Shepherd's Pie

This casserole dinner is HUGE hit in this house. If y'all have read any of my other posts, you know Im HUGE on comfort food. What screams comfort food more than ground beef, corn, a butery mash topped with cheese, baked to PERFECTION? My mouth is literally watering as I type this up. I grew up on this easy meal, and it has stayed with me my entire life. We always go back for seconds, so I have to make sure I always have plenty leftover! Even with leftovers, I spent less than $20 on this recipe!! I am a sucker for a bargain, so if you are too, you are in the right place.

Ingredients

what I had to buy

• 2 lbs ground beef/$4.99 per lb

• 1 small, white onion/$0.83 ea.

• 8-10 medium, russet potatoes/$2.67 for a 5lb bag

• 1 16 oz can whole kernel corn, not drained/$0.82 ea.

• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese/$2.78 for an 8oz bag

what I had on hand already

• 1 tsp. seasoned salt

• 1 tsp. garlic powder

• 1 tsp. onion powder

• 1 tsp. Tony Chachere's creole seasoning

• salt and pepper

• 7 tbsp. butter, divided

• 3 splashes whole milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Peel and dice potatoes. Add to a medium pot of salted, boiling water. Boil uncovered until potaoes are soft enough to easily stick a fork through them. About 7-9 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, add ground beef and onion to a small pan, on medium-high heat, along with seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder and Tony's. Break it all down and incorporate ingredients into ground beef.

4. Brown in pan until fully cooked, and onions are soft. About 7 minutes.

5. Drain the meat.

6. Meanwhile, add corn to a small pot, along with 2 tbsp. butter and salt and pepper to taste.

7. Boil on high, until liquid is bubbling. Remove from heat.

8. In the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish, mix together hamburger and corn. My secret is to use about 1/4 c. of the corns liquid in the mixture, along with the corn. You can discard the rest of the liquid.

9. to make the potatoes: Drain the potatoes when they are done and return them to the pot, but not the heat.

10. Add the remaining butter(5tbsp.), the milk, and salt and pepper to taste.

11. With an electric hand-mixer, beat the potatoes to your desired consistency. Our family prefers no lumps, so for us about 2-3 minutes, on high.

12. Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat/corn mixture.

13. Sprinkle the cheese on top.

14. Bake until cheese is melted and sort of crisped up. About 10 minutes.

15. Let casserole cool for about 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• Peas and carrots go GREAT in the meat mixture, it really just depends on if you have picky eaters or not.

• You can always add more or less cheese to the top!

• For lumpier potatoes, only beat for 1 minute or so.