Sunday Supper {Shepherd’s Pie for St. Patrick’s Day}

I originally made Shepherd’s Pie for John’s class a couple of years ago when I did a presentation on Ireland.  Well, much to my surprise and delight, not only did my own two kids LOVE it, but the entire class did.  I originally shared this recipe back then, but I thought it was worth an encore on the blog because it is easy and good.

Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

For potatoes:
2½ pounds large Yukon Gold potatoes
1½ cups half-and-half
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 T. chopped green onion
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For veggies:
10-16 oz. bag frozen peas and carrots (I buy in the microwaveable bag and cook)

For meat:
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. lean groun beef
2 T. flour
2 T. ketchup
2 T. worcestershire sauce
1 packet brown gravy
1 cup water
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them in 1-inch chunks. Place them in a large, deep saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until very tender. Drain and return the potatoes to the saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, heat the half-and-half and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. (I just put mine in the microwave for 2 minutes).  With a hand mixer, beat the hot potatoes in the pot until they are broken up. Slowly mix in the cream/butter, sour cream, cheese, green onions, 2½ teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and beat until the potatoes are thick and smooth.
3. In a separate pan, cook onion until clear.  Add beef and cook until well browned.  Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add ketchup and worcestershire sauce and cook 1 minute.  Add water and gravy packet.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Prepare a 2 quart casserole dish by spraying with Pam.  Spread beef in an even layer on the bottom.  Spread peas and carrots on top. Top with mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

• To shave a lot of time off of this recipe, substitute prepared mashed potatoes in this dish. I doctor mine up with the sour cream, cheese, green onion and pepper when doing this.
• I usually make this up to a day in advance and then just pop in the oven before dinner and heat thoroughly, making for a great school night supper.  You may need to add time to the cooking if it comes straight from the fridge.

Many thanks go to my sweet next door neighbor who was kind enough to heat our Shepherd’s Pie in her oven when ours CAUGHT ON FIRE as it was pre-heating.  Fun times!  I am SO thankful that I did not start it up and leave the room, as I almost always do.  Not even 5 minutes after I turned it on, I caught sight of it out of the corner of my eye.  The heating coil was on fire!  After a brief panic, I just turned it off and left the oven door shut.  It burned itself out pretty quickly.  Now I need to get someone out here to find out what in the world happened.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Everything St. Patrick’s Day

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