My baby girl is expected early January. When this time arrives Olifant Pootjies is going to be exhausted and sore, so I’ve taken it upon myself that I will be running the household for the first month or so while mommy and baby bond, live and grow, which of course points to at least one important thing – I’m going to be in charge of the kitchen for that period.

Or at least, so have I decided.

Now I am capable of making a few dishes, though most don’t really count as supper. Roast Chicken pieces with potato, braai meat, baked frozen chicken goods with oven chips, pancakes – I think Olifant Pootjies might trample me to death if I try feeding us with this sequence of dishes every single night! :)

So I have decided to become a cook, and get a few good home meal recipes under my belt in order to do the job properly. After all, how hard could it be? A recipe is nothing more than a detailed instruction set without the required precision of a science experiment – thus something I as a computer programmer should be more than capable enough of handling.

But where to start? Well how about one of my favourites growing up as a boy in my mom’s house, good old Cottage Pie.

And so one phone call to mom and a hastily scribbled, shorthand note later, I got stuck in!

You’ll need:

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