Shepherd's Pie

This is a family standard for cold whether, and is so enjoyed that we brave the oven-heat and eat it in summer too.

In reality, I suppose this version is "Cottage Pie" since we use beef mince instead of lamb, but whatever. IS TASTY.

YOU NEED:

• mince meat
• herbs
  
• vegies
• onion
• stock cubes
• water
• mashed potato
• cheese
• flour
• oil
• large, greased, ovendish
  

START:

The best place to start is with your mashed potatoes. They'll boil while you're cooking everything else, so get chopping. MAKE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED. I'm serious. For Shepherd's Pie I usually use 7-8 good sized potatoes (quite a bit more than I use as a side dish), and theres barely enough. MAKE LOTS.

You could also turn your oven on to about 230 celcius, and grease your oven dish - it makes cleaning at the end a little easier.

Chop your onion as small as you want. I don't like onion so I cut it as small as I can be bothered. Brown it in some oil, then add your mince - we use about 1kg (2lb), and it makes 2 meals for our family of 3 (bub desnt count yet). If you want, you can add a sprinkle of mixed herbs as well. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

While your meat is browning, start making your stock. You want it double strength, which is why we're using stock cubes instead of ready-made. Take 2 cubes of OXO (or wahtever you use) and crumble them into ONE portion of boiling water - usually about 1cup. MIX WELL.

Once your meat is browned, add your stock, and about 1 tablespoon of flour, sprinkled over. Mix it up. If its too liquidy, add a little more flour. Too dry, add more water. Once its as you like it, dump it into your dish, and spread it out evenly.

Add some vegies. We use a frozen bag of peas corn and carrots - about 1cup, mixed through the meat.why yes, that is a patch over on one side with no vegies. I can't stand cooked carrot, and peas make me want to be sick. Want to make something of it?

Now, time to add your mash. Start at the edges. Mush the mash up against the walls of the pan, making a sort of seal. Spread it thickly, and gently, or you'll just end up pushing at around and bringing the meat with it. If it starts to come up, add more. Once you've done the outside, work inwards. You'll be surprised at how much it takes. This is why I said to MAKE LOTS.

Sprinkle some cheese on top, using whatever you have handy - I usually use a combination of mozarella, tasty, and parmesan, but like I said, use whatever. Then whack it in your oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese has browned.

SERVE!!! We eat it as is, but you could add naything you wanted I suppose.

Go! EAT!!