Shepherd's pie recipe for $1.50 a portion

February 18, 6:09 PMPasco County Food ExaminerSusan Slade

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Golden brown Shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie.

I only know how to cook in bulk, having owned a restaurant, and cooking for the family, back in England. So when you check the slideshow, you will see that I have used 5 lbs of ground chuck, to make my family size Shepherd's pie.

For a family of 4 you will need:

• 1 lb. of ground chuck or sirloin. (ground beef has so much fat that turns into grease)
• 1 small onion
• 1 tablespoons of canola oil (or whatever you use for cooking)
• Pepper and salt to taste
• 1 pinch of mixed herbs
• 4 fl oz. of beef stock.

For the topping.

• 1 lb. of potatoes,
• Little milk
• Little butter/margarine/Smart Balance

In a saucepan put the chopped onion and canola oil. Cook for around 3 minutes making sure that they don't burn. Add the ground chuck to the saucepan and brown on both sides. This only takes a minute or two. Add the beef stock, pepper, salt, mixed herbs, and bring to the boil. Stir well. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the meat and onion are done.

Peel and cut potatoes into small pieces. Put them into a saucepan of boiling water and cook until they are soft. This normally takes around 10 - 12 minutes. Drain potatoes, and then mash them, with milk and butter. They should be thick and creamy.

Back to the base of the Shepherd's pie. Take the saucepan off the stove, and pour the meat mixture, into a sieve, over a container. Allow the liquid to come out of the meat. Line the bottom of a Pyrex dish with the meat mixture. Then cover it with the mashed potato. You can either make lines on the top of it with a fork, or pipe the potato, on the top.

Put the Shepherd's pie in the oven, at 400 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes, until the top in a golden brown. You can even cheat and put it under the broiler, in the oven, if you are in a hurry.

With the liquid left from the meat, I skim off any fat at the top of it, and use the stock juice to make my gravy. I also use the water, from steaming my vegetables in my gravy, to keep all the goodness in my food.

We eat our Shepherd's pie, with roast potatoes, carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and cabbage. If you cook in bulk, like I do, then you will have enough food for several meals. I tend to put mine in portions and freeze them. We normally have enough Shepherd's pie in the freezer, to eat once a week, for a month.