Shepherd's Pie

I wanted to make something Irish for dinner on St. Patrick's day, so I decided to try making shepherd's pie.  It was quite a tasty little Irish treat!  My 3/8th Irish husband gave it two thumbs up. :)

INGREDIENTS

4 large potatoes, cubed
2 lbs lean ground beef
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1.5 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
12 oz bag of frozen peas
12 oz bag of frozen carrots
2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 packet of beef gravy mix
1/4 cup Worcestershire
2 Tbs ketchup or tomato paste
Milk as needed
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.  Basically, step one is to make mashed potatoes.  So if you have a tried a true method, just do that.  Otherwise, follow my method: bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15-20 minutes.  Drain as much water as you can (if a little is left in the bottom, it's okay).  Put pot back on the still hot burner (but turn burner off).  Add butter and a little salt and pepper.  Once butter is melted, mash with a potato masher or a hand blender.  Keep adding milk, one splash at a time, until potatoes are nice a fluffy.  Then add 1 cup of the shredded cheese.  Set aside.

2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Meanwhile, cook ground beef, onion and celery in a large skillet until beef is well browned.

3.  Drain off excess grease, then transfer to a mixing bowl.  Add flour, gravy mix, Worcestershire, and ketchup or tomato paste and mix well.  

4.  Spread ground beef mixture in an even layer on the bottom of a large casserole dish.  Next, layer on frozen peas and carrots.  Finally, spread mashed potatoes over everything and top with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

5.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until top is golden brown and filling is boiling rapidly.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!