Greg and I watch a lot of the Food Network. It's pretty much all we watch together. Way back when, Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals was our go to show. However, we've outgrown Rachel. You can only take so much of her for so long. She's cute and all and has that girl next door kind of appeal, but her super high energy and her quirky little names for just about everything can get annoying after awhile. So we don't watch her much, but I did happen to catch her a week or so ago making shepherd's pie. Looked kinda good so I got all the stuff and made it last night. I started at 5pm and figured we'd be eating in 30 minutes.

An hour later....

I honestly believe she drinks 2 Red Bulls before the show and they swap out half cooked food for fully cooked food during the breaks. Because how she made that shepherd's pie in 30 minutes is beyond me. She does cut faster than I do....but all I had to cut was an onion and some potatoes. That took maybe...10 minutes total. There was other stuff to chop, but I bought it chopped so it was out of the bag ready. The rest was just mixing and cooking stuff. So maybe if I were hopped up on a Red Bull and moving a mile a minute, it would have been 30 minutes. That's all I can figure.

The good news is, the shepherd's pie was pretty darn good. Yummy actually. It makes a TON, so it's good for those budget weeks because it will feed 2 people for a week and I'm betting it's one of those things that gets better when reheated.

I made a few tiny alterations to the recipe. She put bacon in hers and I just didn't want that extra fat so I left it out. She also put sour cream in her mashed potatoes and I left that out. She used a 1/2 pound blue cheese in her potatoes and that just sounded like waaaay to much to me and I'm not a huge fan of blue cheese, so I reduced the amount and used a 3 cheese shredded blend we had on hand. Here it is if you want to try it yourself. I think you will get rave reviews.

Shepherd's Pie

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Salt
1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground sirloin
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
Black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup cheese (any kind)
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons chives
1 teaspoon paprika

1. Boil potatoes. Season water with salt and boil until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Save a ladle of starchy cooking water just before draining.

2. Heat a skillet with high sides over medium high heat and add olive oil. Add meat to the pan and caramelize. Add in the mushrooms and onions and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

3. In small sauce pot over medium heat melt butter, whisk the flour into butter, cook 2 minutes. Add Worcestershire to beef stock and then add into flour. Season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Thickens in 6 to 7 minutes.

4. Transfer meat to a 13 x 9 pan and pour gravy over meat and turn on broiler.

5. Temper egg yolk by beating it with the starchy potato cooking water. Place drained potatoes back into the pot you cooked them in to dry them out a little. Mash potatoes with egg yolk and fold in cheese and chives. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and spread across the top of the meat in an even layer. Garnish the potatoes with paprika and place under broiler to crisp and brown the potatoes. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!