Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Artistry in Food, Music, and Life

{Guest Post} My version of Shepherd’s Pie: a tribute to my mom’s cooking

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Shepherd's Pie
My mom is a great cook.  No, she isn’t a famous chef or an accomplished graduate of any culinary institute.  She just cooked the way her mom cooked.  And I’m sure Grandma learned from her mom and so on and so on all the way back to my ancestors crushing strange berries and leaves with a rock outside of some cave somewhere.  I’m really happy that my mom always made food a big deal in our lives.

When my sister and I were kids, our mom always included us in the kitchen. We often tested out different, interesting foods.  Colorful and exciting fruits and vegetables found in the far reaches of the produce section always made it into our cart.  The cans that collected dust on the high shelves because everyone else passed them by looked appealing to us.  We tried everything.

Now that I’m a mom myself, I love to cook.  One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is  whip up a concoction of whatever is in the fridge.  It reminds me of being a kid in the kitchen with my mom.  The other day, I came up with a version of Shepherd’s Pie that I’d like to share with you.  It may not be a traditional Shepherd’s Pie, but I will call it that just the same.
I like it the way it is, but by ALL means change it around to suit your tastes.  In my opinion, that’s the only way to cook.


Cindy’s Shepherd’s Pie


1 lb ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
1 small chopped carrot
Handful of frozen corn
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
2 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in 1/2 c hot water
Thickening agent- either 1 Tbsp flour or 1 tsp corn starch – dissolved in 3/4 cup water

Topping:
3 cups prepared mashed potatoes (instant works just fine)
1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
1 tsp minced chives

Brown the ground beef and onion together in a pan.  Add the carrots, corn, Worcestershire  sauce and beef bouillon mixture.  Stir in thickening mixture and let it come to a short boil.  Turn off the stove and pour the mixture into a large pie plate or lasagna pan.  

Mix the mashed potatoes, cheese and chives together.  Dollop the potato mixture on top of the beef mixture and spread it across.  Don’t worry about it covering the whole top.  It looks more “rustic” if it’s kind of messy.  

Sprinkle the top with a little more cheddar cheese and bake the whole thing at 375 about 30 minutes or until it bubbles over and the top looks crispy.


There you go!  Grab a loaf of crusty bread and you are all set for dinner.  Eating this dish will always remind me of my mom’s cooking…  although she most certainly would make it much better than I ever could.

Picture0062Cindy Dudas is a work-at-home mom who started blogging as a way to get her feelings out there.  She is a freelance writer currently writing for the Parental Guidance section of NJ.com and her own blog Whatever Works.  

About Noelle

I’m an opera singer, full-time mom, pharmacy technician, food and mom blogger, recipe developer, and wife to a super talented choral director living in the awesome outskirts of Philly.