Decadent Shepherd's Pie

Extra Cheesy - Extra Garlicky - Extra Good!

The inspiration for this dish came from Shepherd's Pies that I have had at places like Merlin's Rest and the Claddagh Irish Pub.  I used what I liked about those dishes and what I have learned through my exploration of food thus far to come up with this dish.  My ingredients list is very specific and my directions are very detailed, but I'm sure that if you do this your way yours will turn out great as well.  Now, this is how I made my Decadent Shepherd's Pie:

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

• 6 medium red skin potatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes
• 2 quarts H2O
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large cloves or 6 small cloves fresh raw garlic, minced, divided
• 3 teaspoons roasted garlic paste*
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/8 cup 2% milk, warm
• 1 cup shredded jack style raw milk cheese

For the gravy:

• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 packet brown gravy mix
• 1 package frozen organic mixed vegetables

On top:

• 1 cup shredded jack style raw milk cheese
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

• Combine diced potatoes, salt, 1 teaspoon minced raw garlic and water in a large pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.  
• Strain and add butter, roasted garlic paste and the rest of the raw minced garlic.  Cover the butter with the hot potatoes and let the potato mixture sit for a while.
• Heat the sunflower oil in a large skillet and saute the diced red onion for a couple of minutes.
• Add the ground beef to the skillet with the onions and brown the ground beef.
• Throw the rosemary into the skillet while the beef is browning.
• Drain the excess fat from the beef/onion/rosemary mixture.
• Add the cream of mushroom soup to the skillet.
• Mix the vegetable broth and the gravy mix and add that mixture to the skillet.
• Bring the skillet mixture to a simmer, and let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Set the oven to preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• While the skillet mixture is simmering mash the potatoes, adding the warm milk and folding in one cup of the shredded raw milk cheese.
• After the skillet mixture has simmered for 5 minutes add the frozen vegetables and simmer for another 5 minutes, still stirring occasionally.
• Pour the skillet mixture into a 9x13 glass cake pan.
• Dollop the mashed potatoes on top of the skillet mixture in the glass cake pan, creating an even layer of mashed potatoes over the skillet mixture.
• Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, remove the tin foil, and cover the Shepherd's Pie with a mixture of 1 cup of shredded jack style raw milk cheese and 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
• Return the Shepherd's Pie to the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
• Remove the Shepherd's Pie from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before digging in.
• Enjoy!

*For the roasted garlic paste essentially drizzle oil on a bulb (or 6 bulbs if you want to make a whole lot) of garlic, roast it covered in the oven on 400 for 45 minutes, let it cool, and mash the roasted garlic cloves together.  Next you can section off teaspoons of this paste into little blobs on parchment paper and freeze them for future use.