Cottage Pie ....Maisonvogue's Version ...One to eat - One to freeze ...Cooking with Janet

Here is my Husband Danny's favorite meal ....it's my own version of Cottage/Shepherd's Pie ....this one is really the Cottage one as it's made with beef ..the Shepherd's Pie version would be made with ground lamb...
​My version is so beefy ..it's nice and sweet and tomatoey too 

Here are the ingredients you will need ...

A sprinkling of Olive oil or Vegetable Oil 

Approx. 1 lb ground (minced) Beef 

One large onion ....chopped 

A few carrots ...peeled and chopped in to small chunky pieces 

Salt and Pepper to taste 

A few splashes of Worcestershire sauce (optional)

1-32 oz can of Crushed tomatoes or two 16 oz ones

1- 10 oz can of Condensed Tomato Soup 

Nearly a full carton of Chicken Broth (keep the rest just incase you have to add more whilst it cooks)

Once it's cooking add the ingredients below 

Small bag of Frozen Sweet Peas

Small bag of Frozen Whole Kernel Yellow Corn (Danny loves lots of corn so that is what he gets )

KEEP THE GRATED CHEESE TO PUT ON THE TOP JUST BEFORE COOKING  

You will be topping it all with creamy mashed potatoes so you will need four or more large peeled baking (Jacket) potatoes chopped in to small pieces 
A stick of butter ( 4oz)
1/4 cup of Milk 
Salt 'n' Pepper to taste

​So here are the chopped onions...Wow !! ..ha! ha! ....Put a few splashes of olive oil or cooking oil in the pan then bong them (the onions) in a deep Saucepan along with the ground Beef ....hard so far Huh !! ...I like to season the meat with salt 'n' Pepper to taste before it cooks that way it gets inside the meat ...that's my theory anyway and then I add the splashes of Worcestershire Sauce ..

Once the meat has browned add the Carrots .....just throw them in and stir ...then add the Crushed tomatoes, Tomato Soup and nearly all the box of Chicken Broth ...I wash out the Tomato Soup can with the broth so I get every bit of sweet tomato goodness 

Finally add as much of the Frozen Sweet Peas and Corn as you like and once it has got up to near bubbling then just turn down to a very small simmer and cook uncovered for about an hour and half , stir occasionally ..till it's reduced and is thick and yummy...only add more Chicken Broth if you don't want it so thick ..we like it thick 

Now here is how I mash the perfect mashed potato ...well that is what my Hubby and Son says it is ...put chopped up peeled potatoes in a large bowl or Pyrex jug with a 1/4 cup of water ..cover and microwave on high for approx. 15 minutes ...test that the potatoes are nice and soft ...alternatively cook on the stove top..Drain all of the liquid if there is any away  ....then I get my trusty hand mixer out and put in one stick of softened butter (not melted) and about 1/4 cup of milk then whisk up till just about perfect ..then add salt to taste 

I made enough for two pots one to cook and one to freeze for another lazy cooking day ....or busy work week day ...these pots will easily feed 4 to 5 people each so that makes the whole recipe for about 10 people in all ...I like to use non stick spray on my pots but it's fine without ...now top each one with half of the potato mixture and swirl it around then top them with lots of grated cheese ( you can leave it off on one of the pots if you are going to freeze it ..then top with grated cheese when you are going to cook it 

Here is ours for today's meal and being that there are only two of us we will have enough left to heat up in two days time for another easy cooking day 

Pop it in to the oven at 400ºf - 200ºc or gas mark 6 ...for about 30 mins till the cheese has browned and it's all bubbling hot 

Here is ours ready to eat ....add some garlic bread or a nice green salad as a side and hey presto ....your Cottage Pie is ready to eat 

Here's mine ....just ready for me to eat up ....I actually came back for a few more seconds and left out the garlic bread ...but Danny had a large portion and also enjoyed some garlic bread I made with Ciabatta bread and lashings of cheese on top 

I will just pop this recipe in to the side bar collection

In the 'Cooking with Janet' section 

So you can pop in and find it anytime you like 

Thanks for visiting my Kitchen 

Enjoy 

​Janet