Good Shepherds' Pie

I made this up one evening when I needed to use up some ground beef and had one lonely frozen pie shell in the freezer. My husband was uneasy when I told him it was shepherds pie because I had made one before that tasted terrible. When he tried this however he said it was great! The vegetables could be varied to your taste or whatever you have on hand. I used Veg-all frozen vegetables.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 2-4
• Yields: 1 pie

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb ground beef
• 1  frozen 9-inch deep dish pie shell
• 1 (16 ounce) package  frozen mixed vegetables
• 2  cups beef broth
• 1⁄2 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 4  tablespoons butter
• 4  tablespoons flour
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2  cups instant mashed potatoes (prepared according to package)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. In a large skillet brown ground beef until cooked. Drain and remove from pan.
3. In the same skillet melt butter and sauté onions over medium heat until just translucent (not brown).
4. Add flour to onion mixture and stir until smooth and bubbly.
5. Slowly stir in beef broth.
6. Add salt and pepper.
7. Add beef to gravy mixture.
8. Allow the gravy to come to a slow boil. Boil until it thickens up.
9. Meanwhile, heat the frozen vegetables in the microwave according to package directions. Drain when heated through.
10. Pour drained vegetables into pie shell.
11. Top with gravy mixture.
12. Spread mashed potatoes on top of pie.
13. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until pie is heated through.