Shepherd’s Pie takes me back to my childhood.
It’s a meal my mom would make when we were growing up, and I always LOVED it.
Rich gravy-soaked meat, carrots, peas & onions all topped with a fluffy layer of mashed potatoes.
Mmmmmm.
The recipe she used was classic 80’s…powdered gravy mix…canned veggies. It was tasty, but definitely not as wholesome as it could be. In fact, today my mom would totally scoff at that recipe with all of it’s processed components. When I got on the healthy food bandwagon and shared everything with her, I created a monster ;) Love you mom!
I’ve made that recipe a few times and I still love it, but when I found this version in an All Recipe’s magazine that my Aunt Becky got for me (thanks AB!), I knew I wanted to try it.
Then, when I saw her recently and she loaded me up with veggies from her garden, including potatoes, I knew this was the perfect time!
Besides all that, fall is quickly approaching and I’m fully on board with comfort foods making up the bulk of our weekly menu.
I modified the original recipe a little (I can’t help myself!) so here’s my version…
- 4 large baking potatoes (about 2 lbs)
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- splash of milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 5 medium to large carrots, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ cup beef broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add potatoes. Cook until tender about 15 minutes.
- Drain water and mash potatoes with sour cream, milk, and ½ cup cheddar cheese. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring another small pot of water to a boil, add carrots and cook until tender, about 15 minutes also. When soft, drain and mash then set aside.
- While potatoes and carrots cook, preheat oven to 375*F
- Heat oil in a large skillet, add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until it's no longer pink. Pour off any excess fat (or use a spoon to remove it like I do :) then add flour and stir until fully combined.
- Next add ketchup, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and beef broth and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring until the beef is nicely coated and the mixture has thickened a little about 2 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- To a large casserole dish (2 quart or so) spread beef mixture in an even layer, top with frozen peas, then mashed carrots and finally mashed potatoes. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup shredded cheese on top and bake for 20 minutes.
- Let sit for 5 minutes before serving and enjoy!
Wow, this is next on my list to try, it looks absolutely delicious. What a great comfort food for the Fall season!
One of my FAVORITE meals of all time! I have used ground lamb or venison for a more “traditional” flavor…but ground beef is the bomb too!! Thank you for sharing!!!
I didn’t realize ground lamb and venison are more traditional for this dish! Interesting…
The term “shepherd’s pie” did not appear until 1877, and since then it has been used synonymously with “cottage pie”, regardless of whether the principal ingredient was beef or mutton. More recently, the term “shepherd’s pie” has been used when the meat is lamb, the theory being that shepherds are concerned with sheep and not cattle.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_pie)