Dixie-Style Dining: Shepherd’s Pie

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day weekend!  It was actually a bit of a busy weekend for us here at the Confessions house.  It’s Monday night and I have to admit, I’m pretty tired for 8:30 p.m.!

We spent the weekend celebrating some special birthdays, including my nephew Jerry’s 4th birthday! 

I got to dance with some friends at a fun St. Pat’s Zumba class… and then another fun class on Sunday!

And I even had time to make a special Irish meal for our family.  This recipe for Shepherd’s Pie is really special to my family.  My grandmother would make it for us when we would visit her and my grandfather in Philadelphia.  It was always one of our very favorite meals.  We would spend the day out shopping or visiting relatives and when we would come home, the Shepherd’s Pie would be ready to go in the oven. 

We loved asking her, “Did you go out and kill a shepherd today?”  And she loved to play along and say she did.  Don’t judge our weird family conversations, please.

Dixie’s Shepherd’s Pie

I know Shepherd’s Pie traditionally has peas and carrots mixed in with the beef, but my grandmother didn’t make it that way, so I didn’t either.  I’m actually not even sure whether her version had onions with the beef, but I went ahead and added some for flavor. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef (I used extra lean)
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• worchestire sauce and/or any other flavorings you like (Our family likes Maggi’s seasoning.)
• 5-6 potatoes peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup skim milk (use more or less for mashed potato creaminess)
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• salt, to taste
• medium cheddar, sliced (enough to cover casserole)

Prep: Place potato in boiling water.  Cook until fork-tender.  While potatoes cook, brown beef and onions together.  Add seasonings.  Add 1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved into 1/2 cup cold water to the beef mixture.  Cook for 1-2 minutes, then reduce heat.  When potatoes are tender, add milk, butter, and salt, and mash with electric mixer until desired consistency is reached. 

Layer in casserole dish: beef mixture, potatoes, and top with the slices of cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees or until the pie is warmed through and the cheese is nice and bubbly. 

 

Technically, this is much easier to serve if you let it stand for about 5-6 minutes after it is out of the oven… but sometimes you just can’t wait that long, you know?  We won’t judge you. ;)

Enjoy!