Irish Guinness Shepherd Pie

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I had a couple of leftovers that I did not want to go to waste. So I gathered my extra veggies and mash potatoes and added some ground beef to make an interesting shepherd pie.

It came out wonderfully, my kids loved it. For me the greatest part was being creative and not wasteful with what I had. Here is a recipe of a shepherd pie that I tweaked a little. 

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon black pepper
16 ounces ground beef or lamb
1 large onion, finely diced
3-4 large carrots, finely diced
1 cup frozen peas
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 bottle Guinness
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup stock
1 large quantity mashed potatoes (estimating 6 cups, fresh or leftover)


Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 400°. Saute′ carrots in the olive oil until starting to get tender. Add in the onions and sauté for a minute or two, and then add the meat. Season with black pepper and thyme. Cook until browned then drain fat. Add the butter and peas. Sprinkle with flour and stir through. Add tomato paste, Guinness and Worcestershire sauce. Let this reduce slightly then add the chicken stock. Allow to reduce down until you have thick meaty gravy. Season to your taste. Remove from heat. Grease a 9 x 13” oven proof dish with butter and add the sauce. Spoon mashed potatoes on top.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potato is nice and browned on top. 

A great meal to serve on a cold wintery day!