A great recipe from Aaron McCargo on Big Daddys' House. On Food Network, this recipe has 52 outstanding reviews! You can sub turkey or even veggie crumbles for the ground beef! Kids can help make this dish and have fun doing it! This can also be made in a 9x13" pan. This is good frozen and microwaved. Great to take in your lunch bag, to a picnic, or to a tailgate party! Enjoy! A little history: The key to dating Shepherd's pie is the introduction (and acceptance) of potatoes in England. Potatoes are a new world food. They were first introduced to Europe in 1520 by the Spanish. Potatoes did not appeal to the British palate until the 18th Century. (Foods America Gave the World, A. Hyatt Verrill, page 28). Shepherd's Pie, a dish of minced meat (usually lamb, when made with beef it is called "Cottage Pie") topped with mashed potatoes was probably invented sometime in the 18th Century by frugal peasant housewives looking for creative ways to serve leftover meat to their families. It is generally agreed that it originated in the north of England and Scotland where there are large numbers of sheep--hence the name. The actual phrase "Shepherd's Pie" dates back to the 1870s, when mincing machines made the shredding of meat easy and popular."