Yummy Shepards Pie - Tessafied

Anyone who knows me knows I love to tweak recipes almost from the get go. I tweak things for lots of reasons: dietary retrictions, nutrition, and most importantly - taste! Here is a perfect example of this tendency. It was a recipe I adapted from GlutenFreeGoddess. I was unsure how it would go over with the ever picky family troop (I only added the white potatoes b/c my husband and oldest are averse to sweet potatoes), but it was delicious! Enjoy! This recipe is gluten, dairy, soy, and corn free.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the topping:
2 medium sweet potatoes (I like Garnet or Jewell varieties), peeled and diced
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
1-2 T Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/2 cup Daiya Cheese, or grated sharp cheddar if you can have it
1 or 2 yellow or russet potatoes, peeled and diced

For the filling:
1 pounds ground beef
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T rice flour
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup beef broth (I used Better than Boullion from Costco)
2 T ketchup
1 can cut green beans
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

Place the sweet potatoes in a pot of fresh salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until under fork tender and mashable. Remove and do the same with the others. Meanwhile...Saute the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a large hot skillet till lightly browned; pour off the fat; return the skillet to the stove. Stir in rice flour. Stir in the ketchup, broth and herbs, vinegar, Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer to thicken.

Drain the cooked sweet potatoes and mash them lightly. Mix in cheese and Earth balance spread (I did this all in my food processor) Season with sea salt, ground pepper. Add a couple of tablespoons of any milk if necessary to achieve desired texture. Mash the other potatoes with a little buttery spread and milk ( by hand or they will get gummy)

Layer the beef and veggie mixture in a casserole or baking dish. Top with the mashed sweet potatoes, then the white. Bake in the center of a preheated oven until bubbling and hot- about 25 minutes. Serves 4-6.