Simple Shepherd’s Pie
Simple Shepherd’s Pie
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 clove garlic
- garlic salt
- One 14.5 oz. can green beans
- One 10.75 can tomato soup
- 6 cups mashed potatoes (6-8 russet potatoes depending on size)
- One stick of butter (optional)
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Heat large stock pot over medium heat. Sauté garlic until fragrant. Add onions and cook until translucent. Reduce heat to prevent the onions from burning Add the ground beef, stir while cooking. Season with garlic salt. The beef is completely cooked when browned and when the temperature reaches 160 F. Drain fat. Mix with tomato soup and can of green beans. Taste and add salt if needed. An easy short cut is to use a bag of precooked ground beef, recipe found here. Place on the bottom of the casserole dish. Depending on the brand of tomato soup used you may not need to salt this layer of the casserole. At the same time, Peel and boil potatoes until they are tender. Season the potatoes with salt, to taste. Place in a large bowl and whip with one stick of butter. Layer the Shepherd’s pie by first spooning the ground beef into a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Next, cover with mashed potatoes. Finish it the dish by covering the mashed potatoes with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees, covered. Remove the aluminum foil the last 5 minutes of baking. If the ingredients are warm the dish will bake in 10-15 minutes.
Keep reading for kitchen notes and a funny story…
Notes: This is categorized as an easy weeknight meal. I did not have tomato soup, so I simply blended a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Also, I used a a bag of ready to use ground beef from my freezer. Dehydrated potato flakes could be used instead of real potatoes. The amount of butter could certainly be reduced. I’m on a Paula Dean butter kick. Some recipes call for a mix of veggies in the meat layer. Cooked carrots may be another easy addition. I have also seen a small amount of cumin or oregano added to the meat. I like to keep my spices mild for this dish.
This was the first dish I made when I got married. I called my sister-in-law Leah and got the recipe over the phone. I swear, she told me “EIGHT” Tablespoons oregano. I began seasoning the meat and ran out of oregano by 5 Tablespoons. I told Scott to run to the store to get me more oregano. He looked at the dish, and asked what on earth I was doing?! I was so stubborn, and insisted that Leah said “EIGHT Tablespoons ” not “A” Tablespoon oregano. Scott was nice and ate a bit of it anyways. He reeked of oregano for a couple of days. The second time I made this I tried to be all fancy and added gharam masala. Don’t ask. This traditional dish does not call for Indian spices. I don’t know what I was thinking, it was really gross.. So now this is the third time I have ever made this, and I didn’t want to botch it so I called my sister Emily about 5 times during the process. I’m happy to report 3/4 kids loved it!
