shepherd's pie

I don't, but when my friend's mom (straight from Ireland ) makes it, I sure know how to chow down!!

My Irish grandmother made it like this -

brown some ground beef and add some gravy
mash some potatoes
smooth the potateos out in a casserole dish
add the beef and gravy to the middle
bake until the very top of the potatoes (that you can see) start to turn slightly brown.

Now when I make it Keith tells me that is all wrong because the potatoes should be ON TOP and the beef should be lamb. So maybe grammy improvised when she was raising a bunch of kids during the Depression and never went back.

Either way, I love grammy's shepard's pie!

I just made it on Monday! Yummy 'mommy comfort food'.

Mashed Potatoes
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 large minced garlic clove
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt/pepper to taste
14oz can chopped tomatoes
2 tbs. flour
2 tbs.water
1 can peas or corn (personal preference)

Brown meat, drain. Saute veggies / garlic until crisp tender. Return meat to skillet, add seasonings and tomatoes, boil and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Add flour and water in bowl and gradually add to meat. Add corn or peas.

Put meat mixture in casserole dish coated with cooking spray or butter. Spread potatoes over entire top, spreading to edges. (I add some fresh dill and parm cheese to mash potatoes). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand for 10.

yummy !!!

I think the beef is a more Americanized version of it...ground beef is more common here than lamb...

Ground Beef
1 Onion (chopped)
2-3 Carrots (chopped)
Peas (I just use a can)
6-8 potatoes
Gravy mix

Ground the beef & onions together.
peel the potatoes & boil them
cook the carrots & peas
When the beef is browned drain it.
mix the beef, carrots & peas
add the gravy
let them cook for a bit
Drain potatoes (when they are ready) mash them

Put beef mix on the bottom of casserole dish
Then add potatoes to the top

Cook @ 350 for a 1/2 an hour