Shepherd's Pie II (The Remix)

Several people (including Mo. Hey, Mo!) have told me that Shepherd's Pie II is their favorite recipe here on HDHH. This is the perfect simple, make-ahead meal to get through the insanity that is September. And true confession: I usually don't make my own mashed potatoes. As I mentioned in my original post, I hate making mashed potatoes. So I buy the pre-made ones. No shame here, people. Sometimes I need to make my life easier, ya feel me?

It was high time I took some new, better pics of Shepherd's Pie II, but you know what I discovered? It's dang hard to take a good pic of Shepherd's Pie! So I gave it my best shot. Better than the originals.

Shepherd's Pie II (The Remix)

Adapted from Real Simple
Serves: 8

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup peeled and sliced carrots
Salt and pepper
1.5 pounds ground beef (I used ground sirloin.)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1.5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1.5 cups frozen peas
1 cup corn kernels (optional, but delicious)
5 cups mashed potatoes*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 10" oven-safe skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high. Add onion and carrots. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 6 minutes, until vegetables are beginning to soften. Transfer to a separate bowl.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet. Add the beef and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring often to break up the beef, about 8 minutes, until meat is no longer pink. Drain the grease from the skillet. Stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring, for one minute to cook off the raw taste of the flour.

Stir in broth, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the flavor bits that have accumulated there into the sauce. Add peas, corn, and cooked onions and carrots. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat.

Spoon mashed potatoes on top of the meat and vegetable mixture in your skillet. Bake 40-45 minutes, until filling is bubbling and potatoes are lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

* If you're a better person than me and decide to mash your own potatoes, Real Simple suggests the following:
3 pounds potatoes (I like to use Yukon Gold when I do mash my own.)
Salt and pepper
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-18 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain and return potatoes to the warm pot. Add milk, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash potatoes.

Fan Friday

We love it when you guys make our recipes. And we really love it when you tell us what you think after you've made them!

Today, in honor of you—the fabulous fans of Hot Dinner Happy Home—and your stellar culinary skills. we're sharing pictures and comments from HDHH readers. These are their favorite recipes, but what about you? What's your favorite Hot Dinner recipe? Share your kitchen creations with us, and we might feature them on the next fan Friday! Find us on Facebook, email us at hotdinnerhappyhome@gmail.com, tweet us (Amy, Andrea, Erin), or give us a shout-out on Instagram.

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The Ladies

Mo made Shepherd's Pie II.

As you can see in her picture, she whipped up four shepherd's pies at once. Impressive! We asked her about bulk cooking, and here's what she shared, "I made four pies in the picture and froze at least 3. I cover in foil then put in a plastic produce bag with twistie. Then when I want to serve I put in the oven at 400 degrees for about 2 hours, or thaw for most of the day and then put in the oven til hot and bubbly. Still delicious! I can't get enough of it!" (Mo, we're impressed by your planning ahead. And by your recycling of plastic produce bags! Great idea.)

Dave made Turkey, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili.

Here's what he had to say, "This was a really, really good chili recipe and I have made dozens of versions before. When I posted this on Facebook, one of my friends, who lives in Oregon, dissed it as impossible to be chili because it has sweet potatoes and other non-traditional ingredients. But I totally disagree, a really interesting recipe. Of course, I messed with it since I used both black beans and kidney beans, and doubled up on the tomatoes and some of the spices." (Dave, we're glad you made this dish your own. And thanks for defending this non-traditional chili!)

Cindy made Carmelitas.

She also baked Brown Sugar Oatmeal Coffee Cake.

She says, "The carmelitas turned out perfect. One of the best recipes I've found for these addicting bars. The oatmeal coffee cake was a big hit with my family and friends. The oatmeal, brown sugar and not too sweet outcome made it delightful. This blog and variety of recipes is fantastic. The blog is so pleasing to the eye and stomach and the recipes I've tried make my family smile." (Thanks, Cindy! You're making us blush.)

Shepherd's Pie

I have another confession today: I can't stand making mashed potatoes.

I don't know what it is; mashed potatoes are such an innocent food! Maybe it's the peeling and chopping. And for some reason, it's always tricky for me to tell when the potatoes are cooked through. Plus the whole mashing thing. I like my potatoes kind of lumpy, but that's not popular with mashed potato connoisseurs. So outside Thanksgiving, we don't eat too many potatoes of the mashed variety at my house.

Now that we've established my distaste for mashing potatoes, I have to tell you what I loooove: Shepherd's Pie. You know what Shepherd's Pie requires? Yup, mashing stupid potatoes. Bugger.

A hankering for Shepherd's Pie recently drove me to desperate measures:

Ye gads! I bought mashed potatoes from the refrigerated foods section at the grocery store! My father the Irishman would be ashamed. Don't tell him.

When you make your Shepherd's Pie, feel free to mash your own potatoes. But if you buy potatoes pre-mashed, I won't judge.

Shepherd's Pie
Adapted from Real Simple
Serves: 8

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup peeled and sliced carrots
Salt and pepper
1.5 pounds ground beef (I used ground sirloin.)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1.5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1.5 cups frozen peas
5 cups mashed potatoes*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 10" high-sided, oven-safe skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high. Add onion and carrots. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 6 minutes, until vegetables are beginning to soften. Transfer to a separate bowl.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet. Add the beef and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring often to break up the beef, about 8 minutes, until meat is no longer pink. Drain the grease from the skillet. Stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring, for one minute to cook off the raw taste of the flour.

Stir in broth, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the flavor bits that have accumulated there into the sauce. Add peas and cooked onions and carrots. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat.

Spoon mashed potatoes on top of the meat and vegetable mixture in your skillet. Bake 40-45 minutes, until filling is bubbling and potatoes are lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

(If you would like to make two smaller Shepherd's Pies like I did, simply transfer the meat and vegetable mixture into two (or three or four or twelve) smaller oven-safe dishes and top with mashed potatoes. Cook until filling is bubbling and warmed through.)

* If you're a better person than me and decide to mash your own potatoes, Real Simple suggests the following:
3 pounds potatoes (I like to use Yukon Gold when I do mash my own.)
Salt and pepper
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-18 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain and return potatoes to the warm pot. Add milk, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash potatoes.