Shepherd’s Pie

No media-hyped flu epidemic is going to stop we here at the stew from celebrating St. Patrick’s day the way it ought to be celebrated… Good food and dark beer. If I’m going to die, I’ll die well fed and drunk.

Our povertystew Shepherd’s pie is comfort food at its best. Ground beef, peas and carrots, ground cloves, all buried under a thick schmear of mashed potatoes makes for a rustic and filling dinner. Serve with a couple of pints of dark Guinness and some good bagpipes music on the side.

Erin Go Bragh-less!

Need This
1.25 pounds ground meat (beef, turkey or pork)
1 cup of chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 cups of frozen peas and carrots
Salt
Ground black pepper
1 whole bay leaf (if you don’t have one forget about it)
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves (depending on how clovey you want it)
1 frozen pie shell (store brand is fine)
1- 10.5 ounce can of condensed cream of chicken soup
3 Cups cooked mashed potatoes 
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Dried parsley flakes

Do This
Hiss a little non-stick cooking spray onto a large frypan.

Add the onions to the pan and sweat them for about 3 minutes.

Add the ground meat to the pan.  Cook until browned.

Now add the celery, peas and carrots and the cream of chicken soup.

Add salt, ground black pepper and ground clove to taste and drop in the bay leaf.

Cook loosely covered over a medium heat until just bubbling and thickened a little – about 10 minutes.  Stir frequently.

Turn off the heat and completely cover until ready to assemble the pie.

Ready?

Crank your oven to 375 F.

Get out a pie shell.  Using the tines of a fork, poke little holes all along the bottom of the shell.  This will keep the shell from buckling.

When the oven is fully heated put the pie shell into the center rack and allow to bake until it just starts to brown.

Remove the pie shell from the oven.

Remove the bay leaf from the meat mixture and discard*

Using a large spoon scoop the meat mixture into the pie shell until it is completely filled.

Using a plastic spatula, dollop the mash potatoes on top of the meat mixture and smooth it all over nice.

Add a couple of handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese over top and sprinkle all over with the dried parsley.

Shove the pie in the oven (middle rack) and bake until browned and all the cheese melted.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes.

Slice the pie into wedges.

Serve hot with pints of dark Guinness. 

Serves 4 – 6

My cost approx. $ 12.20 total – about 2.44 per serving.

*Failure to remove the bay leaf will result in someone having a rather unpleasant experience. And chances are good that it will be the same person who choked on the bay leaf the last time you failed to take it out. GMN