Cottage Pie

“Nothing says lovin’ like something from the oven”…old commercial song that still lives on in truth with families today! I have childhood memories of walking in the neighborhood past open windows with smells of dinners to come wafting out. Guess I was a ‘foodie’ before the word was invented. Food smells are firmly imprinted on our brains at an early age and can take us to the past with a mere whiff. Homemade fried chicken, the only kind around when I was a kid, is a favorite smell memory. My Honey tells of smelling his grandmother’s kitchen from the next block His Hispanic roots come complete with specific ethnic smell memories. I guess mine were more regional than ethnic. I grew up in coastal Texas so ours is more a combination of Southern – seafood -country living. Fresh veggies out of grandparent’s gardens, seafood from the bay or gulf and all the old Southern traditional foods made up our culinary roots. Just try to think about a pot of beans and cornbread without having a smell memory, I dare you.

The recipe today is another Food Tweaked a Bit recipe. It is based on the old familiar Sheppard’s Pie, which, by the way, to be an ‘official’ Sheppard’s pie would be made with mutton. Mutton is not easy to find in our south Texas hill country grocery stores so we are using ground beef. You could use ground pork or chicken or turkey…..doesn’t matter. Your spices might need a tweaking to be more suited to the meat of choice tho.

One thing I have to say before we start…..regardless of how your momma cooked veggies, please do not over cook them. My mother boiled every vegetable to death! All the nutrients washed out, colors changed or disappeared and texture…well, there was none unless you consider mushy to be a texture. So in my recipes, unless otherwise stated, mushy veggies do not come into play. This one has mashed potatoes. I make this recipe when I have left over potatoes from another meal. Even left over baked potatoes can be transformed into mashed potatoes, don’t be legalistic in your meal planning.

Cottage Pie

1 lb ground beef…fat content up to you based on dietary issues or preference

½ med onion white or yellow diced

3 cloves garlic peeled and finely diced

2 handfuls of frozen corn – appx ¼ bag

2 handfuls of frozen green peas – appx ¼ bag

2-3 cups of mashed potatoes, great for leftover mashed potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil = two turns around the pan with bottle oil

Salt, pepper, touch of ground cinnamon, Paprika, Worchester sauce

Brown ground meat, diced onions and garlic in olive oil. Drain off some of the meat fat if using high fat content meat. Season with salt & pepper to taste, add pinch of cinnamon and splash of Worchester sauce. When almost cooked thru, throw in the frozen corn and green peas. Turn off heat immediately; we want the frozen veggies to cook in oven so they do not get mushy. Pour meat mixture in a deep dish pie plate. Dollop mashed potatoes around top of meat & veggies, then spread to completely cover top of mixture like meringue on a pie. I sprinkle a little paprika on top for color. Place in 425* oven until hot and bubbly. Potatoes may start to brown a bit.

Cool a few minutes before cutting. It will not hold completely together like a pie but it is still pretty dense.

This dish is easy to put together, makes about 6 servings. Can be made ahead and baked at meal time. Remember, we are after healthy meals with color, budget and nutrition in mind that can be simple and quick to make. Let me know if it works for you!