Shepards Pie

Shepherd's pie is believed to have originated from Scotland, Ireland and other northern England regions.  So being of Scottish nationality I wanted to make it for dinner.  It is a simple meat and potato dish that packs a lot of taste.  Of course I'm sure this taste nothing like Cottage Pie/Shepherd's Pie if I were to walk into a pub in Scotland and order it, but its my version.

  I have modified it to make it quicker for nights that I'm coming home from work and don't have a ton of time to prepare dinner.

As you can tell in the photo below I used the Bob Evans Original mashed potatoes that you get from the grocer.  This saves me a ton of time because I don't have to peel, boil, mash and season the potatoes myself.  The Bob Evans potatoes also taste unbelievably good.  The directions on how to prepare this dish with step by step photos are below!  Just to give you an idea of how many this will feed, I made one 2 quart casserole and all 4 of us ate generous helpings and we still had a bit of leftovers.

This recipe makes one (2 quart) casserole. 

* 5 Carrots Chopped (I bought the Organic baby carrots to save time on peeling and chopped a bunch about 1 1/2 cups worth if you are not using regular carrots.)

* 1 White Onion Chopped

* 1 Small Package of Mixed Vegetables

* 1 Pound Ground Beef

* 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour

* 2 Tbsp Ketchup

* 3/4 Cup Beef Broth

* 3/4 Cup of Shredded Cheddar 

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
2. Cook Mixed Vegetables according to directions on package.
3. Cook ground beef  in a frying pan and cook until browned. Pour off excess fat, then add the chopped onion and cook with meat (about 6 minutes.)  Then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup and beef broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Cook the Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes according to package.
5. Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of mashed carrots. Then add a layer of mixed vegetables. Top with the mashed potatoes and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Chopped Carrots

Time to boil the carrots

Time to chop up the onion

Chopped Onion

Nearly browned meat, onions added for cooking

Time to add the flour

Adding the ketchup

Adding the beef broth, time to simmer for 5 minutes 

Mash the carrots

Spread the bottom of the casserole dish with the meat mixture

Layer the mashed carrot mixture

Layer the mixed vegetables

Layer the Mashed Potatoes

Sprinkle the Cheese

Yummy!!!!

If you want to mash your own potatoes:
You will need 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed, 2 Tbsp Butter, 1 Small Onion (finely chopped,) 2 Tbsp sour cream, salt and pepper.

1. Boil the potatoes, once they are soft, drain them and mash.
2. Add the butter, onion, sour cream, salt and pepper.