Pantry Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Last year February 2019, I was looking around in our Pantry and I decided that it was too full of things that we never ate. So I convinced Andrew to join me in a one month "Pantry Challenge."

 

The rules were that we could only eat out of our pantry, plus fruits, veggies and meats. Little did we know that we were preparing for today!

 

So this week I challenged Andrew to make "Pantry Shepherd's Pie." He used his mom's recipe and tweaked it based on what we had available:

 

You'll Need (but feel free to make substitutions!):

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

4-5 large russet potatoes

Milk, cream or half & half

Butter

1-2 large Onions

Carrots and assorted veggies (peas, corn, green beans)

2 lbs ground beef

Worcestershire Sauce

Garlic

Flour

Chicken Stock

Shredded cheddar cheese

 

Serving size: 6-12, depending on how hungry you are

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Mashed Potatoes:
Dice 4-5 large russet potatoes (feel free to leave skin on if you'd like).

 
Boil cut potatoes in salted water till soft.
Move on to vegetables and beef while potatoes boil.

 
Mash or whip potatoes with milk/cream and lots of butter (8-16 tablespoons 😉).

 
Salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetables:
Add about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium temperature skillet.
Sautee about 1-2 large diced onions (reserve some for the beef) and cook for a few minutes on medium heat.

Add 3 large diced carrots and continue to cook for about 5-10 minutes.
Optional, add 1 1/2 cup of cut green beans.

If at any time the veggies start to burn, feel free to lower the temperature slightly. You can also add some stock and/or oil to the skillet to prevent burning. Season with salt and pepper to taste at each step.

Add one whole can of sweet corn (frozen can also be substituted).
Turn the temperature down to medium-low heat and add 2-3 heaping tablespoons of minced garlic (or to taste, but err on the side of more garlic 😉).
Add 1 cup of frozen peas then lower the temperature.

 

Once cooked, set all the vegetables aside in a casserole pan or pyrex baking dish.

Beef:
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same sautee pan.
Sautee 1/4 of an onion minced. Season with salt and pepper at each step.
Add ground beef after a few minutes.
Add 2-4 tablespoons (or more) of Worcestershire Sauce.
Add garlic minced.

Cook ground beef till thoroughly done on medium temperature in pan.

Gravy:
Once the ground beef is cooked, make a slurry with 2 tablespoons of flour and 4 tablespoons of cold water or chicken stock. Incorporate slurry into the meat. Add more flour or more stock/water to thicken or thin out the gravy as needed.

Incorporate the vegetables back into the beef. Mix thoroughly and put the whole mixture back into your baking dish.

Spread mashed potatoes evenly over the top. Add shredded cheese to the top. Option, add pepper.

Bake in a 350 degree oven till cheese has browned (about 15-20 minutes).

With love, Kate & Andrew