My Nanna's Shepherd's Pie

My Nanna makes THE best Shepherd's Pie. Personally, I can eat it morning, noon, and night and I did for years. At least, that was how it was until I went to college and I was sad.

THANKFULLY my Nanna gave me her recipe a few months ago. Now, for the first time ever, I'm sharing this recipe with you, my beloved public.

Preheat the oven to 350 and here's what you'll need:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 2 cans of whole corn kernels
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 6-7 Idaho potatoes
• salt
• pepper
• 1 stick of butter
• 3/4 cup of milk
  

This recipe might confuse you because you'll be making two things at the same time; the beef and the mashed potatoes. You might want an assistant on this one. But if you're flying solo it's no problem.

First off, we'll start with the potatoes since they take longer. Put a big pot of cold water on the stove. Don't fill it too high because when you add the potatoes the water might over flow. Put a lid on the water and while you're waiting for the water to boil, peel the potatoes. After they've been peeled, rinse them off, cut them in half, and put them in the boiling water. It'll take a while before the potatoes are ready for mashing, so while that's going on we'll prepare the meat.

Moving on, brown the beef in a large frying pan, skillet, or sauce pan. While the beef is browning, dice the onions and garlic. Drain the grease from the beef when it's done and put it back in the pan with the onions, garlic, and salt for seasoning. Stir it up, mix it around, and when the onions seem cooked, add 2 1/2 cups of cold water. Bring the water to a boil put in the cornstarch bit by bit and mix it in.

Put the beef in a medium sized baking dish like so:

Now crack open those cans of corn, drain the corn juice, and spread the corn evenly over the beef.

OH, MY GOD! BACK TO THE POTATOES!

You'll know you're potatoes are ready for mashing if a fork can pierce straight through them. If you can do that, drain out the water and turn off the heat. Cut up one stick of butter and put it into the pot with the potatoes and then add 3/4 cup of milk. Mash them up real good. Taste the 'tatoes every once in a while to see how lumpy they are. If they're not buttery enough or milky enough for you just put in some more. I don't know about you, but I add salt AND pepper to my mashed potatoes, so maybe you do too. Get my drift?

By now you're beef should be at the bottom of the baking dish, the corn should be on top of the beef, and you're mashed potatoes are smooth, fluffy, and buttery good. There's just one more step before you throw it in the oven. Spread the mashed potatoes over the corn. It's a little tricky because you don't want to get corn or beef mixed up in your 'tatoes. What I do is plop some down in the middle and smooth it out from the center.

It's okay if you have extra potatoes left over, you don't have to use it all. Put it in the oven on 350 and in 30 minutes you'll have my Nanna's Shepherd's Pie!

Love,

Liz