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I've had this clawing at my brain, so I needed to make it and get it fleshed out. I'll be fiddling with some of the quantities of the liquid to produce a proper gravy, but everything else about it turned out excellent.


2-3 cup water
2 cup beef stock
2 lb approx extra ground beef
1 med onion
2 cup diced carrots
2 cup chopped green beans
2 cups peas
2 bay leaves
1 1.5 teaspoon. basil
1 - 1.5 teaspoon oregano
1 -1.5 teaspoon rosemary
1 - 1.5 teaspoon coriander
1 - 1.5 teaspoon minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 - 1/2 cup butter
1/3 - 1/2 cup flour

6 - 8 med/large potatoes ( cooked, mashed, enough to cover)
1/4 cup butter (to go in mashed potatoes)
1 teaspoon. onion powder (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Crumble meat by placing it within the water and hand crumbling it. Do NOT pre cook the hamburger, it messes with the consistency and spread of the meat.
Cook meat in the water/stock and spices at beginning. 20-25 minutes on med/high heat
Add carrots, green beans and onions about half way continue cooking 10 minutes more
Add peas and the rue
(Rue = melt butter in fry-pan, add flour)
Cook until thick on top of stove. If needed remove the liquid and thicken and then replace into mixture
Once potatoes are cooked, drain and add butter, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Use a wisk to mix the mashed potatoes to provide best texture results. I opted not to include milk in the potatoes to help preserve the thickness of the mash, which allows it to hold up better in the oven.

Place mixture into caserole dish, then either pipe the mashed potatoes ontop of the mixture (if you want to be fancy and desire a bit of flair to the presentation) or spread them.
Place them in a pre-heated oven set for 425 for 20minutes. If you desire cheese to top the shepard's pie, add slices of cheddar or mozarella ontop halfway through to allow a full melt. Personally I do not suggest adding cheese to the top of the shepard's pie, as it turns out quite flavourful on its own, but if you're a cheese fan, it can't hurt it.