Shepherd's Pie

I figured that since I am Irish and I missed being able to make a meal for St. Patrick's Day that I should probably make up for it this weekend.  Especially since I have so many vegetables to use up!

I started off by making the potato crust. First I boiled the potatoes and a lot of garlic cloves, then added sour cream, butter, salt, black pepper and a bit of beef broth, mashed this really well and set aside for later use.

Then I made the filling. I used about two of my spring onions, coarsely chopped, and sauteed them in some olive oil until soft. I added a bit of sugar and cooked just until they started to caramelize and then I added about a pound of ground beef. This was cooked until brown and then I added chard (yellow and red), gold beets (because I am out of carrots), frozen peas, a bit of chopped red bell pepper, minced garlic and some salt and pepper. I cooked this just until the vegetables became soft and added a bit of flour and some diced tomatoes until mixed. A bit of beef broth and a can of beer was added next along with some chopped fresh rosemary.  I let this simmer about 20 minutes until the liquid started to cook away.

Once the filling was done, I sprayed a glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, added the filling to the dish and topped with the potato mixture.  I baked this, uncovered, for about 40 minutes and then I sprinkled the top with shredded cheddar cheese and paprika. This was then baked for another 10 minutes.

This turned out great! It was a bit more liquidy than I think it was supposed to be, but everyone, including the picky eaters, loved it!! I also got to make some room in my fridge. I especially loved that I was able to get everyone to eat beets and the potatoes with the cheese on top was a really good idea!