Recipe: Simple Shepherd's Pie

This isn't necessarily a lunch recipe, but it is a great dinner recipe, and I know that my daughter loves it enough to ask for it in her lunch, too.

I am aware that traditional shepherd's pie uses ground lamb, but I've always had it with ground beef.  Recently, I have been using ground turkey more and more, and like it just as well as with beef.  You could add onions to the meat, but my kids tend to pick onions out, so I didn't add them, since I wanted this to be something they would eat without grumping.  If you wanted, you could also add carrots and peas to the corn, but to me, corn alone is sufficient.  I also put shredded cheese on top, much to the delight of my kids.  Shredded sharp cheddar would be best, but I only had a Mexican blend on hand, and it was yummy, too.  I also used instant potato flakes to make my mashed potatoes, but it would of course be better with freshly made mashed potatoes.

So, in short, this is a basic recipe, and could be altered in any number of ways depending on your preferences.


Simple Shepherd's Pie

1 1/2 lb ground turkey or ground beef
3 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 cans corn, drained
6-8 servings mashed potatoes (instant or freshly made)
1/2 c shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, preferably)

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Spray a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray.

Cook ground meat in a large skillet until well browned.  Drain off fat.  Stir in worchestershire sauce and garlic powder and cook for an additional 5 minutes to integrate flavors.
Pour meat into the bottom of the baking pan.  Spread corn over meat, and then top with mashed potatoes.  Sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is well melted and corn is warmed through.