Adventures in Cooking - Shepherd's Pie

True to our word, Aric and I have been sticking to our meal plan. A few nights ago we decided to make Shepherd's Pie. It was a cool evening and we had some time to kill, so we went for it.

I know I usually save the rave reviews for the very last thing, but oh man - this was so tasty! It took a lot of searching to find a Shepherd's Pie recipe that didn't call for a lot of cheese poured over the top (which I really don't think is necessary).

SHEPHERD'S PIE

(Please forgive the atrocious white balance
of this picture - I promise to do better next time!)

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds potatoes
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup milk
3 onions
1 pound lean ground beef
10 oz. frozen peas
10 oz. frozen corn
1 tbsp. paprika
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch dried sage

INSTRUCTIONS
1) Boil potatoes until tender. Mash with milk and butter. Season with nutmeg. Set aside.
2) Sautee the onions with paprika. Add the ground beef and sage, cook until meat is browned.
3) In a sauce pan, blanch the frozen vegetables for five minutes in boiling water. Drain.
4) Spread a thin layer of potatoes in a casserole dish. Add half the peas and corn, then the ground beef and the rest of the peas and corn. Top with mashed potatoes.
5) Dot the top with flakes of butter, nutmeg, and paprika. Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown.



WHAT I CHANGED
1) While this is a tasty recipe, it needs a punch of salt and pepper. Salt and pepper the mashed potatoes, and salt and pepper the meat. It might not sound important, but it really is.
2) I don't have sage, apparently. Nor do I have good sage substitutes. I wasn't about to stop cooking in the middle and go buy some sage, so I thought about warm, comforting flavors that I like, and the first thing that popped into my head was thyme. It tasted goooooood.
3) DO NOT FORGET TO PUT THE POTATOES ON THE BOTTOM. They make a lovely crust, help distribute potato-ey goodness, and ensure that you don't loose any meat or potatoes overboard when you serve the dish.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The taste of this dish is directly proportionate to the ease with which is it created. For not a little work, you get a HUGE meal (this meal lasted Aric and me about five days) that is delicious and only gets better as it sits. This is one of those meals that I think would be fabulous to take over to someone's house - they'll think it's fantastic and that you slaved over it all day, when really all you did was throw stuff in a pan and bake it!

And who doesn't love to be fabulous?