Shepherd's Pie

Yield: 8-10 servings

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Tips: If desired, add 1/2 cup each peas and/or corn (or 1/4 cup of each) to meat along with onion mixture. When reheating leftovers, serving with your favorite steak sauce will add flavor and moisture.

Suggestion: Delicious accompanied by a vegetable or salad.

Shepherd's Pie (also sometimes referred to as Cottage Pie) is a great way to combine meat and potatoes into one tasty casserole dish.

This traditional and easy Shepherd's Pie recipe features lean ground beef combined with diced carrots, celery and onions, minced garlic and an assortment of seasonings. (You can also add peas, corn kernels and/or carrot slices to this recipe if desired.) This savory ground beef mixture is placed on the bottom of a casserole dish to create the bottom layer. The beef mixture is then topped with cheesy mashed potatoes made with potatoes, butter, cream and white cheddar cheese. (Most Shepherd's Pie recipes are made with basic mashed potatoes, so the addition of cheese to the potatoes gives this dish wonderful added flavor.) A simple pattern is then carved into the entire top of the cheesy mashed potatoes with the tines of a fork to create visual appeal as well help the potatoes brown more evenly on top.

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Ingredients

Meat Filling
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons A-1 or other steak sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup beef stock
salt and pepper to taste
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes (recipe follows)

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
3-4 pounds Golden Yukon gold potatoes (or any other potato you prefer), peeled & quartered
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated mature white Cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Meat Filling
Preheat oven at 400° F.

Place butter and oil in a large skillet and heat on medium heat. Sauté onions, carrots, celery and garlic until tender (about 7 to 10 minutes). Once the vegetables have softened and start to brown a little, add the A-1 Sauce and tomato paste and stir to mix evenly. Add the ground beef and cook until beef is no longer pink (about 10 minutes). Add the Worcestershire sauce and beef stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Transfer meat mixture to a casserole dish and spread meat mixture evenly into dish. Spread Cheesy Mashed Potatoes (recipe follows) on top of ground beef mixture evenly, pressing up to sides of dish, making sure there are no open spaces. Once the top surface has been completely covered, rake through top of mashed potatoes with tongs of a fork to make peaks that will brown nicely.

Place the casserole dish into the preheated oven and cook until browned (about 20-30 minutes). Spoon out the shepherd's pie and serve.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Fill a large saucepan with cold water and a tablespoon of salt. Add potatoes to the water and bring to a boil. Let potatoes cook until soft and easily pierced with a fork or pointed knife (about 20-30 minutes). Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the potatoes in a colander, then return potatoes to the saucepan for mashing. Add butter and cream to potatoes and mash with a potato mashing tool (or beat with hand-held electric beater) until potatoes have a semi-smooth consistency. Add cheese and mix well with spoon or rubber spatula. Season with salt and pepper.

Other recipes you might like:

Ham and Scalloped Potatoes

Chili Con Carne Loaf

Goulash

Twice-Baked Potatoes