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mari4212It is pi day. My facebook has exploded with pie-related puns, including a photo George Takei posted that finally resolved my family's long term conundrum: Pi r round, cake r square.
In honor of the day, a pie-for-dinner recipe. This is my recipe for Shepherd's pie, which is pretty much my mother's recipe with slight modifications.
1 pie crust (either the frozen crust if you are lazy, or the Joy of Cooking one-crust pie crust recipe if you aren't) Pre-bake this for five minutes @400 F.
1 lb lean ground beef
1-2 carrots
1 large yellow onion
1-2 stalks celery
Other veggies as desired, I often put in broccoli or mushrooms.
Beef gravy (from scratch or from a mix, I've done it either way.
Mustard
Spices to taste (rosemary, most Italian blends, anything you'd dump into most beef recipes, lots of garlic)
Red wine (splashes here and there)
2 cups worth mashed potatoes (More if you are my mother, I do believe the potatoes are her favorite part of the recipe.
1. Make/thaw the pie crust. As noted in the ingredients list, it's a good idea to pre-bake the crust a little, it keeps it from getting mushy when the filling is added in. If you are making the mashed potatoes by hand, chop the potatoes and start them boiling first.
2. Chop all veggies and saute in a large pan. When the onions are cooked through and you're starting to get little bits of brown on the veggies, add in the ground beef and spices, including a good squeeze of mustard. Cook through till all the beef is done, take off of heat.
3. Make the brown gravy, adding in a splash of wine, more mustard, and spices to this as well. Unless you are making this completely from scratch, you shouldn't need to add any salt, the gravy has plenty.
4. Dump beef and veggies into pie crust, pour the gravy over top, and cover filling with mashed potatoes. Bake in 400*F oven for 15 minutes.
5. If you're me, make some more gravy to pour over top of your slice when it's all done.
Variations: For those like my brother-in-law who aren't allowed a lot of potatoes, feel free to substitute mashed cauliflower for the mashed potatoes. I promise you, I have done this substitution and you cannot tell the difference.
In honor of the day, a pie-for-dinner recipe. This is my recipe for Shepherd's pie, which is pretty much my mother's recipe with slight modifications.
1 pie crust (either the frozen crust if you are lazy, or the Joy of Cooking one-crust pie crust recipe if you aren't) Pre-bake this for five minutes @400 F.
1 lb lean ground beef
1-2 carrots
1 large yellow onion
1-2 stalks celery
Other veggies as desired, I often put in broccoli or mushrooms.
Beef gravy (from scratch or from a mix, I've done it either way.
Mustard
Spices to taste (rosemary, most Italian blends, anything you'd dump into most beef recipes, lots of garlic)
Red wine (splashes here and there)
2 cups worth mashed potatoes (More if you are my mother, I do believe the potatoes are her favorite part of the recipe.
1. Make/thaw the pie crust. As noted in the ingredients list, it's a good idea to pre-bake the crust a little, it keeps it from getting mushy when the filling is added in. If you are making the mashed potatoes by hand, chop the potatoes and start them boiling first.
2. Chop all veggies and saute in a large pan. When the onions are cooked through and you're starting to get little bits of brown on the veggies, add in the ground beef and spices, including a good squeeze of mustard. Cook through till all the beef is done, take off of heat.
3. Make the brown gravy, adding in a splash of wine, more mustard, and spices to this as well. Unless you are making this completely from scratch, you shouldn't need to add any salt, the gravy has plenty.
4. Dump beef and veggies into pie crust, pour the gravy over top, and cover filling with mashed potatoes. Bake in 400*F oven for 15 minutes.
5. If you're me, make some more gravy to pour over top of your slice when it's all done.
Variations: For those like my brother-in-law who aren't allowed a lot of potatoes, feel free to substitute mashed cauliflower for the mashed potatoes. I promise you, I have done this substitution and you cannot tell the difference.