Rainy day? More like Rainy Weeks!

It’s still raining here, which makes most days chilly, and sometimes even gloomy. It’s rained so much that the school playground is flooded, as well as our backyard, front yard, side yard, you name it it’s in water. It becomes a challenge to be able to and from where ever we need to go and make it back home half dry. If we can keep at least our shirt dry, we’ve won, but in most cases by the time we make it back in the front door we have water pouring out of our boots. How, I don’t know, but it certainly becomes normal. Each and every time one of my kids pulls off their boots, tips it over and watches a bunch of water pour out I can’t stop laughing. It’s impossible not to, considering we’ve avoided most puddles, and the deep ones I had to pick the kids up and carry across so they wouldn’t end up going knee deep in them. So the question is, how are their boots filling up with so much water? Tricky puddles, never ending rain, it’s a challenge you just never saw coming.

 With soggy and soaked kids, they need something warm and hearty to have for dinner. I’m always turning to soups, stews, and comfort foods. One of my all time favorites was my Mom’s Shepherd’s Pie. Oh, how I love this dish! 

Shepherd’s Pie

1lb beef lean ground beef
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 (1oz) envelope au jus beef gravy mix, prepare according to instructions on pkg. Then divide
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cups mashed potatoes (you can use instant, it would be faster, but real mashed potatoes are so much better! )
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In large skilled, saute beef with onion, garlic and rosemary. Break meat up into small bits. Cook until onions are soft and meat has browned. Spoon off excess fat. Add 1/2 cup of gravy and black pepper to meat; Mix well. In shallow 2 quart casserole or deep dish pie plate, spread meat mixture evenly on the bottom. Cover with Mashed potatoes, spreading evenly to the edge of the dish to seal. Make a criss-cross design on top with a fork and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 376F for 35-40 minutes or until potatoes are golden. Serve with remaining gravy.

Now, there’s so many ways I end up cooking this, the base as always stays the same, beef with onions and garlic. Most times, the day before I’ve cooked a meal with beef already, So I end up using the left overs for this dish. Not only did I just save some money, I just saved half the time in preparing it. I also add some veggies, chopped up carrots, celery, peas even green beans cut up in small bites. You can use frozen easily. Since the beef is already cooked, prepare the gravy , spoon it in with the meat and into the dish. Add the veggies you want, cover with potatoes. Cook the same time.