The Best Shepherd's Pie I Have Ever Made

The Best Shepherd's Pie I Have Ever Made

5 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained
4 cups beef bouillon
4 tsp tomato bouillon powder
10 tbsp flour
4 tsp Worschestire sauce
3lbs red potatoes, washed and boiled until soft
1 bulb fresh garlic
2 cups half and half
1 stick butter or margarine
4 cups cheddar

Mix beef bouillon, tomato bouillon powder, flour and Worschestire sauce in a blender or high speed mixer to create the sauce.  After cooking beef, drain grease and add the sauce.  Cook until the sauce thickens slightly and layer in the bottom of a casserole pan. 

Using a garlic press, smash the garlic cloves from one bulb.  Add the smashed garlic to a small sauce pan with the half and half and margarine or butter.  Bring to a gentle boil (continuously stirring), and pour the mixture over the red potatoes.  Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until they reach the texture you desire.  Spread the mashed potatoes over the beef mixture in the casserole pan.  Top the potatoes with the cheddar cheese and bake at 325 degree for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce starts to bubble around the edges of the melted cheese.  I always broil mine for a few minutes afterwards, to brown the cheese a little, but that is all about personal preference.  Enjoy!

Ham and Potato Casserole

I have to make something tonight that the kids can eat tomorrow with very little fuss, so I am making a casserole for them.  They can either pop it in the oven tomorrow night, or I can do it later this evening and they can just heat portions up in the microwave.  I haven't decided yet.

Ham and Potato Casserole

2 pounds ham
3 pounds red potatoes or 1 bag of frozen southern style hashbrown potatoes
2 can cream of mushroom soup
Dash of Worcestershire sauce (I only use Lea & Perrins)
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

This one is really easy.  Let's start with the potatoes.  Slice them into cubes and boil until tender.  If you use the pre-cut hashbrown style potatoes in the frozen section, toss them in a pot and boil them for 8 minutes.  I love these in a pinch, they make for a much faster prep.  Drain your potatoes and put them in the bottom of a casserole dish.  I have Pyrex now.  I used to use my super-awesome Pampered Chef stoneware casserole pan, but that was decimated a few moves ago.  Throw in your cream of mushroom soup.  I used to use Campbell's, but I have found that for this, you really don't taste it much anyhow, so store brand works just as well for half the price.  There have been a few times that I substituted cream of potato when one of the girls was here for dinner who hates mushrooms, and that works just fine, too.  Add one can's worth of water to the mix and stir well.  Dash in some of that yummy Worcestershire sauce (to taste, though I have been known to use as much as a quarter of a bottle on this meal) and mix that in as well.  Slice up your ham and stir that in.  Sprinkle your cheese evenly across the top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until your cheese is as bubbly as you like it.  I like to zap it under the broiler for a minute or two at the end to brown my cheese a bit, but it is entirely up to you.  Super easy, especially on busy work/school nights, and the kids love this one!