Do you ever just get to a point where you have no idea what to cook for dinner?? I hate to say that I get that more often than I like!! So one day, many years ago, I was on the phone with my good friend Ginger and I mentioned that I was lost for what to cook. She told me when she gets to those days, she just cooks her family favorite “Shepherd’s Pie”. At this point, I had never heard of this dish so I was intrigued. She started telling me the ingredients and I just had to try it. It combined so many things that I LOVE!
So, I thawed out some ground meat and started looking at the veggies I had on hand. At that moment, I had corn and carrots which is what I used in this recipe today but there are other options as well!
Over the years, I have changed it somewhat and made it my own, and it has definitely become one of our ‘family favorites’.
Jump to RecipeFirst things first, you need to brown the ground meat, remove from the skillet and then drain most of the grease. Do not scrape out the bits that are left!! Now, I do not find where ground meat has a ‘taste’. I think it needs help to be flavorful. With that being said, I know that the drippings are going to help with the beef flavor in the dish. Even though I remove most of the grease from the meat, I add butter to help saute the onions and also because butter just makes things better!
When you cook your onions, you still want them to be recognizable, you’re not thickening a sauce with these onions so they don’t need to be cooked down too much, just until tender. One thing I’ve incorporated is a McCormick Au Jus packet and a can of beef consomme. Bring this to a boil then allow it to reduce to a nice thick sauce. If you don’t have consomme you can use beef broth but it will take longer to reduce and may need a little cornstarch slurry to help thicken up.
I find this adds so much flavor and keeps the dish from being dry. Since you reduced it, it also won’t make your pie too liquidy. NOTE: This does have a good bit of sodium so between that and the worcestershire sauce, I don’t add any additional salt. My husband loves his salt (not me so much) but he finds this dish is perfectly salted as is.
It’s going to be thin to start 
Once reduced, it will turn quite dark and should stick to your spoon
Once you’ve added the meat and veggies to the reduction, let it heat through. Now at this point, you could honestly cook up a pot of rice or pasta and call it a day. But when I get a chance to eat mashed potatoes and cheese I take it!!
I just want to throw this out there for you, this example is with carrots and corn but try adding other veggies if you’d like! Needless to say, this is a great way to use up leftover veggies from the night before! I’ve done this with green beans, sweet peas, and even baby lima beans. If you use frozen beans just make note that they will need to be cooked a little before you add them. If you boil them in water for about 30 minutes that should be good.
Once the dish is put together, place it in the oven and watch for it to start bubbling on the sides. This should take about 10 minutes. Everything is cooked, you’re just wanting to bring everything to the same temperature and be heated through. I know there are a lot of recipes out there that simply stop with the potato topping but in my kitchen, I like to take things a step further. Cheese and potatoes are like Rachelle and Ross to me – they just BELONG TOGETHER!! If you don’t care for cheese, leave it off, the dish will still be great! If you add it, it only takes about 8 minutes to get nice and bubbly.
Southern Sheppard’s Pie
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Meat cooked, fat drained
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup frozen carrots
- 1 packet McCormick's Au Jus mix
- 1 can Beef Consomme
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- Mashed Potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°
- Brown ground meat and drain
- In the same skillet, add onions and cook till tender
- Add and whisk together beef consomme, Au Jus packet, black pepper, and worcestershire sauce. Bring to simmer and allow to reduce by ½
- Once reduced to a thickened sauce, return meat to skillet, add veggies and heat through.
- Transfer mixture to cassarole dish, cover with mashed potatoes and place uncovered in oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until potatoes start to brown on the peaks.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake an additional 10 minutes.