Wednesday Kitchen - Shepherds Pie

In today's Wednesday Kitchen, our JET Team leader Mandy of BeadsMe writes all the way from Australia to share her recipe for "throw it all in" Shepherds Pie.

This is a great meal for a working family, or if there are just two of you it will last a couple of days. My hubby and I work full time so when we get home we like to have a quick dinner then relax - so getting something together over the weekend means we have more time to cuddle up on the couch :)

My "throw it all in" recipe is kind to the purse - I can produce a meal that will last 2 days for only $20AUD (about $16 USD). You can also make different variations by adding onions, spices, any veggies, or other minced meat. It's an awesome recipe to play around with!

Ingredients

• 500g minced meat (beef for Cottage Pie, or lamb for Shepherds Pie)
• Couple of carrots, chopped in to small pieces
• Packet frozen peas and corn
• Potatoes (I used just a couple more than is pictured)
• Packet of cottage pie mix (optional – you could just use gravy)
• Tin chopped tomatoes

OK, let’s cook!

1. Brown the mince
2. Add mix or gravy, tin tomatoes and veggies
3. Simmer for about 15 mins
4. Pour meat mixture into pyrex or casserole dish/es (I use 2 pyrex dishes)
5. Peel and chop potatoes, and boil until they are of a mashable consistency – usually about 20 to 30 minutes depending on size
6. This is the time to sit and have a cuppa!
7. Mash the potatoes – I add a bit of butter and a lot of grated cheese
8. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the meat/veg mixture







9. Optionally, slice tomatoes and lay on top of the meat before adding the potatoes
10. Now just put aside until dinner time
11. To cook, preheat your oven to about 180C and pop your ready meal in for about 30 minutes
12. I top my pie with more grated cheese, to make it golden and crispy on top
13. Voila – yummmmmmmmmm!

You can serve this on it’s own, with more veggies or salad, or just smother it in gravy. I love serving with gravy - the child in me comes out and I mix it all together so it looks like mush!

Tip – when cooking the meat and veg if the mix seems watery add some gravy granules. If it looks too thick just add a bit of water

Enjoy!
Mandy