Speedy Shepherd’s Pie

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I stole this recipe for Speedy Shepherd’s Pie from myrecipes.com who stole it from Cooking Light. This hearty casserole starts with ground beef cooked in a skillet. Carrots, onions, mushrooms and garlic are added in. A sauce mixture is made of beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. After adding peas, everything is placed in a casserole dish and prepared mashed potatoes are spread on top and baked for 5 minutes. No real shepherds were harmed in the making of this Speedy Shepherd’s Pie.

In a large skillet over high heat sprayed with cooking spray add 1 cup finely chopped carrots and 1 cup chopped onion, cook about 3 minutes. (This is different than the original recipe, to me the onions and carrots were too hard in the recipe so I cook them longer to soften.)

Place 1 lb 93% lean ground beef in skillet; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.

Add 4 minced garlic cloves and 8 oz sliced mushrooms to pan; cook 2 minutes.

Stir in 2 tbsp tomato paste; cook 30 seconds.

Combine ¼ cup beef stock and 2 tsp cornstarch in small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Add cornstarch mixture, an additional ¾ cup stock, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp pepper and ⅜ tsp salt to skillet. Stir in 1 ½ cups frozen peas. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Mix together 24 oz package prepared mashed potatoes and 2 tbsp freeze dried onion flakes.

Place beef mixture in 2 quart baking dish. Top evenly with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle ½ tsp Hungarian sweet paprika over potatoes.

Bake at 500 F for 5 minutes.

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Speedy Shepherd's Pie

This hearty casserole starts with ground beef cooked in a skillet. Carrots, onions, mushrooms and garlic are added in. A sauce mixture is made of beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. After adding peas, everything is placed in a casserole dish and prepared mashed potatoes are spread on top and baked for 5 minutes.

Course Beef, Entree
Cuisine English
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
  • 1 cup matchstick cut carrots finely chopped
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tbsp unsalted tomato paste
  • 1 cup unsalted beef stock divided
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ⅜ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 ½ cups frozen peas
  • 24 oz package prepared mashed potatoes simply potatoes
  • 2 tbsp freeze dried onion
  • ½ tsp Hungarian sweet paprika

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 500F.
  2. Place beef in large skillet over high heat; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add carrots, onion, and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 30 seconds.
  3. Combine ¼ cup stock and cornstarch in small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch, remaining ¾ cup stock, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt to skillet. Stir in peas. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
  4. Place beef in 2 quart baking dish. Top evenly with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle onion and paprika over potatoes.
  5. Bake at 500 F for 5 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Start cooking the carrots and onions first; they end up too hard if they are only cooked based on the recipe instructions. After the onions and carrots soften, cook the beef. Then I add 8 oz sliced mushrooms with the garlic after the beef is browned. Set the peas on counter to thaw when beginning to cook, make sure completely thawed after 2 min of cooking or add time. The five minutes in the oven will not completely thaw the peas. You can substitute Instant mashed potatoes package for the prepared package. Follow the instructions on the package. I recommend cheese flavored, and mix with onions instead of sprinkling the onions on top.