This time of year is so hot in Texas anything we can do to keep the heat in the house down will help out on our electric bill. That means it’s time to cook outside with the All American Sun Oven. It costs us nothing, since it uses nothing other than solar energy, and if we can keep the indoor oven off maybe we’ll save some AC costs.
Shepherd’s Pie is a traditional English dish – a savory casserole with a layer of cooked meat and vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked in the oven. When you dig in you get a spoonful of mashed potatoes, some crispy bits, meat, and vegetables all in one bite. It’s great comfort food, and a perfect dish for the Sun Oven since it doesn’t require a lot of stirring, sauteing, etc.
Before digging in to the recipe, take a look at this video where I demonstrate how to set up and aim the Sun Oven, and give a few cooking tips:
Video Review of the Sun Oven
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
- 1 c Diced Onions
- 3/4 c Brown Lentils
- 1 package Vegetarian Ground Beef Crumbles
- 2 c Vegetable Broth
- 2 T Soy Sauce
- 1 c Shredded Cabbage
- 1/2 c Diced Carrot
- 1 c Chopped Cauliflower
- 1/4 t Dried Sage
- 1/4 t Dried Thyme
- 4 c Mashed Potatoes (3 large potatoes)
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Preheat your Sun Oven for 15 – 20 minutes. Cube the potatoes, place in a dark pot, and cover with water. Put the lid on and place in the Sun Oven for about 30 – 45 minutes, until the potatoes flake with a fork.
Once the potatoes are done, drain them, mash and set aside.
Combine the remaining ingredients in the same dark pot (once you’ve drained it and removed the potatoes) and mix well. Put the lid on, place the pot in the Sun Oven and cook for about 1 – 1.5 hours, until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Take the pot out of the Sun Oven, stir, and spoon the mashed potatoes in an even layer over the top. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, put the lid back on, and return it to the Sun Oven. Bake until the potatoes puff up a bit, and the sauce is bubbling up around the edges.
If you’d prefer to use ground beef instead of a vegetarian substitute, you can easily brown that in the Sun Oven as well. Just place your ground beef into that same covered pot, and put it in the Sun Oven for 30 minutes. Stir the beef, break up the chunks, and continue cooking. Continue stirring about every 20 minutes until the ground beef is completely browned. Drain the grease and use it in place of the vegetarian ground beef.
Sun Oven is offering a special for Seed To Pantry readers. Save $80 on the purchase of The Preparedness and Dehydrating Package with the Discount Code: “SelfReliantSchool”; or save $50 on the purchase of an All American Sun Oven with the Discount Code: “SelfReliantSchoolASO”.
