Cottage Pie

Cottage pie is better known as Shepherd's pie.  As far as I understand it was originally made with ground lamb.  I like a mix of lamb and beef.  This is a wonderful, delicious recipe I adapted from a recipe I got on-line!

Recipe:

2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 C butter
2 onions, chopped
2/3 C chopped carrots
1 C coarsely chopped mushrooms (optional)
1 C beef broth
5-6 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 springs fresh thyme
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 Tbs sucanut
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt or more
4 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs tomato paste (double concentrate) or 2 Tbs regular (optional)
1 C frozen or canned corn
2/3 C frozen peas
Double recipe Basic Mashed Potatoes
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 C grated Cheddar cheese

Melt butter in large fry pan. Add onion and carrot and saute until tender. Add the meats and brown but do not drain. Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, sucanut, pepper, salt and cornstarch. Cook and stir about 10 minutes until thickened. Mix-in tomato paste. Put in large casserole dish.

Make mashed potatoes according to directions, adding the pressed garlic with the other ingredients. Top the beef with the potatoes, sealing edges as well as possible. Top with the cheese and bake 400°F for about 30 minutes or more. You may need to place a baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven to catch spilling juice.