Shepherds Pie

About this Recipe

I think I would change the name of this pie, unless of course, I was Scottish and grew up with this hearty dish being served up my grandmother to something more like mashed potato casserole. If it was called mashed potato casserole, or yummy potato bake, or layered potato, veggies and beef, it would for sure be a recipe I bring to thought more often. The name Shepherd's Pie really does not describe how amazing a recipe it is! The meal itself is absolutely delicious. A perfect meal for a hungry crowd, for a cold fall or winter day, or for a Sunday family dinner.

Grandmother’s TIPS for Sheperd’s Pie Recipe:

1. You can reheat in the oven or in a frying pan. If you heat it up in a frying pan, it will get a bit ‘saucier’, but this is not a bad thing, it feels more like a stew and is also delicious.

2. The mixture of creamy mashed potatoes, lean nicely flavored ground meat, peas, carrots, corn and gravy is so satisfying. In this version we used ground beef, but you could just as deliciously use ground chicken or ground turkey for a Shepherd’s pie type of recipe. The vegetarian version uses lentils and is also delicious.

3. We love to serve this kind of meal with a simple salad and tangy vinaigrette like this Cucumber Tomato Layered Salad Recipe.

4. This dish is wonderful the second day. You can reheat covered in the oven at 425 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes.


Ingredients

(Print)

Makes: 6-8 Servings

5 cups Creamy Mashed Potatoes or Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe

1 cup carrots, peeled, thinly sliced and boiled

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium sized onion, diced

1/2 pound lean hamburger meat

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

3 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

1 Tablespoon coconut natural soy sauce alternative (or soy sauce)

1 Tablespoon freshly chopped parsley

Directions

1. Prepare the creamy garlic mashed potatoes or you can use creamy mashed potatoes without the garlic. Set aside.

2. Peel, slice and cook the carrots, drain and set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

4. Heat the oil in a large skillet on the stove top. Add the onions and saute for 5 minutes until transparent.

5. Add the hamburger meat and continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon and breaking the meat apart into a crumbly texture. Cook until brown and cooked through.

6. Add the tomato paste and stir in.

7. Stir the flour into the chicken broth in a bowl. This will make your gravy. Make sure there are no lumps.

8. Add the broth/flour mixture to the hamburger.

9. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. The liquid will thicken as it is cooking. Keep stirring to keep clumps from forming.

10. Cook for 5 minutes on low heat.

11. Add the soy sauce, stir in. Do a taste test and add salt and pepper to suit your taste.

12. Shut off and gently stir in the carrots, peas and corn.

13. Transfer to a baking dish.

14. Use a spoon to dollop the mashed potatoes on top.

15. Once you have the potatoes evenly dolloped onto the top, use a fork to swirl out a design.

16. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

17. Cover with a lid and place into the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 5 minutes or so until the potatoes are a golden brown.

18. If the tops are not browning, you can always turn your broiler on and watch very carefully and brown this way.

19. Do NOT wander away as they will burn.

20. Remove and serve.

ENJOY!

Return to this Shepherds Pie recipe or check out more recipes at Grandmother's Kitchen

With a creamy mashed potato topping, hamburger and vegetable base, shepherds pie is a family-friendly meal idea that is the ultimate in comfort food. This easy dinner idea can be enjoyed any night of the week, served on its own, the gravy is built in to this wonderful recipe.

This easy dinner idea uses simple ingredients that you most likely already have in your kitchen, so it's a great family friendly meal idea to use up some of the ingredients in your pantry and not have to run out and get additional items.

A few fun facts about Shepherd's pie: a vegetarian or vegan Shepherd's pie is often considered a shepherdless pie: if you top the potato crust with breadcrumbs, Shepherd's pie becomes a Cumberland pie. The modern Cumberland pie good family meal is a version of Shepherd's pie with either beef or lamb and the layer of breadcrumbs and cheese on top.

A little history about Shepherds Pie: the difference between a shepherds pie and a cottage pie was in the meat used. A Shepherd's pie was named so if lamb was used and a cottage pie named if beef was used. The Cottage pie name came around the same time that potatoes were introduced in the United Kingdom, as they were an affordable food option for peasants, many of whom lived in cottages. The name cottage pie came before shepherds pie by almost one hundred years.

You'll find different variations of Shepherd's pie easy dinner ideas throughout history, and from around the world. The origins of shepherd's pie come from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

When making this easy dinner idea, you want to be sure and cover with a lid and place into the preheated oven and cook for the required time. Only remove the lid for the last five minutes or so to get the potatoes a nice golden brown. Cooking this easy dinner idea without the lid will overcook the potatoes and the base, so this step is very important.



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