Absent but not Forgotten

It's been a busy month and appears that it will continue to be busy with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up next week, but I did find time today to check out some cool blogs and found a great holiday decorating idea. Perfect for your Thanksgiving table/decoration or even for Christmas. Pam's Blog Gingerbread Snowflakes deals with all things holidayish...okay, I think that is a word, if not it is now. She has instructions on decorating gourds. These are great and I love the little ones that could be used on a tree. No fancy paints are needed as Pam uses Sharpie pens and colored pencils, she even has links to farms that will sell the cleaned gourds. Check out Pam's blog for all the instructions HERE.

Shepard's Pie - Easy Recipe

Last evening I wanted something easy but comforting for dinner as it has been raining and windy all day. I went to the freezer and found ground beef and then tried to think about what to make, meat loaf, hamburgers, chili, nope none of those sounded good. Then I saw the left over mashed potatoes in the fridge and knew what I wanted, Shepard's pie. I don't make this very often and when I do I use fresh ingredients and make my own gravy with beef stock. This is a quick and easy version and actually turned out pretty good. Perfect when you want a satisfying one dish meal. So give it a try.

Shepard's Pie

1 lb hamburger
1 med. onion chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pkg brown gravy mix
1 pkg (envelope) Ore Ida Instant Potatoes
1 16 oz frozen mixed veggies
1/2 tsp Salt or to taste
1/2 tsp Pepper or to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown hamburger meat in a large skillet, when it is almost finished add the chopped onions and garlic. Mix well. While browning hamburger, cook the gravy mix according to directions on the package. It should make around 1 cup.

Cook instant potatoes and set aside. I added about a 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to mine, but this is completely optional. You could also use left over mashed potatoes.

Drain some of the grease off the hamburger then add the frozen veggies. Mix and cook for about 3 minutes. Add your salt and pepper and taste to make sure you don't need to add more.

In a 9 x 9 square pan add hamburger mixture. Pour prepared gravy on top and around mixture. Spoon prepared potatoes on top of hamburger, spreading it out as you go.

Cook for 30 minutes. Dish should be steaming and gravy should be boiling up around the edges.