Shepherd's Pie

I sometimes forget that we like Shepherd's Pie.  It's one of those dishes that I plan for once every two or three months, but should appear more often.  I made it tonight and the girls ate 2 helpings each.  Even Little Man, who doesn't typically care for casserole type dishes, ate it if I agreed to feed it to him (and pick out the peas).  Hubby had to restrain himself by only taking a small portion, so some would be left for lunches tomorrow.

I don't have a particular recipe.  It's one of those "clean out the fridge" kind of dishes.  But here's what I used tonight.

4 potatoes, peeled
2 Tbsp. oil
3-4 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1/2 a medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup diced green pepper (I have some already diced in my freezer, I just dumped some in)
1 pound ground beef
2 cloves of garlic (I use the already minced kind-about 2 Tbsp.)
1 1/2 cups tomato juice (or 1 can tomato sauce if you have that)
seasoning to taste (I added salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and a few dashes of chili powder)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp. butter
Milk if needed
Shredded cheddar cheese, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Rough chop the peeled potatoes and place in a large glass bowl.  Fill with water until potatoes are covered.  Add salt if desired.  Place in microwave and cook until potatoes are tender (for me, that's 25 minutes).

While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil and add the carrots, celery, onion, and green pepper.  Stir frequently until the veggies start to soften.  Add the ground beef and garlic.  Stir together and break up the meat so it is mostly smaller bites (I have one of those handy dandy Pampered Chef star chopper things that works great.  A spoon work too! :) ).  When the meat is done and the veggies are cooked, add the tomato juice, desired seasonings, corn and peas.  Continue to simmer for 10 to 20 minutes allowing some of the tomato juice to evaporate and the corn and peas to cook.  If you use tomato sauce, you probably won't need to simmer as long.

By this time, the potatoes should be done.  They can be drained and mashed, adding the butter and milk if needed.  Set aside.

Pour the meat/veggie mixture into a medium sized baking dish.  I used a 9 inch deep dish pie plate.  A 9 x 9 baking dish would also work well.  Spread the meat out evenly into the pan.  Top with mashed potatoes and spread them over the meat getting as close to the edges as possible.  Top with cheddar cheese.  Place in the oven for 20 minutes.  Upon removal, allow the dish to sit and rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

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