...and then there were two!

Sunday Lunch

When all three of us eat together, we have to start feeding DN his food first. Once he sees us eating, he loses all interest in his own food and he starts to beg* for our food. We tried to trick him by pretending to scoop food from our plate onto his spoon, but it only worked the first two times. After that, no dice! He was probably thinking, "How stupid do they think I am???"

*Beg: Saying screaming "mum-mum" / signing "please" and "more" / pointing at our food / losing his patience and crying!!! Grrr...

Since he keeps eyeing our food and won't eat his own food, I thought it would be good to cook something for ALL of us.

Ta-dah! Shepherd's Pie! Or something vaguely like it. Shepherd's pie purists will probably feel violated because I used minced chicken and pork instead of beef and I chucked half a pumpkin inside. Haha.


1. Dice 1 red pepper ($0.99) and half a pumpkin. ($1.70)








2. Slice up 2 big onions. ($?? Found them at home)








3. Boil 5 large potatoes, Russets are good. ($1.35)








4. Mash the potatoes with lots of some salt and butter. I didn't add milk coz DN is allergic to that but milk is usually added for the creamy taste. Set the mashed potatoes aside.





5. Saute some garlic and add the onions. Fry until the onions caramelise a little. When they're almost transparent, toss in the pumpkin.





6. After the pumpkin has softened a little, add the red pepper. Cover the pot and let the pumpkin cook some more.






7. Add about 400g of minced meat and stir well. ($1.82 for the chicken and $2.20 for the pork) Cover the pot and leave to cook for about 15 minutes. Here's when you add some salt, pepper and whatever spices catch your fancy. (Oregano? Bay leaves?)



8. When everything's cooked, transfer to an oven-proof dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top.







9. Score the top with a fork. Why? So there'll be more crispy bits later on!








10. Bake on a high heat until the top is brown. It doesn't have to be in there for long coz everything's already cooked.






11. Tadah! Nice, brown and crispy!









12. Feed hungry baby that was peering eagerly into the oven earlier.









*This pie was perfect for feeding 3 adults and 1 toddler. Total cost of pie : only $8.06! If you add the cost of onions, garlic, butter, salt and milk... 12 bucks the most?

Was it a success? Well, yes and no. The adults liked the pie. The toddler? Hmm... he got sick of it after awhile. :( I think it was the lumpy texture that he wasn't used to. (He usually eats porridge.) In the beginning he ate everything. After awhile, he started sticking out his tongue and picking out all the meat lumps. That's gratitude for you. After slaving in the kitchen for 2 hours, my baby spits out his food and starts to use it as a medium for art. It's back to brown rice porridge next week, Mister!


"Looking cute is not going to make me forgive you for throwing mashed potatoes on the floor, okay? ... er, I think..."