Shepherd’s Pie
Description
Shepherd’s Pie is a lot like any ‘pot-pie’ – it can be altered and arranged according to what you have on hand. Cook the meat, add a bit of extra broth and seasonings, throw it in a casserole, cover it with vegetables and mashed potatoes and bake, with or without cheese. Once again, I’m typing this out for me. It also needs to be noted that my sister tried a version with ground turkey and it was great – also think about using mashed sweet potatoes!
Also, the ready made casseroles freeze perfectly and the last time I made this, I didn’t measure anything and ended up with extra beef, so I froze it and now all I need to do is cook potatoes for a fast meal and I don’t have another casserole dish in the freezer.
Another update – For my large Corning Ware casserole, I used 2 lbs. of extra lean ground beef and instead of par-cooking the carrots, I threw them in with the almost cooked beef and onions. I then mashed 5 lbs. of Russet potatoes with sour cream and green onion and layered them over the beef and carrots and about 3 c. of peas – this was 2 meals for us, and fit perfectly into a 4 L dish.
Ingredients
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. extra lean beef
1 large onion, finely chopped AND 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 c. flour
~1 c. strong broth
2 to 3 c. of vegetables – I generally use peas and/or corn and have also regularly thrown in some riced cauliflower with the cooking ground meat
enough potatoes or yams (2 to 3 lbs. depending on your casserole dish), cooked and mashed with milk or sour cream and some salt and pepper and/or cheese
grated cheese for topping – I tend to use Parmesan on yams and old cheddar on regular potatoes
Instructions
Heat a bit of oil in a large skillet and sauté together the beef, onion and garlic with a healthy pinch of salt and a good grinding of pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are softened. Stir in the flour until there is no trace of it anywhere and then add the broth, mix well and bring it to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or so, adding more water if it gets too dry and check the seasonings.
If your potatoes aren’t cooked already, have them going while you’re preparing the meat.
Preheat the oven to 350 and spray your casserole of choice. When the meat is ready evenly line the bottom of the dish, sprinkle on your vegetables and cover with the mashed potatoes. If you’re cooking this straight away, it will probably only take a half hour or so because everything is already warm, and if you’re using grated cheese on top, add it in the last 10 minutes or so.
If you’ve taken this out of the freezer, make sure it’s thawed completely and then cook, covered, for 45 minutes to an hour, taking the cover off to add cheese if you want for the last 10 minutes.
Very tasty, very convenient and an extremely flexible recipe. Yum.
- Category: Ground Beef, Ground Turkey/Chicken, Pie, Freezes Well
