A Meathenge Cottage Pie

editor’s note: This post’s purpose is more for the author’s personal diary of ingredients and ratios for future use. American Cottage Pie recipes are as ubiquitous as pet hairs, nearly everyone has one or nine million. Do we really need another variation?

Yesterday found Biggles wandering aimlessly throughout the local mega mart attempting to come up with something, anything for dinner. We’ve had ground beef for the previous 2 days, why not another? This time topped with mashed potatoes?

Yup, 3rd day in a row for ground beef.  I couldn’t believe it myself, but I just couldn’t come up with a better solution. In the past months I’ve run myself even stupider with chicken thighs and pork steaks. Covering a meat & gravy slurry with mashed taters seemed to be my only salvation.

Holy gravy Batman! I have no idea why this dish came out so light, tasty and perfect in every way, but it did.  And brother or sister? I wanted to make sure I put down the basics here so when the hankering comes up again, I can whip this out. My ability to remember even the largest of details has long since bid a farewell.

Ground Meat – 1 pound
Onion – White and small dice
Garlic – Mooshy and as much or as little as one wants
Thyme – Heaping teaspoon full
Mushrooms – Minimum of 16 oz slice – variatize them
Beef Broff – 1 & 1/3 cuppa
Tomato Paste – Heaping Tablespoon full
Salt & Pepper – To taste ya foo
Flour – 1/4 cuppa
Veggies – I used frozed mixed
Mashed Potatoes – Enough for 6 hungry people, give or take

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with rack in center position.

Brown everything in large, wide fry pan. You’ll need the surface area to make browning easier.

The few key points I need to remember are to start the mashed potatoes first, get them boiling before you start on the filling.  Then brown the meat, onion, mushrooms together or separately depending on your fussiness level. Then toss in the frozen veggies to warm them. Add the flour and heat for no more than 3 to 4 minutes, just get everything coated.  Add the tomato paste, stir in. Then add the broth, simmer for 15 minutes give or take.  This will set the flour and reduce the liquid just a tad. Set aside until potatoes are tender and ready to be mashed. Use only real butter and milk/cream with as much butter fat as you have on hand or are willing to purchase. We used manufacturing cream with a fat content of maybe 38 to 40%. Install filling to appropriate baking device, smoove taters over the top with love.  Coat with butter or baking spray and install to oven for 30 minutes until golden brown.  Yank, let sit for 10.

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Hooboy!  At first bite I couldn’t believe it turned out this good, so delectable! Yes, I impressed myself. I can hardly wait to make this again, with a few additions of course. Not sure what those changes might be though, it’ll come to me.  Probably while meandering through the store attempting yet again to come up with something for dinner.

xo, Biggles

ps – Chilebrown, please do not scroll downwards.  It’s a dessert and it was bucktoothed evil good. A homemade apple cake with Uncle Ralph’s tree ripened Granny Smiths, home made apple syrupy with bits and once again, whipped manufacturing cream.

 

7 thoughts on “A Meathenge Cottage Pie

  1. The only tweak I might suggest is to boil cloves of garlic with the spuds and mash them together before the smooving step. Otherwise, I think you achieved ground beef nirvana.

      • Yes, but that’s an extra step on a day when you are short of time and ideas for dinner. 😉 It would be better, I agree.

    • No way man, chop the tops off a couple who cloves of garlic, peel it apart but leave on the skin. Rub the cloves in olive oil and put in the oven at 350 for 15 min or so (I never check the time I just wait till I smell goodness). Pull it out, let it cool or wear gloves and squeeze the garlic out of the skins. Mash that up with your potatoes and enjoy life.

  2. Made me and the fam some of your nummy Cottage Pie last night for din-din. Added 1/2 teas. of cinnnamon as per another recipe. Also spinkled the top with a little extry sharp Tillamook cheddar (I am an Oregonian, you know). Very much like me mum’s Shepard Pie we had growing up, exept for the burger instead of ground lamb. Well done, Bigs old boy. Cheerio!

  3. Looks gooooooood. The secret ingredients in my ‘pies include tamari sauce (wheat-free version of soy sauce) and dried bean dip. The dehydrated bean flakes soak up the meat juices/fat and make a nice, thick gravy, which is good as I am allergic to wheat and can’t use flour.

  4. Hey Carol,

    Hip to the Tamari, very good action. Revisiting this post has now caused me to grow a tad hungry. Awwww, mashed taters!

    xo, Biggles