My dad is a contractor, and he has been helping us renovate one of our bathrooms for the last few weekends. We renovated our master bathroom a little over a year ago with Bill’s dad, who is also VERY handy. In the spring we also did a cost-friendly DIY reno on our basement powder room. This was a really fun project that Bill and I did just the two of us. Our last bathroom is one that would be a big job, and definitely needed help from someone who really knows what they are doing. This is the one bathroom in our house that had a bathtub, so I bribed my dad into helping by telling him that if he helped us get our bathroom gutted and redone, the faster he would get a grandchild, because there was no way I would bathe a baby in that old tub. I wouldn’t even bathe myself in that old tub! There was mold in the caulking, and it was all just old. Yellow tile, and all… she was a looker. Needless to say, the bribe worked, and my dad has since generously given us his time on the weekends for the past month.
It’s been really fun for us also! We’ve learned so much: I even successfully learned how to cut tile, and put the tile on the wall myself. I’ve been my dad’s helper, and he’s been really great at teaching me what to do.
One of the things I make sure to do when he is here is feed him good food. One time he showed up, and told me that he had an Egg McMuffin in the car. I took it from him, and threw it in the outdoor garbage can that has all the bags of dog poop. Then he told me that he actually got two, and had already eaten one of them. So now I make sure to tell him NOT to pick up fast food on his way over. I will have breakfast here waiting. My dad isn’t Paleo, but I try to help him eat gluten-free whenever I can because he has an autoimmune disease, and I keep telling him that he can’t tolerate gluten. I’m not sure he believes me though 😉
Usually when he’s been working for a little while he will say, “Hayley, I’m hungry.” and I will make him a gluten-free turkey sandwich, with a side of gluten-free pretzels and yellow mustard. He’s loved that since I was little. I always try to make something comforting as well. Last weekend I had the idea to make Shepard’s Pie, because I knew that he was something he really likes. Then I decided to give it a little twist, and make it with ground turkey, and top it with my Grandma’s Carrot Souffle instead of mashed potatoes. It was a really fun way to make this dish, and we started calling it Thanksgiving Casserole.
To make this recipe, I prepped everything for the Carrot Soufflé, and while the carrots were boiling, I started working on the meat mixture.
I sautéed diced onion, celery, carrot, and mushrooms in some olive oil.
I added frozen peas, and seasoned it all liberally with our Super Gyro spice blend. I LOVE this blend. It is our Greek blend, but it also just so happens to be THE perfect blend for fall and winter roasts. We often season whole chickens to roast with this blend. It would be amazing on a Thanksgiving turkey. It’s great for meatballs, or soups and stews. There is so much you can do with this blend! It is also part of our AIP pack, so it’s fantastic for those with special dietary restrictions.
Once the vegetables were softened, I added the ground turkey. I browned it slightly, but did not cook it all the way through. I then turned the heat off of the meat and veggie mixture, and pureed all of the ingredients for the carrot soufflé.
Then I scoop the meat mixture into a casserole dish, and make sure it is in an even layer.
Then I just pour the carrot soufflé over the meat, and smooth out the top with a spatula.
Then it goes in to cook at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, or until the soufflé on top is set. It is absolutely delicious! So many great fall flavors, and such wonderful comfort food. This serves a lot, so you can make it for dinner, and have left overs, or you can serve it to guests.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!
-Hayley
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