Cottageshepherdspie Recipes

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan and fry 1¼ kg beef mince until browned - you may need to do this in batches. Set aside as it browns.
• Put the other 2 tbsp olive oil into the pan, add 2 finely chopped onions, 3 chopped carrots and 3 chopped celery sticks and cook on a gentle heat until soft, about 20 mins.
• Add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, 3 tbsp plain flour and 1 tbsp tomato purée, increase the heat and cook for a few mins, then return the beef to the pan.
• Pour over a large glass of red wine, if using, and boil to reduce it slightly before adding the 850ml beef stock, 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, a few thyme sprigs and 2 bay leaves.
• Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 45 mins. By this time the gravy should be thick and coating the meat. Check after about 30 mins - if a lot of liquid remains, increase the heat slightly to reduce the gravy a little. Season well, then discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks.
• Meanwhile, make the mash. In a large saucepan, cover the 1.8kg potatoes which you've peeled and chopped, in salted cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender.
• Drain well, then allow to steam-dry for a few mins. Mash well with the 225ml milk, 25g butter, and three-quarters of the 200g strong cheddar cheese, then season with freshly grated nutmeg and some salt and pepper.
• Spoon the meat into 2 ovenproof dishes. Pipe or spoon on the mash to cover. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.
• If eating straight away, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and cook for 25-30 mins, or until the topping is golden.
• If you want to use a slow cooker, brown your mince in batches then tip into your slow cooker and stir in the vegetables, flour, purée, wine, stock, Worcestershire sauce and herbs with some seasoning. Cover and cook on High for 4-5 hours. Make the mash following the previous steps, and then oven cook in the same way to finish.

Steps:

• =Preheat oven 350°F.
• =Peel and boil about 4 potatoes for about 20 minutes.
• =Fry 1lb of Hamburger, when done drain and rinse off.
• =Add 1 can of tomato soup to hamburger and mix until all meat is covered. Shut burner off.
• =Take any Cake pan or Casserole dish and add the hamburger with tomato soup and spread evenly .
• =Drain 1 can(14.5oz) of Green beans and (15.25 oz) corn and spread evenly across the top of Hamburger.
• =Drain potatoes and add about 1/3 cup of milk,4 tbs of butter, dash of salt,and pepper. Mash until the potatoes are as smooth as possible. if its still thick u can add more butter or milk. doesnt matter which. I prefer to add more butter.
• =Add the mashed potatoes to the top of the hamburgar and vegetables. and spread evenly across. The amounts of potatoes is up to u. (I like it thick, My husband likes it thin).
• =Take kraft cheese slices or the equvilant and add each slice evenly and closely to each other across the top of the potatoes.You can double the amount of the cheese in case You like lots of cheese.
• =When your oven is preheated to about 350F set inside untill the cheese is melted or untill it is warm.The size of your pan is determined on how long to bake it. the thicker the pan is then set the oven on a lower setting and cook untill it is at your desired warmth.
• I hope You enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Steps:

• Peel and quarter potatoes and set them in a pot of water to boil (on high).
• In a large pan on the stove, quick fry the onions in the olive oil (maybe 2 minutes), until they are translucent- NOT burned.
• Add the minced garlic to the onions and fry for 30 sec to 1 minute longer.
• Add the lean (or extra lean) ground beef.
• Fry the beef/ onions until the beef is BROWN. Not gray. BROWN. Some bits might stick to the bottom. That's flavour, that's good. If there is a lot of fat, try to drain some off.
• In a bowl mix a couple teaspoons of water with the Oxo packets (or just use fresh beef stock), and deglaze the pan with the beef stock.
• Add your salt and pepper now too- I find it takes quite a lot of salt. Almost half a teaspoon.
• Next, add the flour to the remaining water and blend it well.
• Pour it into the beef/onion/stock mixture and let it thicken for a few minutes. I stir vigorously here so that there aren't any "lumps" in the gravy.
• Once the 'gravy' is thick, I add the veggies. Usually I use frozen, and just keep adding them until I think there are enough.
• By this time, your potatoes should be ready to mash.
• Salt, butter, milk and mash, until your potatoes are thick and creamy.
• Then, here's my trick (Thank You, Alton Brown)- I add a raw egg and mash the heck out of all of it. The egg helps the potatoes stay 'together' and brown nicely. Try it one time, and if you don't like it, leave the egg out next time.
• Pour the meat mixture into a cassarole dish (size depends on whether you like a "deep" pie).
• Top with the potatoes. I have a friend who puts some shredded cheese on top. I've had it, it's pretty good, but I prefer plain potatoes with a smidgen of butter smeared around the top.
• Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, or until the top is nice and golden brown. Or, freeze it unbaked, well wrapped in saran wrap and tinfoil. Just remember to take the saran wrap off, because I forgot once, and that's a mess you just don't want to think about.