Ampin' up the Shepherd's Pie

    Usually in my house we make a simple shepherds pie with just beef, corn and potatoes, and you really can't go wrong with that, but it was time for some experimenting. There has been a buzz in the food blog world about these crash-hot sweet potatoes that are like sweet potato cakes with a spiced brown sugar crust. I decided to take these flavors and make a crash-hot shepherds pie, and it was such a hit! The brown sugar sweet potatoes atop the spicy ground beef with the crunch of corn in between....mmhmm it balanced out so well! It really brought the traditional shepherds pie to a whole new level, without adding any difficulty. My mom rated it an A+, my dad really loved the new smoky flavors, and I'd have to agree with them! It was delicious!! (Not to mention simple and cheap! Good old beef and potatoes, not much better than that!)

Pictures shown are in a 9x13 inch baking dish, but the recipe is for a 2 quart casserole dish which is smaller and more college friendly.

Crash-Hot Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

For the potatoes-

4 sweet potatoes

1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup brown sugar

For the beef and filling-

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1 Tbsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1 cup beef broth

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp flour

1-2 cans corn, drained (I like a lottt of corn)

For Topping-

3 tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and position rack on the top 2/3 of the oven.

Peel and cut potatoes to about 1 inch thickness, place in large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, add tsp of salt and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes, return to pot and mash. Wisk together melted butter, brown sugar and milk and pour into potatoes and mix to combine.

(While potatoes are boiling) Heat large pan over medium-high and add beef, onions and garlic. Once cooked through, drain out fat. Wisk flour together with water, then mix into beef broth. Pour into pan with the beef, and add in all seasonings. Bring to a boil until sauce thickens and pour into casserole dish. Top with corn (I like to sprinkle corn with some paprika and onion powder) and spread on sweet potatoes. Brush melted butter on top potatoes and top with the brown sugar and spices. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.