Pie’s Shepherd’s Pie
It is cold and I am pulling out all the stops when it comes to comfort food! Since it is March, why not embrace a bit of the ‘ol luck of the Irish roots I have along with making an easy one-pot meal with a few quick elements added to have a home-cooked value in an hour!
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large oven safe cook pot (dutch oven), brown ground beef with 1/2 diced onion and 2 cloves of diced garlic. Add 1/2 tbsp of Kosher salt and 1/4 tbsp of black pepper. Drain only 1/2 of the excess fat. This will help establish a nice rich gravy.
. Heat should be at a simmer: Add 16 oz of beef broth/stock, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp of butter and about half of the 1/4 cup of flour. Stir constantly for about 1- 2 minute until flour is dissolved and NOT forming dumplings. It should thicken.
Add 1-1/2 cups of the following frozen vegetables – corn, carrots, peas, green beans. Keep at a simmer level so you will need to increase heat. Once veggies are defrosted and warmed through (about 5 minutes) add additional flour. Stir for about another 1-2 minutes. The consistency should be thick enough it can support a standing spoon for at few seconds. Turn down heat and cover.
Peel, dice and cook 8-10 potatoes. I normally just put them in a large glass brown and microwave them for about 15-20 minutes. Or you can boil the potatoes the traditional way. Drain water from cooked potatoes, add 2 table spoons of butter, 1/2 tbsp of Kosher salt, 1/4 tbsp of pepper and 2 tsp of milk. Mash to a semi-lumpy consistency.
Fold in 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
Add 1 cup of shredded cheese to the thickened base
Spread potatoe mixture over the top of the melting cheese and place in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees or until the potatoes start to brown and the cheese is melted and the gravy is bubbly.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs of ground beef
1/2 white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
16 oz of beef stock (can substitute chicken or vegetable stock)
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce (a little goes a long way, be careful not to over season with this)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
4 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of flour (you may need more or less depending on how you get to your correct consistency)
1 cup of frozen corn
1 cup of frozen peas
1 cup of frozen green beans (I did find a green been combination of green and yellow “green” beans)
1 cup of frozen carrots (I did find a frozen carrot combination of yellow and orange carrots)
8-10 medium potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled
1 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons milk
*Yields about 6-8 large and hearty servings
Time: 1 hour total time: 30 minutes of hands on time. 30 minutes of oven time.
A Piece of the Pie Hole 