So a few days ago when I had a package of ground beef in the fridge waiting to be used and my finicky pregnant belly decided it was no longer craving the spaghetti it wanted when I bought the ingredients, I thought I might give this Shepherd's Pie thing a go. Maybe it's those prego taste-buds in full force, but I LOVED it, and wanted to make sure I saved my made-up recipe so I can make several casserole dishes to freeze before bun #4 makes its appearance, so here it is ...
MASHED POTATO LAYER
6 potatoes
6 ounces cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
splash of milk
salt
BEEF LAYER
1 pound organic lean ground beef
1 big package of mushrooms
1 purple onion
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
A little salt and pepper
1 can of corn (drained)
A TINY ribbon of ketchup
A few sprinkles of flour
Since I was making it up as I went along, I started by peeling and cutting the 6 potatoes I had left in the cupboard to get them boiling. Then I started sauteing the mushrooms in olive oil but realized I should have some onions in there, too! So I turned the heat down on the mushrooms, quickly chopped a purple onion, and then moved all the mushrooms to the edges of my cast iron skillet to put the onions in the middle where it would hopefully be hotter. I turned the heat back up, plopped some minced garlic in the middle and sprinkled salt and pepper all around.
Had I thought this through a little more, I SHOULD have chopped the carrots I was thinking of throwing in FIRST so they could be boiling, too. But I didn't, so our pie was carrot-free. I also thought about chopping up some of the zucchini I had bought for the spaghetti, but that never actually made it in, either. Next time we can try a version more heavy on the veggies. This time I just threw in a can of corn and called it a vegetable.
Once it was all cooked, I squirted in a VERY stingy ribbon of ketchup. I didn't want it to taste ketchup-ey, and there's a fine line there. Don't screw it up. I also sprinkled in some flour a few times, stirring in between, to make sure I soaked up any liquid (there wasn't much) but I think this helped to sort of hold everything together well.
Once the potatoes were ready, I got the idea to use up some of the giant tube of organic cream cheese we had gotten at Costco too long ago. I used half a tube (should have been about 6 ounces) This made a HUGE difference in the taste. It made it tangy and thick and perfect for a topping asking for pie cred. (If I ever find myself in the middle of making this and DON'T have cream cheese, try sour cream instead.) I also added butter because, butter. Maybe a half a stick? And just enough milk to stir it up, but I wanted it thick. Oh! And salt! Don't forget the salt.
I decided to just leave the meat in my giant cast iron skillet and spread the potatoes on top. Then I started looking up exactly how long and what temperature you're supposed to cook a Shepherd's Pie. 375 for an hour just seemed ridiculous to me. Why? Everything's already cooked! I was WAY too hungry for that. So I ended up pulling it out of the oven after about 10 minutes and putting it under the broiler for 5. It could have even been less than that. It gave the mashed potato top an impressive brown ribbon crust and I called it done.
For some reason Jonas was not a fan because of the mushrooms. Not sure when he decided he didn't like mushrooms, but he better get over that quick or he's gonna be a hungry boy. Soraya didn't turn her nose up at it, so we'll call that a win. Everyone else loved it, and to me it felt like it needed to be a dinner in heavy rotation. Pretty sure I could eat it for any meal of the day.
Maybe this baby will be a lumberjack.
