Recipe: Shepherd's Pie - Cheater's Style!

I hafta say... I honestly have no clue if anybody (other than my husband!) actually reads this blog and finds it useful.

"Oh, well!"

It's actually been semi-useful to me - at least whenever I wanna re-visit a prior "Culinary Masterpiece." (Even more useful - now that I've added the "Search" Gadget - HEYYY!)

Last night, I made my Scrump-dilly-icious Potato Leek Soup again (Yum!) with a few modifications (added 3 diced shallots, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 cup of fresh, chopped mushrooms, and a cup of fresh, chopped spinach). It was slightly more greenish, in color, but it was most-definitely delicious! (and now we have leftovers in the freezer - Yay!!!).

And tonight I had a hankerin' for a Home-Cooked Meal - having just returned from my Road-Trip with P (more on that later - Post is in "Draft" form right now).

So I checked the freezer, and consulted the interwebs, and decided to make a Shepherd's Pie.

Here's where I started out: This one and This one

And this is what I ended up with (not sure if I can *truly* call it my own - but what the hell, right? Not like anybody cares!):

QT's Shepherd's Pie - Cheater's Style!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or sirloin (I just used the cheap, fatty - excuse me - "73% lean" stuff)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves fresh, minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh white mushrooms
• 1/2 cup frozen peas+carrots
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• (or use whatever frozen veggies make you happy)
• 1-2 Tbs Worchestershire Sauce
• 1 packet Beef "Flavor Boost" (by Swanson - or you could use 1/2 c beef broth, or dissolve a bouillon cube in 1/2 cup water. I really didn't want that much "liquid")
• 1 can (~10 oz) Beef Gravy (Yes, this is the "Cheater Part" as is the...)
• 1 package (~24 oz) pre-mashed potatoes from the frigerator section of the store
• 1/8-1/4 cup heavy cream
• Seasoning of your choice (I used McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning because it's pretty "savory")
• 1/2 c shredded cheese (I used a Mexican Cheese Mix - Jack/Cheddar/Queso/Asadero)

Destructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400*F
2. Begin browning the ground beef in a 10" skillet over medium high heat. Try to break up the burger into teeny chunks, if you can.
3. Once the burger begins to brown, add the onions and garlic. Saute 'til translucent.
4. Add the chopped mushrooms, sprinkle-in some seasoning and cook until the shrooms begin to brown.
5. Drain the grease, then return to the skillet and lower heat to medium-low.
6. Drizzle-in the Worchestershire sauce, to taste (it will help to deglaze the pan), then the Beef-Flavored whatever (if you're using broth, you may need to cook it down a bit)
7. Dump-in the can of gravy and stir til well-mixed
8. Add the frozen veggies. Continue to cook 'til the veggies are incorporated into the mix and heated through.
9. Remove from heat and nuke the pre-made mashed 'taters per the package instructions.
10. (I found the taters to be too bland so I added a bit more salt and some cream to "jazz it up" a bit)
11. Dump the beef/veggie mixture into a 2-1/2 qt casserole. Sprinkle half the cheese on top of the beef mixture.
12. Smear the mashed potatoes on top of the beef mixture. Skritch it up with a fork so you have lots of peaks and valleys on top.
13. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the taters
14. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes at 400* til the cheese is melted and it's heated through...

Enjoy!