February 18, 2011 7:56 pm

Michelle Boyd Waters

Shepherd's PieI am itching to try new recipes lately, so when I saw Shepherd Pie on another website, I thought I’d give it a whirl. Most of the ingredients are items I have on hand and it didn’t look hard to make.

So, I started by gathering the ingredients:

  • 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8-10 oz frozen peas and carrots
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1.5 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/4 cup of worstershire
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 brown gravy mix
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Mashed Potatoes
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. Mix in butter, finely chopped onion and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
We always like to add extra butter. Yes, we like a little potatoes with our butter…

Frozen Veggies
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.
I cheated and used the microwave in bag frozen veggies. And I didn’t mash them up either. That just sounded yucky.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
Hamburger
Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup, worstershire, brown gravy and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
That’s my son stirring the hamburger mixture. He’s so sweet!

Hamburger
Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of peas and carrots. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
Oops! Forgot to add shredded cheese on top. Oh well!

Top of Shepherd's Pie
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Overall, I was disappointed. Perhaps I expected more of a pot pie flavor? It was edible, and fairly pleasant tasting — just not what I wanted. That said, tonight is leftover night — it’s this or spaghetti. Hmmm…

P.S. Just found out CW absolutely loved this stuff and can’t wait until we make it again. Go figure…


Tags: hamburger

Michelle Boyd Waters is a PhD candidate at the University of Oklahoma studying English education. She taught middle and high school English Language Arts for 10 years and is now studying writing center pedagogies in high schools. She is Assistant Director at the OU Writing Center, an Oklahoma Writing Project Teacher Consultant, and co-editor of the Oklahoma English Journal.

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