Shepherd's Pie

I love Shepherd's Pie but have not found a recipe I absolutely love......until this past week when I decided to marry two recipes I had tried in the past.  At last, a love made in beefy stew heaven.  This is our annual St. Patrick's Day meal so I needed to perfect it.  It would be perfect for a pot luck as well.  Enjoy!

The Southern Sideboard's Shepherd's Pie

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 pounds beef stew meat

1 diced onion

2 minced garlic cloves

1 bottle of beer

4 cups of beef broth

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 1/2 cup frozen peas

2 diced celery stalks

4 diced carrots

5 quartered new potatoes

Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Brown the meat on all sides (approximately 5 minutes).  Take meat out of pot and set aside.  Add onion to the pot, reduce heat to low and cook for 3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the beer, beef broth, Worcestershire, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano and thyme.  Return the meat, stir, cover pot and simmer for 2 hours.  Add potatoes, carrots, celery and peas and cook for an additional 30 minutes.  To thicken stew, remove 1 cup of liquid and whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour, then add back to stew.  Stir and cook for another 10 minutes to bake off the flour.  Transfer stew to a cast iron skillet.  Top with your favorite mashed potato recipe (not gonna lie, I used two containers of store bought Bob Evans mashed potatoes).  Cook in a preheated oven at 375 degrees until golden brown.  *I cooked for 5 minutes, got lazy and turned on the broiler to finish the job.  Y'all the dog was howling it smelled so good!!!

XOXO,

Lee