Here's an easy and fairly quick meal that all of us really enjoy here in the Lathrop household. I developed it after Simon and I ate shepherd's pie at the Scottish Festival in Tulsa. Here's the Americanized version we came up with:
Ingredients
2 frozen pastry shells
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 package Lipton's onion soup mix
1 package McCormick's brown gravy mix
1 cup water
2 cups fozen mixed vegetables, thawed
6 medium potatoes
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Preparation
Mashed potatoes: Peal potatoes, and cut them into cubes for boiling. Boil potatoes until tender, and drain the water. Add butter and milk, then mash or beat until smooth. Set aside.
Crust: Bake pastry shells according to package directions. Set aside.
Beef: Brown ground beef in a skillet. Dissolve gravy mix in water until all lumps are gone. Add onion soup mix and gravy solution to the ground beef, and continue heating on medium heat until mixture thickens, stirring frequently. Set aside.
Assembly: The ingredients will be added in layers and in order, without diturbing the layer below it. In EACH pastry shell and in layers, add the follwing in order: half the ground beef mixture, half the vegetables, half the mashed potatoes. The potatoes layer is very similar to frosting a cake. Sprinkle the tops of each with cheddar cheese.
Baking: Bake the assembled pies for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
