Cottage Pie

Kenneth got a new bike on Wednesday - it's a recumbent trike which his back surgeon had mentioned prior to the surgery and Kenneth's been researching ever since. We cleared it with the surgeon for him to start riding one (and he got the ok to start swimming so hopefully he and Kent will be able to make use of the pool at Kenneth's grandmother's complex over the next 3 weeks before he heads out) so he went and picked up the one he had his eye on! It's very cool looking, and allows his back to be in a much better position than a traditional bike and he seemed to feel just fine riding it and felt good afterwards too. We pulled out Kenneth's mountain bike and filled the tires back up with air for me and we took the bikes to the Silver Comet Trail and rode for about a half hour and almost did 5 miles. It was perfect weather for bike riding - pretty warm out, but moving kept the breeze on our faces which felt great, and the Trail is really nice and shady! The only thing that didn't work out so well for us was that we didn't plan dinner around the bike ride and I was fixing scalloped potatoes with the intent to ride after eating, but it was taking so long Kenneth said throw it in the fridge and we'll eat when we get home. Well, we got home at 7:30 and the potatoes took an hour to cook! So it was a LATE dinner for us, the boys were starving but dinner was awesome so all was well that ended well. :) I'll be getting those recipes up soon, but in the mean time here's a Cottage Pie recipe we had the other day that was delicious (I was told the difference between Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie is one uses lamb and the other beef, so I'm going with "Cottage Pie" despite the name of the original recipe)! A simple, hearty and very tasty all-in-one dinner! It reheats well too, but the mashed potatoes do get pretty thick after refrigerating since they don't have any liquid in them to thin them down a little.

Starting with the ingredients: salt, pepper, butter, Worcestershire, peas & carrots, potatoes, ground beef, onion, beef broth, flour and ketchup!

Diced up one small white onion.

Tossed the onion in with the ground beef in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.

Cooked until onion was tender and beef was browned then drained off the grease.

Returned the meat to the pan after draining off the grease and added in flour, stirred in completely and let that cook for a minute.

Next came the ketchup.

Followed by the beef broth.

And last but not least the Worcestershire sauce!

Meanwhile I had already diced and boiled the potatoes during this time and they were ready to mash after being drained.

Pressed a few times to start the mashing process!

Then added in the butter and continued mashing and blending that in.

Followed by the cheddar cheese.

Looking cheesy!

I salted and peppered to taste and let that sit while I finished assembling the pie.

The ground beef mixture had simmered a few minutes and was ready to pour into the bottom of the casserole dish.

I rinsed and drained the frozen veggies.

Those went in next!

Distributed evenly over the meat mixture.

Next came the thick and creamy mashed potatoes!

And a sprinkling of cheddar to finish it off!

Ready to pop in the oven!

20 minutes later, piping hot, lightly browned and melted! Yumm!

All plated up and ready to enjoy! We all really enjoyed this dish! Quick for a weeknight dinner, simple ingredients we pretty much always have on hand (my favorite kind of dish)! I usually like to bake up a loaf of whole wheat Irish soda bread to go with this meal, but didn't make time for it on this occasion, but it makes a wonderful accompaniment.

Slightly modified from the original Shepherd's Pie VI recipe by Jacquie from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1 12-oz package mixed frozen vegetables (such as carrots and peas), thawed and rinsed
1 small to medium onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ketchup
3/4 cup beef broth
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and mash. Mix in butter and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and ground beef and cook until meat is well browned and onion is tender and translucent. Pour off grease, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup, Worcestershire and beef broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next evenly distribute the mixed vegetables. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

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