From my mom Anna
Definitely not worth the drive for me to make this dish for a one-shot dinner. Its a lot of prep and cooking time, so I always make 4 dishes at once. This recipe makes enough for 2 pies for my family of 2 adults and 2 toddlers.
Mashed Potato Topping:
2 pounds white potatoes, peeled and quartered
¾ cup milk, hot
2 tbsp butter
salt & pepper to taste
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
Meat bottom:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pounds lean (or extra lean) ground beef (or ground chicken or turkey)
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 can tomatoes, drained
¼ tsp Tabasco sauce (or cayenne pepper)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp thyme
¾ cup breadcrumbs
½ – 1 cup frozen peas
- Cook potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 min or until tender.
- Mash. Combine with hot milk, butter, salt, pepper and cheese. Blend with hand blender if desired.
While potatoes are cooking, start the meat filling...
- Cook onions and garlic in oil until tender. Add beef (or other ground meat). Brown lightly. Stir in flour, then milk. Bring to a boil. Cook 3-4 min.
- Add tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon. Cook until thickened slightly (will thicken more when breadcrumbs are added), about 10 min. Add seasonings, breadcrumbs and peas. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Transfer mixture to buttered (or sprayed) casserole. Spread or pipe mashed potatoes on top.
- Bake at 400F for 30 minutes. Serves 6 (adults)
