Shepherd's Pie

The last time I attempted Shepherd's Pie, it was a dismal failure lost in a sea of Campbells cream of mushroom soup. Bland. Colorless. Awful.

So I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com that didn't use cream of anything at all.

Problem: I didn't print it out. I just wrote down the ingredients to pick up at the grocery store. Then when I came home, I couldn't remember which recipe I'd been looking at. (If you look at the original, you'll see it's "Shepherds Pie VI.") So, I kinda did it from memory. I did alright, but I was skimpy with the beef broth and it came out a tad too dry for my husband's taste. But I liked it. I love that there's a whole layer of bright orange carrots!

Also, I used potato flakes instead of real potatoes! We bought a big ol' box of them at Costco and...I use them when I can, because I'm not huge fan of potatoes. Unless they're sweet potatoes. Or french fries.

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1 lb carrots, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup frozen peas

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ketchup

3/4 cup beef broth

1 packet Idaho potato flakes

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash and set aside.

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup, beef broth and frozen peas. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of mashed carrots. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.