Old Site Recipes (1 of 6): Cottage Pie

i created this "food blog" b/c the old website i made just didnt really cut it for me. it was nice, but i feel that this site offers more options as far as layout, navigation, organization, etc.

i had about 6 recipes on the other site, so i figured i would post them on this site since no one really looks at my old one anymore. (then again, theres only like 2 of you who actually read this site...).

Here is the first one i'll post from my former website - i'll post maybe one a day so its not confusing. sorry, no pix.....

Cottage Pie
*originally, i titled this "Shepard's Pie, but then i learned that is wrong. Shepard's pie is made with ground lamb, but Cottage Pie is made with ground beef.*

i made this dish one night for a few friends. it came out better than i expected. traditionally, this dish is made with ground lamb, but not everyone is into eating lamb, so i used hamburger. i know this looks like a TON of ingredients, but its less "work" than you think. also, i didnt measure too much, and came out with way more filling than i needed so.... these are my guesses. no worries - it'll come out. you can used boxed flake mashed potatoes, but making your own is really much better. (cook the potatoes, add salt, pepper, sour cream, and butter)

Ingredients:

• about 6 to 8 c. prepared mashed potatoes (if mashing your own - 1 1/2 - 2 lbs of potatoes)
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 C. cheddar cheese
• 1 large carrots, small dice
• 1/2 of a med. sized onion, or 1 small onion, diced
• 5 or 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 C. sliced cremini mushrooms (or white mushrooms), dont slice too thin
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (or lamb)
• 3 Tbsp. all purpose flour - 1 C. beef stock (or chicken stock)
• 4 Tbsp. tomato paste (or ketchup if you're desperate)
• Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/2 C. corn (canned is fine)
• 1/2 C. frozen peas
• 1/2 C. french fried onions
• 1/2 C. Cheddar cheese
• ground black pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• olive oil

Directions:
prepare mashed potatoes and mix in first 1/2 C. of cheddar cheese and butter. add salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.

in a large skillet or wok, heat a little olive oil on med-high and saute carrots and onion until onion is translucent. add garlic and cook until garlic is soft, but not burnt. add mushrooms and cook until slightly soft.

add ground beef/lamb until no more pink is visable. if there is not enough room in your pan, take out some of the vegetable mix before adding the ground beef - and mix back in when beef is done. scoop out most of the liquid and grease from meat - otherwise the dish will turn out too oily.

sprinkle and incorporate the flour until mixed in. add beef stock, tomato paste, worcestershire and rosemary and simmer until the "gravy" thickens. add salt and pepper to taste.

add corn and peas to mix, shut off heat and spread mixture evenly on the bottom of a 7x11 glass baking dish. the mixture should come up about half way, to 2/3 up the side of the dish. top this with mashed potatoes, starting from the edges. use a rubber spatula to evenly spread and seal in the beef mixture. sprinkle the top with the second 1/2 C. of cheddar cheese.

pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and place towards the top of the oven - but not the highest rack - the rack right above the middle level is good. bake this for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are browned, and cheese is melted. if taking too long, you can put under the broiler for about 5 minutes OR do what i did and get a food torch to brown the top. its more fun :)

you may also want to place another larger pan underneath your glass baking dish, just in case any juices boil over the sides.when dish is done, let cool for about 10 minutes and sprinkle french fried onions on top. serve with additional cheese, if you really like cheese. ENJOY!