Well folks, I got a request for a recipe a few weeks back from a forum member, so I ran down to the store yesterday and got the ingredients that I didn't have on hand to make a shepherd's pie.
I have never made a shepherd's pie before, so I looked online for a recipe, and pretty much just chose the first one that popped up. It was called
The Best Classic Shepherd's Pie. I figured, how could I go wrong with a title like that.
Here is the recipe and instructions for those interested:
Best Classic Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
MEAT FILLING:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 lb. 90% lean ground beef -or ground lamb
2 teaspoons dried parsley leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves -minced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup frozen mixed peas & carrots*
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
POTATO TOPPING:
1 ½ - 2 lb. russet potatoes -about 2 large potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
8 tablespoons unsalted butter -1 stick
1/3 cup half & half
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions:
MAKE THE MEAT FILLING.
Add the oil to a large skillet and place it over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the onions. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the ground beef (or ground lamb) to the skillet and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Add the parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, and and pepper. Stir well. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the meat is browned, stirring occasionally.
Add the Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the flour and tomato paste. Stir until well incorporated and no clumps of tomato paste remain.
Add the broth, frozen peas and carrots, and frozen corn. Bring the liquid to a boil then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Set the meat mixture aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
MAKE THE POTATO TOPPING.
Place the potatoes in a large pot. Cover the potatoes with water. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, 10-15 minutes.
Drain the potatoes in a colander. Return the potatoes to the hot pot. Let the potatoes rest in the hot pot for 1 minute to evaporate any remaining liquid.
Add butter, half & half, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mash the potatoes and stir until all the ingredients are mixed together.
Add the parmesan cheese to the potatoes. Stir until well combined.
ASSEMBLE THE CASSEROLE.
Pour the meat mixture into a 9x9 (or 7x11) inch baking dish. Spread it out into an even layer. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the meat. Carefully spread into an even layer.
If the baking dish looks very full, place it on a rimmed baking sheet so that the filling doesn’t bubble over into your oven. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.** Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Now I altered the recipe a little bit from how it was written above.
- instead of using a baking dish, I'll be using my old standby Dutch oven
- Instead of a package of frozen peas and carrots and a 1/2 cup of frozen corn, I used 1 package of garden vegetables that include peas, carrots, corn and green beans. The reason for this is because I like green beans a lot more than I like peas.
- I also added on small orange bell pepper that I cooked up with the onion at the beginning of the instructions.
- And I only used a half-stick of butter instead of a full one
Ingredients
Chopping up the veggies
Cook onions and bell pepper
Add ground beef
Brown meat
Add seasonings, garlic, and tomato paste
Add frozen vegetables
Simmer for five minutes
Boil potatoes - 15 minutes
Add butter, half-n-half, garlic powder, salt and pepper then mash potatoes
Add as a layer to beef mixture
Spread into an even layer over beef mixture
Bake for thirty minutes, then let cool off for fifteen minutes.
Out of the oven
Serve and enjoy.