Shepherd’s Pie

So. I’ll admit I like to make fancy meals for people.  This is not one of those meals. This is simple and delicious and sooo not fancy.

There are a lot of Shepherd’s Pie recipes out there.  This one is really easy, and you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen already.

Here’s what you need: Potatoes, Corn, Ground Beef, can of condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, and Cheese.

First, you want to turn your potatoes into mashed potatoes. I used 7 medium potatoes. Yes, I used two different kinds of potatoes. It’s what I had on hand. So sue me.

Please don’t.

Oh, I should point out that you can make this with instant potatoes. If you are my mom, you would. But instant potatoes make me cry. Because they are not real mashed potatoes.  And real mashed potatoes are so incredibly delicious that nothing else can substitute.

So let’s get on with it.  Using real potatoes.

Chop your potatoes up into a large dice.

Put them in a pot and cover them with water.  Mmm… starchy.

Boil them until they are fork-tender.

You’ll need to mash these.  I like to do it in my mixer, but you can easily do it by hand if you want.

Add a couple tablespoons of butter (or more, if you like)

And some milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Because I was trying to pour milk and take a photo at the same time, I added a bit more than I wanted. Oh well.  It wasn’t ruined. :)

Now, for the corn.  This is the only corn I buy.  It’s so sweet and delicious. But my local Super Target doesn’t carry it anymore, so I have to make special trips to other grocery stores to stock up.  It’s a travesty.

Now, you can use one 12 oz bag of corn, or one can of corn, if that’s what you have.  If you’re using frozen, you’ll want to thaw it out.  I tried cooking it once, but then in the end the corn comes out overcooked, and that is not tasty. Overcooked corn makes me cry.

I get a little overdramatic about food sometimes.

It works best if you just put the bag in the fridge overnight or in the morning of the day you make it.  But I am generally not that prepared, so I empty the bag of corn into a small colander and run it under cold water until it’s thawed.

Next, brown your ground beef.

And add the can of cream of mushroom soup.

Next it’s time to assemble.  I like to make mine in a bowl, but you could use any casserole dish as well.

First put the meat in the bottom.

Then add the corn.

Then put the potatoes on top.

Spread it all around.

Traditionally, you would just leave potatoes on the top of your shepherd’s pie and bake it like this.

But we like to add cheese. Who can say no to cheese?

I usually use this stuff:

But, as you can see, I was nearly out.  So I added some white cheddar to make up for it.

Sprinkle it all on top of your mashed potatoes.

Bake it at 350〫for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is getting brown.

I may or may not have thrown it under the broiler because I was getting impatient.

But look at how tasty it is!

The combination of flavors is just perfect. A great comfort food for you and yours.