Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Hello Internet Fairies,

When approached the right way, finding vegan alternatives to comfort foods or classic dishes is pretty exciting: trying new ingredients, attempting to mimic flavours, and finally forming your favourite substitute. 

I was feeling like Shepherd's Pie one day, and with a package of Yve's Ground Round in my fridge, I had no excuse. There's a picture of a Shepherd's Pie right on the darn package.

Ingredients:
~ 1 package Yve's Ground Round (regular flavour, as opposed to the kind for tacos, etc.)
~ 3 carrots
~ 2 white potatoes
~ 2 sweet potatoes
~ 1/2 a yellow onion
~ 1 package Shepherd's Pie seasoning mix OR seasonings you'd prefer in this instance
~ 1 tbsp parsley
~ 1/4 cup cashew milk
~ 2 tbsp vegan margarine
~ Daiya Cheese (to top)
~ Oven at 350°F

So what I did to start was peel the carrots and potatoes, and chop that onion. I popped them in some boiling water to soften them. I figured the sweet potatoes made it KINDA original. A little.

At that time, I mixed the chickpeas, seasoning, and ground round in the bottom of the dish I would be making my Shepherd's Pie in. When the onion and carrots were tender (which was before the potatoes, naturally), I removed them from the water and chopped them up a bit, which I then also added to the mix~ I pressed it down with a fork in preparation to top with the potatoes.

Once the potatoes were soft, I took them out and mashed them, adding in the 1/4 cup cashew milk, 2 tablespoons of vegan margarine, and 1 tablespoon of parsley, adding salt and pepper to taste. Basically, mashed potatoes. This mixture was then poured on top of the ground round melangé, and gently pressed down with a fork. I sprinkled Daiya shredded cheeze on it, and baked it at 350°F for half an hour, then broiled it for a few minutes afterwards to get some crispiness going on top. Yummeh~

I really enjoyed making this, and with some experience under my belt, maybe it'll be even better next time.

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How it works: Everyday, Greater Good (http://www.GreaterGood.com) works with organizations who sponsor the causes seen on the website. For every click, that organization donates the corresponding amount. Sponsor organizations also help the materials get to where they need to go. GreaterGood is very transparent about all this, so if you want more specific info, browse the pages of each cause. They also provide stats and a map of locations that have benefitted from these programs. It really adds a personal element to your free donation.

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Give a Child a Book ~ TheLiteracySite.GreaterGood.com

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P.S.: I'll hyperlink all those webpages this evening so you can click 'em instead of copy&paste! It's just that I'm working on mobile (tablet) whilst at school, and thus no HTML. Soon, though!!