Shepherd's Pie

The bright orange crust makes a pretty visual for this tasty entree.

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients
For cheese-and-carrot mashed potatoes
1 pound baby carrots
3 tablespoons butter, divided use
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For filling:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup peas
4 teaspoons beef bouillon
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1 14 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions
Place carrots and potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Boil until very soft. Drain.

Stir in butter. Mash carrots and potatoes until smooth with a potato masher. Add milk, cheese, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix until well blended.

Preheat oven to 400. Brown beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Remove ground beef from skillet using a slotted spoon; Reduce heat to medium.

Sauté onion and garlic in beef fat over medium heat 10 to 11 minutes or until tender. Stir in ground beef, peas, beef bouillon, thyme, salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture. Increase heat to medium-high, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf and vinegar. Break up large tomato pieces with a spoon. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often until slightly thickened. Remove bay leaf. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 9x13" baking dis. Spoon cheese and carrot mashed potatoes evenly over meat mixture, smoothing with back of spoon.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.