Mamaws Upside Down Shepard's Pie

Ready, Set, Cook! Special Edition Contest Entry: Hey y’all. When I decided to come up with a recipe for this contest and I was looking at the mandatory ingredients, I automatically thought of a Shepard's pie. Although I am sure like myself, everyone has had a traditional Shepard’s pie. So I got to thinking, how would my mamaw Bessie make this dish if I gave her all the ingredients. Then it hit me. She never made a meal without having a cornbread fresh baked in a cast iron skillet. So what about putting the cornbread on top of the Shepard’s pie? I think the cornbread and potatoes would be rather dry next to one another, so I decided to flip the Shepard’s pie upside down, and put the cornbread on top. Sounded like a good idea. Well as it turns out, it tasted even better than I could have imagined.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 1 Casserole

Ingredients

• Meat Filling Ingredients

• 1  lb  lean ground sirloin
• 1  red bell pepper, chopped
• 1  large onion, chopped
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  carrots, chopped
• 12  ounces corn
• 1  tablespoon flour
• 1⁄2 cup beef broth
• 1⁄4 cup catsup
• 1  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• Cornbread mix

• 1  cup  self-rising cornmeal
• 1⁄2 cup flour
• 1  egg
• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk
• 1⁄4 cup  melted butter
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt

• Additional ingredients

• 1 (24 ounce) package  Simply Potatoes Traditional Mashed Potatoes
• 1⁄2 cup  shredded monterey jack pepper cheese

Directions

1. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, sauté your ground sirloin, pepper, onion and carrots. Once meat is cooked through (about 10 minutes) and onions are translucent, add the flour and mix and cook for additional 2 minutes. Then add the garlic, corn, beef broth, catsup, and worstershire sauce. Cover and cook at a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make your cornbread mix. In large bowl combine the cornmeal and flour together with the egg and buttermilk. Stir in the melted butter and salt, and mix well.
3. Oil a large cast iron skillet (or 9x13 baking dish) and spread your mashed potatoes in it entirely covering bottom. Spread the meat mixture once thickened over the potatoes. Sprinkle the pepper jack cheese over the meat mixture, and then cover with your cornbread mixture.
4. Bake at 375°F for about 30-45 minutes until cornbread is cooked through and lightly browned. (a toothpick into the center of the cornbread that comes out clean shows its done).
5. Let sit for about 15 minutes before dishing out.