Shepherd's Pie

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

There's nothing like country home cooking (or Irish style cooking). This is a childhood favorite that I haven't had since my childhood. You do have to cook all the ingredients before baking it in the oven, but the time is well worth it. It's a great hearty meal for these cold winter days!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 8 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 package mushroom mix gravy
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 3/4 cup water
• 16 oz. bag frozen green peas, thawed
• 3 cups mashed potatoes (4 new potatoes)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut potatoes into quarters and boil until softened. Drain and beat with hand mixer.

While potatoes are boiling, cook onion in a skillet with olive oil over medium heat. When onions are soft and browned, add ground beef to the skillet. Continue to cook until beef is cooked, breaking up large chunks of meat. Then add mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in mushroom mix gravy and mix well. Add wine and water and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for a few minutes until mixture thickens.

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray then transfer meat mixture to the dish. Layer green peas on top, then mashed potatoes. Add parmesan cheese on top and a little pepper.

Bake in oven for approx. 25 minutes or until mashed potatoes are lightly browned.

Yield: 4 servings