My Shepherd’s Pie
I’m writing this while on vacation at a place called Lake of the Woods. It’s GORGEOUS here and I swear they are going to have to KICK us out. Forreals. They have been treating us so well and FEEDING us like crazy. I’ll be posting about all the places we’ve been traveling to on our family page, so stay tuned. I’m warning you now, there are going to be LOTS of crazy photos of my little one because we all know she can’t smile like a normal person. ☺ Feel free to subscribe to my blog and get emails delivered to your inbox that notifies you every time I publish something new.
Anyways.
I seem to be on a comfort food kick and I’m loving it! I thought about not posting this recipe because it’s totally not the prettiest dinner on the block, but it sure is one of the tastiest. I grew up on shepards pie and so did my husband…except the versions we were eating were totally different. Our Mom’s didn’t get the memo that we should have been eating the same version as kids. Oh well….
This version is a cross between my Mom’s recipe and my own adaption of her recipe. Typically, I wouldn’t make Shepard’s Pie very often because it took so long because you had to cook and mash potatoes, cook the meat layer, assemble and bake. I take a shortcut and use Alexia Mashers {which taste just like homemade!!} and had this dinner in the oven after 15 minutes. Just the right amount of time for a weeknight. And the best part is, everyone loves it! It’s got meat, potatoes, veggies and gravy smothering everything. So good, so easy and so so delicious too!
Here’s how you make it:
Start by cooking up some ground beef. I used 90/10. It doesn’t really matter the fat content of the beef you use because I always drain mine. Use what you have. Turkey works great in this too.
While the meat is doing it’s thang, grab some Alexia Mashed Potatoes from your freezer….
And start cooking these up in the microwave. Yes, I said microwave. Trust the Lauren.
The beef should be all cooked by now, so drain it on some paper towels and place the hot pan back on the heat.
Add in some olive oil and sauté a little onion
With garic.
After a few minutes, things should be looking nice and tender, so add the meat back into the pan along with a packet of brown gravy mix.
Oh, and some water.
Use a whisk to remove any lumps and bring this whole thing to a boil so the gravy thickens.
Then add in the frozen veggies.
After 2 minutes, the vegetables should be warmed through, so pour this whole thing into a casserole dish.
Then to that, sprinkle over some sweet corn
And some creamed corn. This is the secret ingredient that makes this slightly sweet and oh so good!
So, now at this point your potatoes should be nice and hot. Spread those smashers onto the top of the whole shoot and match…
And brush with melted butter.
Bake 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and serve!
That’s it! Not too shabby, right? So, try this dinner out tonight. It’s a family favorite that we all love! Enjoy your day, friends!
Technically this is a cottage pie! Shepherd’s pie is made with lamb mince
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Funny, we were talking last night about how we hadn’t had shepherd’s pie for ages and then you go and post a recipe for it. It’s like some kind of sign!
Have a lovely vacation
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Shepherds pie is such a wonderful, hearty comfort food. I make it with lentils and mushrooms for my version and ground beef for my guy’s. But it’s a lot of work to make everything from scratch … love the idea of using frozen mashed potatoes if I’m running short on time!
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I have a question – not a big fan of brown gravy, do you think there are any alternative ways to make this? Maybe a different kind of sauce? Thanks – love your blog!!
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Oddly enough, you’re the second person I know who uses paper towel to soak up grease. I find that so odd! We’ve always drained it into am empty jar, which gets kept under the sink and thrown out every week on trash day. Much less chance of burning oneself and much cheaper (as it’s old glass jars from jam or spaghetti sauce).
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I usually think of shepard’s pie as a reeeeally heavy comfort food dish, but for some reason this doesn’t look so heavy! Probably because those mashed potatoes look so light and fluffy! Yum!
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Looks delish! What size baking dish does this fill? Thanks!
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This a keeper in our house. Really good comfort food. Perfect timing as the weather in MN is getting cool. Thanks.
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I love Shepherds Pie, but hadn’t heard of it until a couple years ago, and I’ve only ever had the Costco stuff. I’ve wanted to try making it, and this looks like an easy enough recipe
Thanks!
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This looks totally delicious! Comfort food at it’s best, and I love how simple the recipe is!
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My first and only attempt at shephards pie did not come out all that tasty….I’m totally inspired to try again with your recipe! It looks so soul warming…I want it now.
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I am a fan of shepards pie and was just thinking about it the other day for some reason. I like this version! I’ll have to try it out
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I was seriously just talking about making shepherd’s pie for jason since it freezes so well! Can’t wait to try your version – it looks so quick and easy.
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I have been loving comfort food lately too! This recipe looks so good
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first recipe i made from your blog — it’s a keeper! tasty and SO easy. just saw the spaghetti stuffed garlic bread – cannot wait to try this one
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