Down in Florida, our rain from Hurricane Hermine is long gone, but if you’re in the path or the wake of it, you’re probably not planning a big cook out for Labor Day… So here’s an indoor dinner idea that could easily feed a crowd.

Never actually having Shepherd’s Pie, or Cottage Pie as it’s also called, I had to rely on Allen for his nod of approval. He actually said mine was better than any he’s had at a restaurant! I’ll take that compliment!

Shepherd’s Pie is traditionally made with mutton, or lamb. It’s a meat pie with a mashed potato crust on top. Now, I wasn’t about to attempt a traditional version, so I started with a recipe from Rachael Ray… Here is her recipe:

Now, I’m sure that tastes fantastic. But, like always, I adapted this to fit what I had on hand, and also added some ingredients I was wanting to use up…

• 1 lb red potatoes
• 4 tbsp sour cream
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• salt & pepper
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire
• handful of frozen peas, in the pod
• sprinkling of paprika

Boil the potatoes in salted water. Drain, then mash with sour cream, egg yolk and milk, adding a little beef broth if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Saute the veggies over medium heat in olive oil until onions are translucent and carrots are soft. Add the ground turkey to the veggies and cook until done, adding the garlic at the end, then turn off the heat.

While the veggies and meat are cooking, in a small pan, combine the butter and flour to make a roux, stirring constantly until light brown. Then add the beef broth a little at a time and the Worcestershire, making a gravy. Add the gravy to the meat mixture. Stir in the frozen peas.

Now, put the meat mixture into an ovenproof casserole dish (or leave it in a high sided metal skillet like I did) and top with the mashed potatoes, making sure to cover the entire area to seal in the goodness. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake it in a 450* oven for 15-20 minutes, or in a 425* convection microwave for 20-25 minutes.

Now, if you ARE planning a cook out, I suggest one of these recipes:

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin

Fire Beef

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken Breast

Cajun Boil on the Grill

or even

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad (which I’ve just recently experienced for the first time!)

Happy Labor Day!