Shepherd’s Pie

Preheat oven to 350F.

Peel potatoes and put them into a pot filled with water. Boil potatoes (this will take 20-25 minutes for medium sized potatoes, more if the potatoes are larger – they should be fork tender), then pour off the water. Use a potato masher or hand mixer to mash potatoes. Add in 2 Tablespoons of butter and a scant 1/4 cup milk, mix to combine, then set aside.

Brown onion and meat together over medium heat, stirring to break it up a little until the meat is browned and done. Drain grease if necessary. Add two cups brown gravy, the 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste and 2 cups mixed vegetables, and stir together. Place the mixture into an oven safe iron skillet or casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes, dotted with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter.

Place in the preheated oven and let cook for 45 minutes, until the filling is hot and bubbling around the mashed potatoes. Serve and enjoy.

*I’m not real good at plopping the mashed potatoes on top, so I form patties of potatoes on a cutting board and slide them onto the top of the meat mixture with a spatula.
** I generally don’t add salt to this as the gravy is salty enough.