Cheesy Shepherd's Pie

I am trying to catch up on recipes I've done recently. I did this one last week... Maybe the week before. I can't remember. I liked it. I remember my mom making shepherd's pie when I was a kid. I'll have to get and try her recipe to see which I prefer. I think with hers the vegetables were layered separately, so it looked cool in the glass dish.

Oh, I forgot to mention, it's another budgetbytes recipe: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2009/11/shepherds-pie-846-recipe-106-serving.html Some comments on her blog state that in England this is actually called Cottage Pie because it is made with beef. I thought that was interesting. What is in a shepherd's pie then? I looked it up. Shepherd's pie would use mutton or lamb. So now you know.

When I made this I divided the ingredients between two 8x8 baking dishes. I cooked one for dinner that night and froze the rest for later. Andy and I liked it. Neither of my boys would eat this one. Abe won't eat potatoes and Eli has been teething and sick.

Here's her recipe:

MASHED POTATO INGREDIENTS

2.5 lbs russet potatoes

1/4 cup half and half (I used whole milk)

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup sharp cheddar

MEAT FILLING INGREDIENTS

1 lb. lean ground beef (I happened to have some this time. Next time I'll try ground turkey)

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (I used a 12 oz bag of frozen mixed veggies)

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 small onion, diced fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup beef or chicken broth

2 tsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

STEP 1: Because this recipe has a lot of "little" ingredients, I first gathered and measured most of what I needed. That way, when it came time to mix it all together I wouldn't be running around the kitchen measuring this and that. I have the frozen veggies, flour, diced onion and minced garlic, rosemary and thyme, tomato paste and worchestershire, and the broth all pre-measured.

STEP 2: Wash, peel and dice the potatoes to 1/2 inch cubes. Place them in a large pot and cover with cold water. Turn the burner on to high and boil the water with a lid on. Once it begins to boil, remove the lid and simmer on medium until the potatoes are very soft.

STEP 3: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the potatoes are cooking, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet. When it is hot, add the onions and garlic and cook until they are soft and transparent.

STEP 4: Add the beef to the skillet and cook until it is thoroughly brown. If you are not using extra lean beef, drain the fat off at this point. Add the 2 Tbsp of flour and continue to stir and cook for 2 more minutes. The flour is going to thicken the gravy. It is important to cook the flour slightly so that the finished gravy does not have a pasty/floury flavor.

STEP 5: After the floury beef has had a chance to cook slightly, add the broth, tomato paste, worchester sauce, rosemary, thyme and frozen vegetables. I also added about a 1/2 tsp of salt and 10 cranks of fresh ground black pepper. Stir and simmer until the sauce thickens (this should only take a few minutes). Keep the mixture in the skillet on low heat until you are ready to assemble the casserole.

STEP 6: When the potatoes have boiled to the point where they are very soft (check with a fork), drain them in a colander then return them to the pot (turn the burner off). If they are finished boiling while you are still working on the beef mixture (as mine were), simply put a lid on the pot and they will stay warm until you are ready to mash them (do not keep the burner on). Add the half and half, butter and salt and pepper to taste to the potatoes. Mash until your little arms are too tired to mash any more! When they are smooth and fluffy, stir in a 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.

STEP 7: Now it is time to assemble! First, spread all of the beef mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish (it doesn't matter what size as long as it will hold everything. A larger dish will make a shallow casserole, a small dish will make a tall/thick casserole). Next, spread the potatoes over the top of the meat mixture. Alton Brown suggests starting at the edges and moving toward the center. I found this to be the easiest method also.

STEP 8: Top the casserole with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and put it in the oven to bake. Bake at 350 until the top is crispy and slightly brown. This took me about 30 minutes.