Shepherd's Pie.

I hadn't ever had Shepherd's Pie until Eric moved here and fixed it for me.  It's a great mix of stuff all rolled into one.  It's originally and English recipe that transformed into an American dish, and I think it actually uses lamb instead of beef.  Not my cup of tea.

So, here are the ingredients and directions. . . 

What you need.

• 4 to 5 potatoes, peeled and boiled (I use red and keep the skin on)
• 1 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 6 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce - how do you pronounce??
• 1 cup brown gravy - I used the dry package
• 10-oz. pkg frozen peas, thawed

Directions.

•  Preheat the oven!  Then mash potatoes, butter, milk, salt and pepper together; set aside.  Brown hamburger in a skillet and drain.  Add tomato, mushrooms, parsley, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and gravy; mix well.  Add peas and simmer 5 minutes and pour into an ungreased dish.  Spread mashed potatoes over top and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

Finished product. Yum!

Slice the potatoes before boiling to cook them faster.

Chopped mushrooms, parsley, and tomatoes.

Add the salt, pepper, butter, and milk to potatoes.

Mash away.

Brown and drain.

 

Add to the hamburger and mix.

Then add peas.

Put into dish.

 

Cover with potatoes and bake.

This is how it ends up!

Because it took so long to prepare, this is what I resorted to.  I couldn't wait for the food to finish and because it was bed time, I needed something quick and easy.  I ate the next nite though and loved.

I'll let you in on a few secrets.

+ Plan ahead - this takes a while to prepare and bake.

+ Don't forget to preheat the oven! This set me back an extra 20 minutes so I added that to the beginning of the recipe.

+ The peas have to be thawed.  I didn't realize and had to put in microwave!

+ If you like instant potatoes, they will work fine also.  I prefer homemade mashed, so that takes a bit to prepare as well. 

+ Green beans or corn can be substituted for the peas.

I will probably make this again because it tastes so good, but it sure took a while.  We both enjoyed it and actually were able to get a few meals out of it.  This would probably work out best to cook over the weekend. 

Hope this sounds good!   

Enjoy.