colleen - that sounds yummy. will have to put that on the menu for this week. thanks, for posting!! ;)

Colleen, I've never made shepherd's pie but that sounds delicious. Care to share the recipe along with your changes?

Thanks.

jude

Colleen, I'm another who won't eat their peas!

I've seen lots of recipes for Shepherd's Pie & those darn peas turn me off so I rarely make it. Just never thought much about altering a recipe where such a prominent ingredient isn't allowed in my kitchen (grin).

I'd love to see your recipe also. Thanks.

/tricia

My recipe for cottage pie doesn't include peas at all, but I add them because we like them. Same for shredded carrots. But I'll leave out the mushrooms, thank you very much! Cottage pie is yet another recipe that I consider an assembly with lots of variations possible.

I make my mashed potatoes with fat-free sour cream for a little extra kick, too.

There's no real recipe, but I'll try :-)
Put some potatoes on to boil for the mashed potato topping, enough for one serve for each person. For 1 lb of ground beef you should get at least four adult servings. Butter a casserole dish.
Next dice a large onion and saute in a pan with a little oil or butter. For this latest version, I trimmed the larger strip of fat off the sides of two long bacon strips (bacon rashers here are about 12" long) and rendered the fat out of that then removed the crisp remains. When I added the very finely diced bacon to the recipe I added it to the pan at the same time as the onion.
When the onion is translucent add about 1 lb of lean ground beef. I only ever buy the very lean beef as I feel paying for all the fat in cheap ground beef is no bargain after I have to pour off all that rendered fat. Break up the beef as it browns as you would for spaghetti sauce.
As the beef browns, add one large, grated carrot and about a dozen diced medium sized mushrooms. Stir in and let soften.
Next add a heavy dash of Worcestershire sauce, I'm guessing about two tablespoons, a couple of teaspoons of beef stock powder and pepper. Taste to see if salt is needed and add if necessary.
Sprinkle about three tablespoons of all-purpose flour over the mixture and stir in. Add enough water to make gravy, not too much as you don't want it too sloppy. If you overdo it, don't worry, just cook it until it has evaporated sufficiently :-)
Pour the cooked meat mixture into the casserole dish. Mash the potatoes as you would normally and add about 2-3 oz of grated cheese. Spoon the potatoes over the top of the meat mixture to cover and place in a hot oven until the top is golden brown.
If you do like peas, throw some in, if you don't like mushrooms, leave them out. Cottage pie is very adaptable. You can even use finely diced leftover roast and leftover gravy.
Enjoy :-)

YUM, Colleen!!!!! And thanks a bunch!

jude

Colleen, it does sound yummy, I haven't made Shepherd's pie or cottage pie since Ashley moved out.

I do like peas, though, so I put them in, but I really like the bacon addition, nearly everything "meat" is better with bacon!

Annie

I love Cottage pie, we call it Shepherd's pie even though I know that's not the right name.

Really like the idea of putting grated cheese in the potatoes. We like peas and carrots but mushrooms would be a welcome addition too!

Very cool here today, this could be an option!

Here is the fancy dancy version recipe I use from time to time but generally I don't add the wine or tomato paste and I add peas.

Shepherds Pie

4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup diced onion, about 1/2 medium
1 cup diced celery
2 cups diced carrot, about 2 medium
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp flour
1 cup red wine
2 1/2 cups beef stock ( I use 1/2 stock one half my brown sauce)
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

4 medium cooking potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, smashed
butter
1/4 milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil to large pan over medium high heat. Add ground beef.
2. Cook until excess liquid is gone and meat is starting to brown. If required drain of any fat.
3. Remove meat from pan and deglaze with red wine, let reduce slightly.
4. In another large pot, add remaining vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add onions, carrots and celery; cook until soft but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add garlic and add tomato paste. Brown paste slightly then sprinkle in flour. Cook out for a minute or two
6. Add in red wine, scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan.
7. Add beef stock, rosemary, thyme. Return browned meat to pot. Simmer, covered for 20-25 minutes.
8. Remove lid and continue cooking for another 10 minutes; liquid will reduce and thicken. Remove rosemary, thyme . Season well with salt and pepper.

Potatoes

1. Add quartered potatoes and smashed garlic to medium pot.
2. Boil until potatoes are tender but not overdone, about 15-20 minutes.
3. Strain potatoes; let dry out slightly in colander before returning to pot. Add milk, butter, pepper, and more salt if necessary.
4. Mash potato masher.

Preheat oven to 400. Spoon filling into the bottom of a 10-inch round casserole dish. Top with potatoes and dot surface evenly with butter. Season with salt and pepper.
Bake on middle rack until top is golden and filling is warmed through, about 20-25 minutes. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

colleen - that sounds yummy. will have to put that on the menu for this week. thanks, for posting!! ;)

Instead of peas - try corn. You will love it.

Yes it is yummy! I made the pie last night, added the mushrooms along with all the other ingred., and at the last went ahead and added a small can of green peas because DH likes them so much. I am such a good wife!LOLOL It made a lot...we ate about a fourth of it. I'm thinking I may freeze half of what's left. Otherwise it will be thrown out. If I make it again, I will only make half a recipe. Thanks again Colleen, for inspiring me to make a new dish.

jude

Really glad you enjoyed it, Jude. :-) You should be able to freeze it, just reheat in the oven for the best result.