’s Pie. And I even love it without any modifications! In moderation I have absolutely no problem eating the full fledged version. But since I also want to enjoy a piece of Soda Bread with this meal, I gotta make a swap somewhere. (Why? Because Nik’s blood sugar will sink like an anvil if I have more than one source of starch at a sitting!) This swap I can live with as a weeknight meal. I’m more inclined to use a more traditional recipe for weekends.
A few recipe notes:
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If you are a Shepherd’s Pie purist perhaps the soup shortcut just won’t do. That’s fine! Use whatever you like to make the gravy for the pie. Play with your food! (And if you come up with something good, let us know!)
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If you are a Shepherd’s Pie purist you might also prefer a potato topping. Don’t let me stand in your way!
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Every time I use canned soup in a recipe I seem to get scoffs from folks. I will say this. I have low blood pressure and therefore have been advised against a low-sodium diet. I know that’s not the case for many of you. Use your best discretion with regards to canned soups. There are great low-sodium varieties out there!
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Finally, if a 6 oz. ramekin is too much for you, feel free to make them smaller! They freeze beautifully when you wrap them properly and are a great, comforting meal to reheat!
Here are a few other photos of this delicious dish!
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| The addition of parsely in food pictures can make a real difference to the visual appeal in my honest opinion. Check out this dish before I added parsely. Doesn’t it look more appealing with it? |
- 1/2 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 1/2 lb. lean ground meat
- 8 oz, can peas & carrots
- 1/2 bag frozen cauliflower florets or about 2 c. fresh florets
- 4 oz. low-fat cream of mushroom soup
- 2-3 Laughing Cow wedges
- 1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put a small pot of water on to boil.
- Set a skillet over medium heat and let it get hot. Spray it with nonstick cooking spray and add onions. Sautee about 2 minutes.
- Add ground meat, browning and mixing in the onions until meat is fully cooked. Drain if necessary. Your pot of water should be boiling so drop cauliflower florets into it.
- Add peas and carrots and stir. Then add soup and stir. If soup doesn't sufficiently coat the meat mixture, add about 1/4 c. milk. Allow the mixture to warm through then set aside.
- When cauliflower florets are tender (about 4-5 minutes after returning them to a boil), drain and mash them (I use a basic potato masher). Add the Laughing Cow wedges while the florets are still hot. Mix with spoon until mixture becomes a mash (won't look exactly like mashed potatoes but will bond together and won't look like grated cauliflower anymore either).
- Place your ramekins on a baking sheet. Ladle in about 1/4 c. meat/veggie mixture. Top with about 1/4 c. of the cauliflower mixture and top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese.
- Bake ramekins for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and, if you like, browned.
I use condensed beef vegetable soup & don’t add water for the gravy in my “quick” shepard’s pie. That’s yummy too! Your version looks great!!
Oh I betcha that’s good! ~Nik
If you pulse the cauliflower and cheese in the food processor, the consistency is more mashed potato-like. I never thought of using the small ramekins for my portion and a larger one for the hubster. Thanks.
Great tip!
Hey Nikki! Any idea how each of these stack up calorie-wise?
Hi Patty. I do! But I don’t give out nutrition info with my recipes, but you are awesome so I know you already know how to figure that out using a nutrition calculator and the ingredients you end up using!
Great idea thank you!!