RECIPE FOR SHEPHERD'S PIE

I love Sheperd's Pie. I love it so much that I would eat it during the Summer, if anyone would eat it with me. I could eat it once a week, but I would probably be eating it by myself.

A while back I just had to have some Shepherd's Pie. Every recipe I came across was laborious and left me feeling like I was never going to be able to get Shepherd's Pie.

Then I came across this recipe, that I doctored up, that I just love. I hope you do to! (Don't worry - it is easy to make - I just went into a good bit of detail so the recipe is a little long!)

-1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey - just add a little oil to cook it so it won't stick)
-1 onion, diced
-1 to 2 cups of frozen, mixed vegetables (I use the mixed peas, carrots and green beans)
-3 or 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (or you can use boxed potatoes to save some time - just make 3-4 servings following the directions on the box)
-1 stick of butter
-1/2 cup beef broth
-1 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce
-salt and pepper to taste
-about 1 cup of red wine

Place your peeled, diced potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil until tender, about 20 minutes. While the potatoes are boiling, brown your ground meat in a medium size pan. Add your diced onion about half-way through cooking the meat.

When the meat is nearly done cooking, add in your mixed veggies and let warm. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add your Worcestershire Sauce (I must confess... I really don't measure anything when I cook. The original recipe called for 1 tsp, but I use more than that because I like the way it tastes. It pairs nicely with the red wine and beef broth, so I just add salt, pepper, red wine, beef broth and Worcestershire Sauce to taste), beef broth and red wine.

Allow to cook for about 10 minutes, adding more beef broth or red wine as necessary to keep moist. I like for the sauce to reduce a little to a little thicker consistency.

Mash potatoes with butter, salt and pepper. I also add a little milk to my mashed potatoes, but just make them as you normally would. Or, if you are using boxed potatoes, make them according to the directions, but don't put too much liquid in them so they are fairly thick.

Place beef/veggie mixture in a baking dish. Place mashed potatoes on top of the mixture. Create peaks with a fork so they brown nicely.

Cook at 400 degrees until brown and bubbly (About 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown the potatoes.