What's For Dinner - Mexican Shepherd's Pie

Today was a long day. I had hardly any sleep, thanks to my kids, my oldest was sickish, and I was feeling a little crabby and desperately in need of some comfort food. But it had to be easy comfort food. The idea of slaving over a stove all afternoon was not my idea of comforting. Shepherd's Pie is a classic recipe and can be so comforting on a long cold day. But the traditional recipe is kind of boring. I love this Mexican Shepherd's Pie because it adds a bit of pizazz to an old standby (and yes I used the word pizazz and I liked it).

The ingredients:
1 lb. ground meat (I used turkey, but beef or chicken is fine too)
1 packet taco seasoning (I make my own - recipe at the bottom)
1/2 a small bag of frozen vegetables (I used corn, but green beans, carrots, peas, ect. would be good too)
1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
4 servings of mashed potatoes (I ALWAYS make my own, but today for the first time I used instant Idahoan Red Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs, and it was soooo good)

Brown the meat. When brown add seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Keep cooking till spices are well blended and most of the water is gone. In a 9x9 baking dish (I always use glass) spread the ground meat, top with corn (uncooked), and cheese. Spread potatoes across the top. Bake at 350 till slightly golden.

That's it. It is really easy, and surprisingly tasty. My kids even liked it, and in my family that is an unheard of event.

Taco Seasoning:

1 TBSP Chili Powder
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix together and use. It makes enough for the 1 pound. I'm still playing around with the recipe, trying to find just the right blend. For dinner tonight I used 1.5 TBSP chili powder, and while it was good it was a little too spicy for the kids. They liked it, but drank lots of water. I also used more pepper tonight. The recipe above shows the chili powder and pepper cut back a bit.

I think the total cost of this dinner was about $3.24.

The meat was clearanced down to $1.74, the cheese $1.50, the potatoes were free after coupon, and the corn was free after coupon. A yummy and inexpensive dinner.