My Mom’s Shepherd’s Pie, Comfort in an Iron Skillet

My Mom’s Shepherd’s Pie Recipe,
Fall’s best comfort food in an iron skillet.
Hold the thought of food for cool weather
to keep you going until it actually arrives 🙂 .

 

 

What foods do you think of when the calendar flips from July to August?

The nights and mornings are getting cooler, signaling summer’s imminent departure.

And summer’s departure means the best season ever: Autumn.

And the comfort foods that are synonymous with cooler weather.

 

Comfort foods your family ate are high priority on the list.

My mother always did the roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy thing for Sunday lunch.

She never got out of the habit of making lots of food.

I don’t think one does get used to cooking for a few when the best times in the kitchen are the days when you have a bunch of hungry mouths to feed. That’s the voice of experience. I’m always more enthused about cooking when it’s for more than two or three.

So when Mom had left over roast beef and mashed potatoes, guess what she made?

 

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More Family Comfort Foods

Amazing Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Tenders, the Perfect Fall Comfort Food

Healthy Fall Bowtie Pasta Salad With Kale and Quinoa

Delicious Raisin Oatmeal Cookies: Like Great-Grandma’s

Fall Plus Harvest Equals Delicious Apple Desserts

 

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Shepherd’s Pie.

I hated it when I was young. It reminded me of stuff we flung onto the slop pile behind the shed.

I love, love, love the memory of Shepherd’s Pie now.

Just goes to show, age brings wisdom.

Since I never have leftover roast beef, I think I’ll add it to my grocery list and make leftovers.

 

 

What is Shepherd’s Pie?

Traditionally, Shepherd’s Pie is made with ground lamb. British shepherd’s wives used the meat they had available to make this hearty dish to satisfy the appetites of their hardworking men. And hungry families. Who perhaps worked like men, too. If they were shepherds. (I wonder what they fed their dogs? Those trusty, sheep herder dogs they couldn’t get along without.)

If ground beef is substituted for the lamb, it’s technically called Cottage Pie.

But on our prairie chicken farm we didn’t know anything about lamb, and so pie made with meat and mashed potatoes was called Shepherd’s Pie. Also, we didn’t have Guinness or wine in the house, which the British seemed to use in many recipes, so mom used gravy to moisten the meat. I suspect they were cold after a day in the pastures, so spirits were infused into the food to help them warm up from the inside. Oh, wait a minute. Would that work after it was heated??

The result is the best leftovers you’ll ever eat.

 

 

My Mom’s Shepherd’s Pie

There are no amounts listed for this recipe, because you use what you have, in the proportions you prefer.

If meat is your priority, then a thin layer of mashed potatoes is enough. And vice versa.

I like to add green beans between the meat and the mashed potatoes, but mixed veggies are awesome, too.

And gravy. Lots of brown flavor-filled beef gravy.

If you want a detailed recipe, head to this website for step-by-steps and pretty pictures.

My mom used ketchup if she used any red stuff. Which she didn’t with leftover roast beef. Only when she used hamburger, which was very seldom. Hamburger wasn’t in her repertoire when her family was young. She knew how to butcher her own meat, thank you very much. Why would anyone make hamburger?

 

 

Enjoy!