I have no motivation.  Now I’m over-caffeinated because I was trying to find some motivation at the bottom of my coffee cup.  My next problem is that it’s nearly 0 degrees outside (hence the no motivation) and I am NOT about to take my sweet self outside, even to run errands.  In the meantime, I’ll also procrastinate on the housework (hello, laundry pile, yes I see you…) and instead, I’ll give you my riff on an old-fashioned shepherd’s pie with chicken!  That is WAY more fun.

For me,  cold weather equates to a hankering for comfort food.  I love chicken pot pie and I’ve loved mashed potatoes with a lava flow of gravy poured over top and around my plate since I was a toddler.  So, I’ve married the two into a chicken shepherd’s pie.  You can certainly use turkey as well and it’s a great way to use up leftovers!

The base of the pie is a traditional gravy based chicken pot pie recipe loaded with an assortment of vegetables and thickened with rice flour.  Yes, you can use regular flour if you wish.  Pour the savory veggie gravy into any oven proof baking dish.  I’ve done it with cute little ramekins as well as larger dishes or a cast iron skillet.

If you want to save on doing an extra dish, use the cast iron skillet as you can make the gravy in the skillet and just keep it in there to bake instead of transferring to a separate baking dish. Whichever dish you use to bake it in, fill the dish with gravy leaving about an inch below the top of the dish.  You’ll need room for a thin layer of mashed taters plus some allowance for bubbling when cooking.  On that note, I highly recommend placing a baking sheet under your baking dish to catch any overflow as this does tend to get bubbly when baking.

The mashed potato topping is actually dairy free but is remarkably, deliciously creamy thanks to the addition of an egg and olive oil.  Complete the dish with a sprinkle of chives and paprika and bake. Serve up this pie steaming from the oven and indulge yourself with comfort food by the forkful.

This can also be made into an easy freezer meal. Simply make the gravy and place in a freezer proof dish. Top with the mashed potatoes and instead of baking, cover with foil and freeze it. When you’re ready to make it, set it out in advance so it unthaws in the middle and bake until it’s bubbling hot.

Chicken Shepherd's Pie

 

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Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

 

Author: Kari - CookingUpClean

Recipe type: Main Dishes

Cuisine: Dairyfree, glutenfree

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• CHICKEN-VEGGIE GRAVY:
• 1 pound cooked chicken or turkey, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup peas
• 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons rice flour (or you can use wheat flour)
• ½-1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ¼ teaspoon sage
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• MASHED POTATO TOPPING:
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
• ½ teaspoon pink himalayan salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup coconut milk or chicken broth
• 1 egg
• paprika and chives for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a saucepan or cast iron skillet, sauté the carrots, celery, onion and garlic with the olive oil until the veggies start to get tender.
3. Add the chicken, chcken stock, rice flour and seasonings to the veggeis and stir together to combine the gravy ingredients.
4. Simmer until gravy thickens.
5. While your gravy is simmering, boil the potatoes in enough water to cover them completely until they are soft.
6. Mash with a potato masher or use a hand mixer.
7. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, coconut milk (or broth) and mix together.
8. Add egg and combine. Set mashed potatoes aside.
9. Pour gravy into a baking dish leaving at least 1 inch clearance from the top of the dish.
10. Spread a layer of mashed potatoes about ½ inch thick over top of the veggie gravy.
11. Sprinkle with fresh chives and paprika.
12. Bake 30 minutes. Serve hot from the oven!

Notes

This dish tends to get a bit bubbly in the oven so I'd recommend placing a baking sheet underneath to catch any overflow.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: for 6 Calories: 329 Fat: 11g Carbohydrates: 35g Sodium: 696mg Fiber: 5g Protein: 25g

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