Comfort Food

When you are feeling stressed and a little run down, what is better than some comfort food?! So I set out to make the best Shepherd's pie ever.

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
1 large onion, diced
4 large carrots, diced
1 cup frozen or fresh corn
1 teaspoon of dried thyme and fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon of butter
1 glass of red wine (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 cup of beef stock
Mashed potatoes for topping (about 8 cups) Peeled or not, whatever you prefer.
Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees F
2. Saute carrots for about a minute in oil, add in the onions for a minute and then add the ground beef, thyme, and cook until browned.
3. Drain excess fat from the pan.
4. Add butter and sprinkle with flour
5. Add tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until reduced slightly.
6. Add beef stock and corn. Allow to reduce down until you have a thick meaty gravy.
7. Remove from heat.
8. Grease an oven proof dish. I used two meatloaf pans. 
9. Add the meat sauce and top with mashed potatoes. I usually end up with about 2 inches of potatoes on top of the meat layer. 
10. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
11. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are nicely browned.
12. Let sit for a couple minutes to cool down and enjoy. 

I consider myself a Shepherd's pie connoisseur and this is the best shepherds pie I have ever eaten. We also froze in an oven safe dish the meat layer for another night and it freezes very well. The next time you want to enjoy it you just make some nice freshly mashed potatoes and pop it in the over for 20 minutes. Plus when it is cooking you get the aroma of beef gravy and red wine, so delicious. 

Try the recipe and let me know what you think. Remember - you only needed a glass of wine for the recipe, and red wine is really only good the day you open it. So make it a night to sit down and relax with a glass of wine with dinner too.