Shepherd's Pie

 Meat Filling:

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 lb. lean ground beef

2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 cup mixed peas & carrots

1/2 corn kernels

Potato Topping:

1 1/2-2 lbs. russet potatoes

8 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup half & half

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Make the Meat Filling.

Add the oil to a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the ground beef to the skillet and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Add the parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the meat is brown, stirring occasionally.

Add the Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute.

Add the flour and tomato paste. Stir until well incorporated and no clumps of tomato paste remain.

Add the broth, peas and carrots, and corn. Bring the liquid to a boil then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Set mixture aside.

Make the potato topping.

Place the potatoes in a large pot. Cover the potatoes with water. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender, 10-15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes. Let the potatoes rest in the hot pot for 1 minute to evaporate any remaining liquid.

Add butter, half & half, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mash the potatoes and stir until all the ingredients are mixed together.

Add the parmesan cheese to the potatoes. Stir until well combined.

Assemble the casserole.

Pour the meat mixture into a 9x9 or 7x11 inch baking dish. Spread out into an even layer. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the meat. Carefully spread into an even layer.

If the baking dish looks full, place it on a baking sheet so that the filling doesn't bubble over into your oven. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

It may be easier to make either the meat mixture or potatoes ahead of time. The original recipe is found here. I made this while we were doing whole30. I had to make a few substitutions. Instead of Worcestershire sauce, I used coconut amino. I used almond flour instead of wheat flour. For the potato topping, I had to leave out the butter, half & half, and parmesan. I added some almond milk and coconut oil which isn't the same. We put some nutritional yeast seasoning on top as a faux parmesan flavor.

When Chelsey and I were first dating, we drove down to Salt Lake from Smithfield to have lunch with my sisters. On the way down, I stopped to get gas. It had been raining and a car splashed a gas water puddle on me as I was filling up. I wasn't happy about it and when I got back in the truck, the smell really bothered Chelsey. She kept complaining about the smell and I was in a bad mood because of it. I stopped again and tried to clean it off but it didn't do much good. This was probably the first "fight/disagreement" we ever had.

We met my sisters at Cheesecake Factory that is known for its big menu. While we were looking at the menu, my sister points out Shepherd's Pie and asks who's orders Shepherd's Pie at a restaurant. Then Chelsey decided to order Shepherd's Pie. My sisters laughed about that for a long time after we were married.