Top o’ the evenin’ to ya’!
That’s my happy St. Patrick’s Day greeting.
Ben and I were going to hit up an all-you-can-eat St. Paddy’s Day buffet at Hy-Vee tonight (unlimited Reubens & corned beef?!) but I thought nah, lets keep it homemade with The Best Shepherd’s Pie. EVER!
I was kind of annoyed with myself for choosing to make this classic meat pie, originally known as Cottage Pie back in the late 1700s, instead of going to the buffet. I figured it would take at least an hour to make.
Turns out it was actually a cinch! Just brown ground beef with onions and garlic, cook in flour, chicken broth, tomato paste and other seasonings, then simmer until thick.
Toss in some frozen veggies, and you’re nearly there!
While I was making the filling, I whipped up ~4 cups worth of mashed potatoes on a burner next door.
Assembly time!
Pour the filling into an oven-proof casserole dish then top with mashed pa’tators. Pop into the oven for 20 minutes, and…
BINGO!
Bubbling its little heart out as I pulled it out of the piping hot oven, which totally made me giggle. I just love it when comfort food smells, tastes and sounds like comfort food, you know?
I scooped us out a big serving and almost fell into the tunnel of mashed potato love!!!
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The Best Shepherd’s Pie. Ever.
Description
The Best Shepherd's Pie. Ever. is incredibly hearty, with beef and vegetables cooked in a savory gravy, topped with creamy mashed potatoes — the ultimate comfort food!
Ingredients
- 4 cups prepared mashed potatoes
- garlic salt
- 1lb ground beef
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Tablespoons gluten-free flour OR all-purpose (dish will not be GF if using AP flour)
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce)
- 1 can (14.5oz) chicken broth
- 2 cups frozen vegetable medley
- salt & pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown ground beef, onions and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When meat is completely cooked, sprinkle in flour and continue to saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, gluten-free tamari or soy sauce and chicken broth. Simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Turn of the heat then stir in frozen vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour beef mixture into a large, oven-proof casserole dish then top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with garlic salt.
- Place casserole dish on a large sheet pan (in case the sauce overflows) then bake for 20-30 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Scoop onto plates then serve.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Meat & potatoes at its finest. Savory and so comforting!
Ben took his first bite…
“omg, this is life altering right now. This is the best Shepherd’s Pie you’ve ever made…”
“It’s the only Shepherd’s Pie I’ve ever made.”
“No…” (makes horrible face)
“Oh. Right. That Shepherd’s Pie. So it’s only the best when compared to the second AND worst Shepherd’s Pie I’ve ever made…”
“Um, yeah I guess so.”
ENJOY!
Coffee ice cream with toffee bits – mmm!
I made shepherd’s pie tonight, too! So good and comfort-y. Although mine bubbled over the bottom of the stove. Oops.
My husband is the one who always has ice cream cravings. He’s sweet, I’m salty. But when I do have an ice cream craving, I want:
– Baskin Robbins chocolate and peanut butter
– A DQ Hawaiian blizzard
– Pistachio ice cream or gelato
Ahhh! That is one cute little man. Baller! Hilarious!
I always go Butterfinger for Blizzards, but on St. Patty’s Day, you gotta go mint! Hope it works out for ya! :D
My hubby was definitely in the beer and basketball camp, however we were already out for dinner so I was able to convince him to drive through a local ice cream place for a sweet treat. I didn’t go with a “green” fav like mint oreo, but I was certainly tempted!
omg! Finn is adorable!
My favorite would be Oreo Overload at Coldstone Creamery. Yummm!!! Not a big Shepherd’s Pie fan though. Can’t quite get the ground beef and mashed potato combo to work on my palate. :)
Your nephew is so adorable! I agree with Ben, that Shepard’s Pie would be life changing!
Oh yes, can’t we just talk about that for a minute….nearly every time we go out to eat, about halfway through my meal I say to my boyfriend, mmm you know what we should do after dinner? And I wait for him to say “go get ice cream”, and he sits there with a blank look on his face. HE KNOWS THIS, and he also knows that that’s his cue for getting to eat the remaining part of my meal so that I don’t feel bad for eating the ice cream. Why oh why do they make it difficult? ;)
Yummy food and cute kid:)
I love ice cream- my favorite is vanilla soft serve!
go with the beer tonight. trust me. ;)
you make the most amazing meals.
Mine always wants ice cream. ALWAYS. It’s out of control.
You need to come down to KC and have a foodie weekend…or just an ice cream weekend. We have an amazing local chain called Sheridan’s Frozen Custard (we’re talking way better than Culver’s or Freddy’s) and they have a wedding cake concrete that comes with a FULL slice of wedding cake in it. Luckily, my boyfriend loves it just as much as I do, and we always compare the sizes of chunks of buttercream frosting and cake in our cups. SO amazing.
Mmmhm yum, Shepherd’s Pie. We make ours with melty cheese on top of the mashed potatoes!
I made shep’s pie with cauliflower topping- a bit ligher, and with ground turkey! My fav ice cream is hard ice cream, in a cone, with choc jimmies for licking! :)
Haha SO TRUE!!! I ALWAYS want to go for ice cream and my hubby could always leave it. So weird! I’ll go for a mint Oreo blizzard with you girl. :)
Doesn’t matter what the flavor is–just as long as it is ice cream!! :)
Although, I am not a huge fan of neapolitan. Not sure what is about it, I just don’t really dig it.
OREO BLIZZARD! but MINT oreo blizzard sounds even better!!!!
the shepards pie looks deeeeeelish! and your nephew is a total cutie patootie!
That’s funny…mine wanted ice cream last night but I didn’t. That NEVER happens but it was too cold for ice cream!
We compromised. We got beer and pizza….and I got mint gelato. :) Haha. Such crazy party faces we are these days. :)
Hahaha you and Ben crack me up to no end. Tell him you made dinner so he better get ice cream with you!