Thursday, March 17, 2011

Shepherd's Pie - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello Foodies and welcome to another holiday edition of Edible Rex.  Hope you're all enjoying this great St. Patrick's Day and are looking forward to an easy-to-make traditional recipe.  This day includes some festive dishes like Corned Beef & Cabbage and Irish Soda Bread, but since I want to get back to my local pub crawl, I'll give you all something quick and easy...  Shepherd's Pie!

You'll need ground beef, onion, beef broth, canned or frozen veggies, mashed potatoes, and shredded cheese.  Since we're all loyal to the bachelor style of cooking, use instant mashed potatoes... it saves a lot of time!  Also have a skillet and brownie pan ready to cook everything, and preheat your oven to 350*!


Start by browning the ground beef in a skillet, and add in a handful of onion (about half a cup).  I also suggest adding a few spices, like basil, black pepper, and a few shakes of cayenne.  When it starts getting brown, add in a can (or frozen bag) of assorted mixed veggies.  Mix everything together and drain the oil. Then place it all in the brownie pan.

Add half a cup of beef broth to the pan.  Don't use more than this or the pie will come out very liquid.  You can use canned broth, or prepare your own from bullion cubes.

Now prepare your mashed potatoes.  If you want to use fresh potatoes, go ahead, but for the time-starved (or just plain starved) mix up a batch of instant potatoes.  A 3.3oz pouch of brand-name dried potatoes will yield enough for the entire meal.  In fact, you can get creative and get some of the flavored varieties to add a special zing to the meal.  Mix up the batch as per the instructions.  Once fluffy, carefully layer them on top of the beef-onion-veggie mix in the pan.

Now for the crust.  Take whatever shredded cheese you have and generously cover the top of the potatoes.  I used a heavy layer of Parmesan cheese first which gives it a nice flaky texture, then topped it with another layer of a Mozzarella and Cheddar mix.

Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  Enough time to enjoy a fine Guinness while you wait!

This will yield 3-4 generous portions, or 2 for the famished pub-crawler.

So have a great St. Patty's Day, try not to get too wild, and Bon Apetit!  Or should I say, Erin Go Bragh!


1 comments:

Josh Berse said...

Use 1 lb of ground beef for this recipe

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