English Cottage Pie

This recipe has become a family favorite! I am from Idaho so I don't necessarily follow any directions on how to make the potatoes. I make our usual mashed potatoes (we like them a bit chunkier with milk, butter, salt & pepper to taste). Great seasonings in the beef mixture.

4.30.18 I followed this recipe to the letter, except for adding a good shake of sriracha (personal taste preference). I’ve made other shepherd’s pie recipes on this site, and it seems to me that the ratio of potatoes to meat is off a bit. I didn’t think my potatoes were huge, but I ended up with a casserole that was about 1/3 meat filling and 2/3 potatoes, just too many potatoes for my taste. Typically, shepherd’s pie is cut into squares for serving. If you want to serve it this way, you’ll have to let it sit for about 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven to firm up, otherwise, you’ll be spooning it onto a plate or in a bowl. From an eye appeal perspective, I didn’t care for the orangish potato color from the cheddar (white cheddar would eliminate this), and I didn’t think it added much to the flavor. This tasted pretty good, but it’s simply not my favorite version of this dish, so most likely, I won’t be making this again.