Ground Beef Shepherd’s Pie

3-4 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced (about ¼-1/3 cup)

2/3 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (just leave out if you don’t have it on hand)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I always use fresh)
2 cups brown gravy
1-2 Tbls. heavy cream for richness (optional)
salt and pepper

Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Place in cold salted water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and mash with milk and butter until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Brown ground beef in a large saucepan with onion and carrot over medium-high heat. Remove ground beef from pan and drain off excess fat. Set aside.

Return ground beef to pan along with peas, parsley, thyme, Worcestershire, and nutmeg, add brown gravy to pot simmer 1 to 2 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper, add cream (optional). To serve scoop ground beef/gravy mixture into bowl and top with hot mashed potatoes. Serves 4-6.

For Gravy:

4 Tbls. butter
4 Tbls. flour
2 cups beef stock

Cook butter and flour to make a roux and add beef stock, whisk until thickened.