March 7, 2007 Cottage Pie vs. Shepherd's Pie

Easy Tastebud Delights

3.07 Edition (March 7, 2007)

Easy Recipes

45 minutes+

Hi Everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday. Today, I will be using a recipe that was submitted by one of the newsletter members. Thanks Dorie! and one of my own. Two similar recipes with different names.

Cottage Pie is also known as Shepherd's Pie in North America, although traditionally Shepherd's Pie is made with ground lamb, this dish is more popular in England. Because ground lamb can rarely be found in North America, Cottage Pie is more popular but the name has not really caught on. I've always called it Shepherd's Pie but no matter what you call it, ground meat + vegetables topped with mashed potatoes = a very yummy dish!

Cottage Pie
1-1/2 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/8 t. marjoram
2 C. brown gravy
2 C. mashed potatoes
1/2 C. shredded Cheddar cheese
2 t. butter

Brown ground beef and onion in skillet; drain. Stir in spices and gravy and heat until bubbling. Pour into a 2qt casserole dish.
Stir cheese into mashed potatoes and spread on top of meat mixture. Dot with butter. Bake uncovered at 400 for 30 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned.

Serve with green beans.

Submitted by Dorie P.

Here is the recipe that I have been making for nearly 10 years now:

Shepherd's Pie

Meat Mixture

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1/2-3/4 tsp. minced garlic or 2 cloves
dash worchestershire sauce
1 can stems and pieces mushrooms, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth
pepper

Vegetable Layer

2 cups mixed diced vegetables, (peas, carrots, corn)
1 onion, chopped
dash worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
pepper

Potato Topping
10 potatoes, peeled, diced, cooked and mashed or 2 packages instant mashed potatoes
1 cup grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese
pepper
garlic (optional)

Preheat oven to 350*.
Brown ground beef with onions, garlic, worchestershire sauce and pepper. Drain and return to pan. Add mushrooms and tomatoes and bring to boil. Add broth and simmer for 15 min.

Add onion and garlic to vegetables and defrost in the microwave for 5 min. stirring every 2 min. or so. Add pepper and mix.

Layer meat, vegetable and potato layers in 9x13 in. pan. Cook for 20 min. Add mozzarella or cheddar cheese and broil until brown and bubbly. Let stand up to 10 min. before serving.


Tips to Ponder
This meal freezes well, I have added the ingredients to the pan except the potatoes and cheese for a future meal. If you don't have pans that you can spare putting in the freezer, the next time you make a shepherd's pie, make double the sauce meat mixture and put 1/2 in a large freezer bag, remove the air and flatten. It takes about a day to defrost in the fridge or speed up the process by defrosting in the microwave.

Try different vegetables to suit your family. I have added spinach for a different texture.

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