Paleo Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

This recipe is perfect on a cold day when all you want is some warm, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food. It's also easy to make ahead of time, and then throw in the oven for a quick heat-and-eat meal on busy school nights. I prefer to make mine with ground turkey, but it's probably more authentic using ground beef. Either way, it's always a hit! 

Ingredients

For the sweet potato mash:

• 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into large chunks
• 2 tbsp grass-fed butter
• 1 tsp rosemary
• Sea salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste

For the filling:

• 1½ lb ground beef
• 1 tbsp coconut oil 
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped/sliced
• 8 baby carrots, sliced (about 2 medium carrots)
• 1 cup chopped cauliflower 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ¼ cups beef broth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp liquid aminos
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 2 shakes of ground cinnamon
• Sea salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste

Instructions

Prepare the sweet potatoes:

1. Put the sweet potato chunks into a medium pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it starts boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the chunks can be easily pierced with a fork.
2. Drain the water, and put potatoes back into the dry pot (no heat). Add the butter, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Mash the potatoes with a masher, and stir everything together thoroughly. Cover pot with a lid and set aside.

Prepare the filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef. Drain the fat, and transfer beef to a large bowl and set aside 
3. Heat the coconut oil over medium heat in the large skillet you just used for the beef. Add the onions, and saute for 3 minutes until they begin to soften.
4. Add the celery, carrots, and cauliflower to the skillet. Stir, then cover with a lid and allow to saute/steam for 6 minutes. Remove lid, add the garlic, and saute for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add everything else to the skillet: cooked ground beef, beef broth, tomato paste, aminos, rosemary, cinnamon, sea salt, and pepper. Stir everything thoroughly and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until most (but not all) of the liquid has been cooked off.

Put it all together:

1. Scoop the beef mixture into an 8x8 (or similarly sized) casserole dish so that it covers the whole bottom. Layer the sweet potatoes on top of the beef mixture, spreading it out evenly. 
2. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.