Shepherd's Pie

As I perused by cabinets, fridge and freezer last night, the pickings were slim, to say the least. Old Mother Hubbard's cabinets were bare, and I had no food to spare! It is definitely time to go food shopping, and to restock even pantry staples. I've been living off my pantry and just adding fresh stuff in each week for a while because we do not have a lot of storage room.

So, I had some frozen ground beef from our butcher (thanks to hubby who noticed it was on sale buy one get one free and got it for about 89 cents a pound!), frozen peas and carrots, a can of Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup, and red potatoes. Seemed a too natural fit for me to make a Shepherd's Pie.

Let me say this, I've NEVER in my life made one, so I winged it. It was a hit, and it is all gone. Even my kids loved it (heck it was covered in mashed potatoes and cheese!).



Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef
1 cup frozen peas & carrots mixture
1 can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup
salt & pepper to taste ( I used about 20 or so cranks of pepper from the grinder!)

2 lbs red potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tbs sour cream
1/4 cup milk, warmed
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced fine

1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar, feel free to use your favorite)

Put potatoes on to boil.

Meanwhile brown ground beef and drain well. Add soup and peas & carrots. Heat until just warmed. Turn off heat. Cover and let sit.

Also, while all this is going on, heat oil and 1 Tbs butter on low heat in a small skillet. Add garlic. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. HEat until warmed and aromatic (but do not burn the garlic!)

When potatoes are done, drain well. Add garlic/butter/oil from the small skillet, sour cream, milk and mash until smooth. (use a mixer if you like, we used a hand masher).

In a deep dish pie plate, pour ground beef mixture in the bottom. Top with the mashed potatoes. Spread around to seal the edges of the meat filling.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until everything is reheated and bubbly. Sprinkle cheese on top and leave in oven, but turn the oven off. Check in about 5 minutes the cheese should be melted.

Enjoy!