Nonna's Shepherd's Pie

Don't know where my mom got this recipe but we love it. It's from scratch and doesn't use any cream-of-whatever soup, but it's well worth the small extra effort. You can cook the meat/veggie mixture in advance for convenience. It's a people-pleasing meal for a cold winter's day.

• Ready In: 1 hr 45 mins
• Serves: 5-6

Ingredients

• 1 3⁄4 lbs beef (ground or chopped, raw or cooked)
• 1 -2  tablespoon canola oil
• 3⁄4 cup  of chopped onions or 3⁄4 cup leek
• 3⁄4 cup  of diced carrot
• 3⁄4 cup  of diced celery
• 3⁄4 cup  of finely chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1⁄4 cup peas (I like to throw in a few for color) (optional)
• 1⁄4 cup corn (optional)
• 1⁄4 cup tomatoes, diced and well drained (optional)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
•  Worcestershire sauce (a dash or 2)
• 1  tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

• Mashed potato topping

• 6  medium potatoes, cooked, drained and cut smaller for mashing
•  butter
•  milk
•  salt
• 2  tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1  egg, large, beaten

Directions

1. Saute uncooked beef until browned. Drain off the fat and set aside.
2. (If you are using cooked leftover meat, you don't have to do anything except add it to the cooked veggie mixture.)
3. In the heated oil, saute onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery, (and any other leftover veggies you intend to use) salt, pepper and a few dashes of the Worcestershire Sauce. Saute until the onion is translucent and the veggies cooked a little. Mix this with the browned meat. Set aside.
4. Mashed potatoes: make as you would normal mashed potatoes adding in the butter, milk, and salt.
5. Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat it. Add to the mashed potato mixture. Blend thoroughly.
6. In a casserole dish that is about 9" x 13" x 4", place the meat/veggie mixture filling the bottom evenly. On top of that, add the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with the parmesian cheese and parsley.
7. Bake at 350ºF for about 25 minutes, or until the mashed potatoes are golden.