Friday, November 2, 2007

Shepherd's Pie


I remember my mom making this as a kid, and as I am still remiss in my meal planning duties, this was something I could put together with stuff from my freezer and pantry. It was really good and was definitely a Matthew meal. Put a potato on anything and he'll eat it. There were no leftovers, but there should have been. Matthew found himself in a food coma after dinner, but he said it was worth it. I guess that means the dinner was a success. If Matt's bloated, tired, and happy, I have done my job as a wife and cook.

I used this recipe from Rachael Ray as a starting point, but most of the recipe is mine.
*I have recently been enlightened; because my pie was made with ground beef instead of lamb, mine is actually a cottage or cowboy pie, not a shepherd's pie. You learn something new everyday in the blogging community.


Shepherd's Pie
from Linda with a little help from Rachael Ray

6 potatoes, cleaned and chopped into cubes
1 T butter
1/4 c skim milk
splash of chicken broth
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 c frozen peas
1/2 c frozen corn
1 T flour
1 T butter
1/2 -3/4 c beef broth
2 t Worcestershire sauce
paprika

Cover potatoes with water in a large pot, then bring to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil, salt, turn heat down, and simmer covered until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add butter, milk, and chicken broth and smash to a smooth consistency. Add additional salt and pepper if desired.

While potatoes cook, brown beef in a large pan. Just before beef is no longer pink, add onion and continue to brown until onion is translucent. Move beef and onion to the outside of the pan, leaving an open spot in the middle of the pan. Melt butter in the pan and whisk in flour, making a roux. Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, making a gravy. Once thick, which should only take a few minutes, stir into the beef mixture and add the frozen corn and peas. Let simmer on low heat until potatoes are done.

When potatoes are finished, spoon the beef mixture in to a casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with paprika. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes, or until top starts to brown slightly. Place under broiler for 2-3 minutes to further brown the top. Serve hot.

2 comments:

Gledwood said...

Shepherd's pie is British hospital food par excellence!

Every day I've been in there (only 2 days in normal hospital in my adult life) or been visiting (numerous days)... that seems to be item one on the hospital menu. (Of course it is false-teeth friendly for all the old biddies!)

I hate to be picky but technically with beef it's cottage pie; shepherd's pie

Gledwood said...

This is a brilliant blog!

I love recipe blogs!

I will give you a shout on mine tonight!!

;->...