Recipes

[Beebee2]

Shepherd’s Pie

This is one of my ‘go to’ recipes during the holidays when things get a little more hurried than usual. It’s just so easy, tasty, and right when it gets coolish, which it is now here in SoCal -- but we had 83 degrees just days ago. Theoretically, a shepherd’s pie is made with lamb, and when it’s made with ground beef it’s called cottage pie. But we’ve always called it shepherd’s pie, so shepherd’s pie it is, especially during the holidays. It’s a very casual recipe that adapts well to your own personal touches. This is what I did tonight with the ingredients I had on hand:

olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
6-8 medium-sized cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
Worcestershire Sauce
ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 t thyme
1 can Blue Lake green beans, drained
4-oz pkg Idahoan butter style mashed potatoes
1/2 c or so Cheddar cheese, grated

Put a little olive oil in 10” skillet to lightly cover bottom of pan. Heat on medium high, add onions and cook till transparent; add garlic and cook for a minute or two. Then add ground beef to the middle of the pan, pushing the onions and garlic to the sides, and cook until meat is browned. Add mushrooms and cook for a minute or two. Add a dollop, a tablespoon or so, of Worcestershire sauce and mix it in well. Then add the thyme and mix again. Cook to blend the flavors, but just for a couple of minutes. The idea is to have some juice, or gravy, for the beef, so cooking too long will cause this to evaporate.

In the meantime, butter a casserole dish (I used a Corning French White round casserole, probably 3-qt).

To make the potatoes, put 2 cups water in a 4-cup measuring bowl/pitcher. Add packaged potatoes and microwave for 3-4 min. So simple and the Idahoan buttery brand tastes good.

Pour the beef mixture into buttered casserole. Spread drained green beans over top of beef mixture. Stir the microwaved mashed potatoes and spread them on top of the green beans.

Cover all with grated Cheddar cheese. I covered mine with a lid and baked it at 350 deg F till hot and cheese melted, about 25 min.

I also put in a small frozen baguette at the same time and it was ready when the casserole was.

Good eating for a little work.