Shepherds Pie with Snappy Horseradish Potatoes

When it's chilly outside and you need a hearty dish- heck, even when it's not chilly- Shepherds pie just rocks! It's like goulash and that's fantastic!

In these economic times, I have been trying to cut corners and cook with cheaper items; we could say I'm being frugal- but cheap really describes it better.

Rather than by a nice, expensive piece of meat for this dish, I actually spent 2 bucks on a soup bone. Yup- that's it. I looked the soup bone over and decided there was quite a bit of meat on that bone. Cooked properly and long enough- there is enough meat on these things to make a hearty meal; I think I ended up with almost 3 cups of shredded meat for $2!

This should make about 7 servings (of course, this all depends on your serving size)- but if you do need to stretch this a bit then add a few extra potatoes to the top, add a little more broth, carrots and celery at the middle- the base flavor of this is fabulous! The addition of the creamy horseradish to the potatoes is addicting! We ate it so fast I didn't even get a photo of it until the next day!

Feel free to get a better cut of meat - but honestly the soup bone gives such great flavor to this dish and like I mentioned - I got enough meat off that bone I would not have wanted any more in it. Be frugal, make a goulashy dish and be fat and happy any time of the year!


Shepherds Pie topped with Horseradish Potatoes


Brown two soup bones
add:
1 cup onions
1 stick celery

add and sautee:
3 crimini mushrooms

When the onions are softened, add:
1 tbls tomato paste
stir, cook 1 minute
add flour (2 -3 tbls) and 1 Tbls dried thyme

add broth enough to cover everything and 1 cup red wine
simmer 1 1/2 hours - or until meat is ready to shred. Now remove the bones- shred off meat and return to pot with:

1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup of fresh green beans
Simmer (add more wine and broth if need to cover everything).

In the meantime, boil:
4 medium sized potatoes, quartered, skin on (boil in broth for more flavor)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped.

Strain when potatoes are tender, but save the broth. Place the potatoes in bowl or Kitchen aide Mixer. Mix, add:

1/4 cup cream
Reserved broth -just add enough to make creamy
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbls creamy horseradish
2 Tbls of chopped chives
fresh pepper and salt

Taste the potatoes, adjust seasonings if needed.

Stir 1/2 cup frozen peas in the stew.
Now place potatoes on top of the stew- just plop spoonfuls down, spread and make little mounds and waves. Place in oven until bubbly and browning on top. Enjoy!