Sort-of Shepherd’s Pie

Daylight savings began on Sunday, a fact that Matty and I completely forgot about, thus completely wasting our extra hour of sleep and disembarking from our cruise an hour earlier than we meant to.  When we flew back into San Diego on Sunday night there was a slight chill in the air and it appeared that fall had truly come to sunny SoCal.  Within about 30 minutes of me getting home from work yesterday it was pitch black outside.  I hadn’t planned anything for dinner and was busy trying to catch up on laundry and finish unpacking, so Elise and I decided to make one of our childhood favorites, Shepherd’s Pie.  Fairly quick and easy with simple ingredients, it is definitely comfort food that warms you from the inside.  We had most of the ingredients on hand, but just as we were about to roshambo to see who would run to the market, our baby brother Adam called to say that he was on his way over.  Problem solved; he picked up the few things we needed.

I say “sort-of” because traditional Shepherd’s Pie uses lamb rather than ground beef, but our mom always used beef and Matty doesn’t like lamb, so beef was on order last night.  I also added just a few extra ingredients to kick up the flavor a bit, and as an added bonus Adam picked up country gravy mix rather than the brown gravy mix I had in mind.  I decided to go ahead and use the country gravy and will continue to do so in the future–it added a creamy, peppery element that I loved.  Here is the approximate recipe I used, but feel free to add in extra veggies ( I hate peas but if you like them they are a traditional ingredient) or make any other changes–just let me know how it turns out!  We served it with some sautéed chard that we had on hand in the fridge.

Sort-of Shepherd’s Pie (makes one 13×9 inch pan, or about 8-10 servings)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook 1.5 lbs ground beef, 2 finely chopped carrots, 2 diced onions, and a few minced cloves of garlic in a saute pan until the beef is cooked through.  Drain the fat then stir in prepared country gravy (directions are on the package).  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, boil about 4 large or 8 small potatoes (peeled or unpeeled, whichever you prefer) in a pot of salted water until nice and soft.  Drain and mash (I just throw them in my Kitchen Aid mixer).  Mix in a few tablespoons of butter, about 1/4 cup of milk, a few chopped green onions, about 1/3 cup sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble spray a 9×13 inch pan with Pam and spread the meat mixture on the bottom.  Layer two drained cans of corn on top of the meat and the potatoes on top of the corn.  Sprinkle liberally with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, bake for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and enjoy.