30 Minute Shepard's Pie

 

 

Ugh.  I look at the above picture and think "what the heck was I thinking serving this with watermelon?"  One word. Toddler.

 

This was the first time I had made this recipe, and I was afraid my toddler wouldn't eat any of.  Yeah, I'm one of "those" moms that make one meal.  And if I'm 2 year old, doesn't at least try it (I have recently started requiring 3 bites thanks to some friends)... he has to sit until Justin and I are done.  

 

And if you know my kid, "sitting" isn't in his vocab.  He's a stander. Stands when he bathes, stands when eats... I'm afraid he's going to be a stander when he poops.  God help me.

 

So I thought, he loves watermelon - at least we can have him eat that. 

 

Well we both were pleasantly surprised that not only did he enjoy the Shepard's pie, but so did we!  I accidentally had poured more pepper than the recipe called, but in fact Justin said he enjoyed the additional peppery taste.

 

Score! Please just ignore the top of the picture above - as I did my best to cover the watermelon.  SMH.

 

But this recipe was easy, fast and delicious.  Plus you most likely will have all the ingredients between your frig and pantry. 

 

I found this version on Campbell's website (HERE).



 

•  1 lbs of ground beef (I use 85/15)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tablespoon of ketchup
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper
• 1 cup of diced frozen peas and carrots
• 2.5 cups of milk
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 2 cups of instant mashed potato flakes

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

 

Brown the meat in a skillet, add onions, and cook until the onion is soft. If there is any fat or a large abundance of grease, drain it.

 

As the meat is browning, put the milk and butter in a 2 quart microwave safe bowl. Heat it up for 5 minutes.  Remove from the microwave and stir in the potato flakes. The potatoes should not be smoothy but stiff.   Put aside.

 

Stir in the soup, frozen veggies, black pepper and ketchup into the meat and onions. Once the mix started bubbling, I spooned it into a greased pie plate (normal 9" pie plate).

 

 

Top the meat mixture with spoonfuls of the mashed potatoes.

 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are lightly browned.

 

I was too hungry to be patient so there were only a few browned potato spots.  :)

 

Let it sit for about 5 minutes and serve.

 

 

--shorter version for your cookbook---

 

 

 http://www.stayin-afloat.com/p/30-minute-shepards-pie.html

 

• 1 lbs of ground beef (I use 85/15)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tablespoon of ketchup
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper
• 1 cup of diced frozen peas and carrots
• 2.5 cups of milk
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 2 cups of instant mashed potato flakes

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Brown the meat in a skillet, add onions, and cook until the onion is soft. If there is any fat or a large abundance of grease, drain it.

As the meat is browning, put the milk and butter in a 2 quart microwave safe bowl. Heat it up for 5 minutes. Remove from the microwave and stir in the potato flakes. The potatoes should not be smoothy but stiff. Put aside.

Stir in the soup, frozen veggies, black pepper and ketchup into the meat and onions. Once the mix started bubbling, I spooned it into a greased pie plate (normal 9" pie plate).

Top the meat mixture with spoonfuls of the mashed potatoes.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are lightly browned.

Let it sit for about 5 minutes and serve.