The food: Coming up with new ways to use ground beef is tough. We’ve grown bored with our regular standbys—hamburgers, tacos, meatloaf. To shake things up, I decided to try shepherd’s pie. It’s easy, fast, and includes an entire meal of protein, veggies, and carbs all in one dish. I’m also a big fan of anything I can make and bake right in my trusty cast-iron skillet. Granted, the mashed potatoes require a separate bowl, but this is still a pretty low-cleanup meal.
The music: Comforting. Flavorful. Satisfying. Those words describe both shepherd’s pie and the folksy sounds of Van Morrison. Released on Feb. 28, 1970 (my birthday, though years before I was born), “Moondance” is Morrison’s third album. It is also his best. Although it only reached #29 on the Billboard charts, the critically acclaimed record earned its due in time. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, is frequently included on best album lists, and the songs are still used in movies and covered by myriad artists who cite Morrison as an influence. This is definitely one of my top 10 (maybe five) albums, and includes one of my all-time favorite songs, “Into the Mystic.”
Don’t own Van Morrison’s “Moondance”? Listen to it on my Shepherd’s Pie playlist on Spotify.
A gluten-free dinner, the meaty base of this shepherd’s pie has a great earthy flavor, and the mashed potatoes are rich and creamy. Best of all, it all comes together in half an hour or less. It’s a perfect meal on a cold night. The only problem I had with this dish was not eating the entire skillet in one sitting!
Want more ideas for using your cast-iron skillet? Try my recipe for Pulled Pork Nachos, too.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (about 6 med.) yukon gold potatoes
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 3 tbsp. half and half
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 cup carrots, diced
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1 tsp. garlic
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 4 tbsp. ketchup
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large water-filled pot, cook potatoes until tender. Drain. Lightly mash the potatoes. Add butter, half and half, and sour cream, and mash into potatoes until smooth
- Brown beef. Add carrots, onions, and garlic. Cook vegetables until tender. Add frozen peas and corn, worcestershire, paprika, ketchup, salt, and pepper. Cook until vegetables are warm.
- Top meat mixture with potatoes. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes begin to brown. Serve immediately.
Love Shepherds Pie. Great idea to make in a cast iron skillet!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Serena! Becky
I didn’t realize this was so easy to make. I will have to try a smaller version this in my iron skillet.
And it’s gluten free!
Looks very yummy! A must try recipe, thank you 🙂
Thanks for reading and commenting, Vinma! Becky
I love shepherds pie! This looks yummy and putting me in the mood. A friend recently made it for us. I hadn’t had it since I was a kid. Soo good. Never would have thought about cooking this in my iron skillet, great idea! Thank you.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Lacey. I hope you like it! Becky
I love this concept of cooking with vinyl! I’m not much of a cook, but I do love food and definitely love music. Please tell me you signed up to be a guest blogger on my page when you stopped by 🙂 jinglejanglejungle.net
I didn’t, but now I have. Thanks for reading and commenting, Mary! Becky
Shepherd’s Pie is a favorite here… we love it. 🙂
Thank you for reading and commenting!
I’m loving this! You always bring such amazing things to our party. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you tonight at 7 at our party. I can’t wait! Lou Lou Girls
Looks amazing! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
Thanks, for sharing on Pinterest, Stephanie!
I love how you are combining music and food! “Shepherd’s Pie playlist” lol, I love it. I also love how you made this shepherd’s pie in a skillet – I love making shepherd’s pie but hate cleaning up all the saucepans and then the casserole dish too!
Thanks for stopping by to read and comment, Kyra! I have a lot of fun with the blog — music and food both make me really happy. I hope you try the skillet shepherd’s pie. Easy clean up is my favorite.