Shepherd's Pie

This recipe is one of my favorites of all time! Shepherd’s pie is one of those dishes that fill your stomach just as much as it fills your heart, at least for me it is. It is the best comfort food, and on a freezing winter day, it is absolutely necessary!

Another great thing about it is that it is so cheap, and can feed a family of 6-8 for about $30. And you most likely have the ingredients in your fridge right now! Whether you are a poor college student and you want to make sure you have dinner for the next week, or want to throw this together for your family, or if you are like me and love that you can feed you and your husband with enough leftovers for him to bring to work for the next few days. Whatever the case may be, you will not be disappointed with this easy and delicious recipe that you can modify however you want!

Okay, let’s get to it!

yields: about 8 servings

Ingredients:

for the potatoes:

1 1/2 pounds of russet potatoes ( peeled and chopped)

1/4 cup half and half , or heavy cream, or milk ( its for the mashed potatoes so whatever is easiest to get!)

2 Tbls unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste ( please taste!)

for the meat filling:

1 cup chopped onion

2 carrots, peeled and diced small

2 or like 6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef, but you can also use lamb, pork or veal, or a mixture of a couple! ( told you it was versatile)

2 Tbls all purpose flour

2 tsp tomato paste

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

2 tsp freshly chopped rosemary leaves

1 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/2 cup fresh or frozen english peas

and of course, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

first, preheat your oven to 400 degrees

put your potatoes in a pot of water, enough to cover the potatoes and set over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, decrease the heat to a simmer and cook until tender. Approximately 15-20 minutes. Place the half and half and butter into a bowl and microwave until melted. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to saucepan with the half and half and butter. Mash until smooth, and season to taste.

to prepare the filling, heat up some oil in a pan, about medium-high heat, and add the onion and carrots and saute until they begin to take on some color. About 3-4 minutes. add the garlic, ground beef and salt and pepper until cooked through.

sprinkle the meat with flour and toss to coat, then add the tomato paste, chicken broth, worcestershire, rosemary, thyme and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat down to a simmer, until the sauce thickens slightly.

Add the corn and peas to the beef mixture and spread evenly into a glass baking dish (11 by 7 inches is usually a good size) top with mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan, and place in the oven for about 20 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy,

Sans filter!