Shepherd's Pie

This is Vanessa Sutton's recipe.


Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef
2 small-medium onions, chopped small (about 2 cups)
1 cup celery, chopped small
1 cup frozen peas
2 brown gravy packets (the McCormick brand works well)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
16 servings of instant mashed potatoes (prepared according to pkg directions) (a 13.75 box of Betty Crocker Potato Buds works, or 8 cups of real mashed potatoes would work too)

Have a large skillet and spatula brown the beef, make sure the spatula breaks up the beef so there are no large clumps remaining. When most of the pink is gone, add onion and celery and cook until veggies are soft and clear. Add peas. Let it cook 3-4 minutes to thaw the peas.

In a bowl mix the gravy powder with 1/2 cup water until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups hot water to gravy and stir. Pour gravy over beef, stirring until gravy thickens so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper. Transfer beef mixture to a 9x13 pan.

Prepare the instant (or not) mashed potatoes and carefully spread them over the beef as you would a thick layer of frosting. Dust it with paprika to give it a little color. Cover with foil and heat in a 350 degree oven until warmed through--about 20 minutes.


Thaw frozen pan, then heat until warmed through in a 350 degree oven. Enjoy!

Julia