Making Shepherd's Pie

I decided to make Shepherd’s Pie because it is something my mom enjoys making and it is a meal that everybody in my family loves.  My grandma always used to make it for my mom when she was growing up and my aunt and mom continued making it.  Shepherd’s is a just a combination of a lot of my favorite foods and the mixture just goes so well together. 

Cooking the dish with the help of my mom was pretty interesting because I have never even seen how Shepherd’s Pie was made.  Anyone who knows what Shepherd’s Pie is could guess how to make it and not be far off.  You pretty much mix ground meat, corn, string beans, and Ragu traditional tomato sauce (or ketchup if preferred) together in a bowl, put a decent layer of it on the bottom of a large pan, and spread another layer of mashed potatoes on top of the mix in the tray.  Then top it all off with some shredded cheese and put it in the oven set to 350 for about an hour or until it begins to bubble on the top.  My family loves to cook and we always tend to make healthy meals.  Shepherd’s Pie is a nutritious meal that is a good change up from the usual cooked pieces of meat with pasta or a potato and a vegetable or salad.  It’s a simple recipe and tastes awesome so I’m glad I finally learned how to make it.  I hope everybody likes the Shepherd’s Pie as much as I do. 

brown 4 lbs of ground beef in pan on stove

drain the meat using a strainer

put the meat in a large bowl

add two 15 oz can of corn after it is drained

add two 14 oz cans of French style green beans after draining

add one and a half jars of 1 pound 8 ounces of traditional ragu tomato pasta sauce

placed mixture in aluminum tray and fill about half way up

instant mashed potatoes

water

butter

salt

milk

potatoe buds

follow instructions for 8-10 servings

plop mashed potatoes over the mixture in the tray

put potatoes almost all the way to the top edge of the tray and sprinkle preferred shredded cheese over the potatoes

cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for about an hour or till bubbling

My Family's Weekly Diet

My family spends about 351 dollars which includes the amount my family spends eating out a couple nights and going out for lunch a couple times a week.  Going out to dinner adds up to about 100 dollars when my whole family goes out to dinner one night a week.  I also go out for lunch a few times a week which adds up to about 15 dollars.  My little brother eats lunch at school each day of the week which adds up to about 30 dollars.  We usually order in Chinese or Italian food on Fridays which we spend about 50 dollars. 

For the food we eat at home, we spend about 140 dollars.  This is broken down to about 45 dollars for meat products (including eggs), about 30 dollars on fruit and vegetables, about 20 dollars on dairy, 45 dollars on grain.  My family eats generally healthy.  My parents try to include a grain, meat, and vegetable at each dinner.  On snacks that we eat outside the house, we spend about 20 dollars.  These snacks include granola bars, candy bars, and gummy snacks.

We eat all of our meals in the kitchen, except for the snacks we we take to school or work.  For our meat and poultry, we usually buy steak, chicken, and eggs.  For fruit and vegetables we usually have broccoli, carrots, potatoes, apples, bananas, and other items to make a salad with dinner each night. 

For the grain items we usually buy waffles for my little brother to eat for breakfast along with pastina, grits, and cereal.  I also get whole wheat bread which I eat for breakfast and make a peanut butter and nutella sandwich everyday.  My mom also gets oatmeal to eat for breakfast some mornings. 

For dairy we get string cheese which my brother and I take to school everyday.  We also go through about 2 gallons of milk every week.  My mom also eats a lot of greek yogurt with fruit. 

There are no traditional foods we get to represent our culture but rather just a continuous cycle of the same foods that we like to eat.  We generally don’t mix up what we buy at the store. 

Grocery list

-       waffles

-       grits

-       pastina

-       cereal

-       eggs

-       milk

-       gummy snacks

-       oatmeal

-       egg whites

-       greek yogurt

-       chicken

-       berries

-       steak

-       apples

-       bananas

-       turkey

-       ovaltine

-       whole wheat bread

-       string cheese

-       nature valley bars

-       candy bars

-       broccoli

-       carrots

-       potatoes

-       guacamole

-       salad items

Weekly Diet for Family in Mali

This family that lives in Mali spends, on average, about 27 dollars per week on food.  They cook most of their food on top of a wood fire.  This family lives in a mud-brick home which reveals their lack of money.  They preserve their foods by naturally drying them.  Their lack of wealth explains their high quantity of grain foods which they spend about 46 percent of their money.  Grain foods are cheap and filling.  The 12 dollars they spent on grain got them 66 lbs of dried corn, 44 lbs of millet, and 44 lbs of smoked rice.  The only dairy they drink in a week is a 1.1 gallon jug of sour milk.  Sour milk is not my preference but I assume they cant afford regular milk. 

For their meat, fish, and eggs they spend a little less than 6 percent of their money.  For the most part this gets them fish and okra, which they use to make a soup.  When they cant afford the fish they use okra only. 

           

Among the fruits, vegetables, and nuts, they spend about 25 percent of their money for food.  For the week they buy 5.5 lbs of tomatoes, 4.4 lbs of dried okra, 2.2 lbs of fresh onion, 1.1 lbs dried onions, 14 ounces dried red chile peppers, and a 14 ounce can of tomato paste when they can afford it.  They also purchase oranges from the market when they can afford it.  When this picture was taken, no fruits were in season.  When fruit is in season, they receive mangos from the ten trees planted by Sumana’s father. 

            

They spend about 23 percent of the weekly food money, 6 dollars, on condiments.  With the 6 dollars they buy 1.1 gallons vegetable oil, 5.5 lbs of salt, 2.2 lbs of tamarind, 7.3 lbs white sugar, and 3 lbs of a spice from nere tree pods called sumbala.  The sumbala is used for bouillon in soup.  They mix it with chile pepper and dried onion and cook it with smoked rice. 

            

The homemade food they make weekly is a 4 pound thick fried cake made of millet flour, water, and vegetable oil.  This is probably a tradition that the family has passed on from generation to generation. 

           

All of their water comes from a community well which means their water is clean.  Water is the only drink they have.  Overall their diet is very simple and cheap.  During times when they have more money they purchase more meats, fish, and eggs, as well as the oranges from the market.