Shepherd's Pie (lamb) or Cottage Pie (beef)

Shepherd's Pie

2 tablespoons of butter
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
2 pounds of ground beef OR ground lamb
4 tablespoons flour (I use brown rice flour for a gluten free version)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 cups of chicken broth
1/4 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups of shredded fresh carrots

Topping

2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of cream cheese
1/4 cup of parmesan ranch dressing (recipe below) or plain ranch


In a large stock pot, add salt and diced potatoes. Cook until tender.

While potatoes are boiling, make meat sauce.

Melt butter, add onion and garlic. Cook 3 minutes. Add meat and brown. Add flour and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes. Sauce should be dark in color.

Add broth, cream, worcestershire sauce and simmer over medium heat. Simmer until ground beef mixture starts to thicken (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425.

When potatoes are done boiling, drain and add butter, cream cheese and ranch. Using a potato masher, mash until potatoes are smooth. Small pieces are okay, my family likes it this way better.

NOTE: I do not cook my shredded carrots, they turn out just fine by adding them raw to the dish and having them bake. You can also use drained canned or frozen carrots.

In a 9X13 dish, add meat mixture, a layer of carrots and finally the mashed potato topping.

Cover with foil.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. If you would like the topping to be dark brown, remove foil and broil for a few minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.