St. Patrick's Day Dinner

I love holidays. They are a great reason to cook something fun and make lasting memories. St. Patrick's day is a fun one because you can make tons of fun, awesome, out of the box meals. Traditionally people make corned beef and cabbage. I don't for the main reason corned beef gives me migraines and for someone who is prone to headaches, last thing I need to do is knowingly give myself one. So thanks to inspiration for a Taste of Home e-mail, I made cupcake Shepard's Pies. The original recipe link will be down below, I saw the recipe and winged my own version but like to give credit where credit is due and they inspired this creation!!!!

Ground Beef Shepard's Pies, cupcake style

ingredients:

1 can crescent rolls
2/3 pound browned ground beef, seasoned how you like it
1 cup veggies of choice
gravy mix, I use the bulk mix you get at Sam's Club
water, about 1 1/2 cups
gravy seasoning, I used McCormick Roasted Garlic and Herb
potatoes
1/2 stick butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk

First cook your potatoes. I made 4 huge ones because I wanted left overs.  Boil until fork tender.

You can also cook your veggies now too. I used frozen stew veggies and I just wanted to get the extra moisture out and get them warm.

At this stage pre-heat your oven to 375!

Drain your potatoes and put them back in the pot for a few minutes. This allows the extra water to be absorbed and evaporated. Saw this on Food Network and it makes a world of difference. Now get out the milk and butter.

Add them in and mash!!!!!

There is something so down home doing it yourself and not using a mixer.

Now set the tators aside and bust out a cupcake pan. I used my huge one that makes only 6 cupcakes. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Line the inside with crescent roll dough. I had two left over and just baked them for the kids. Cook for 10 minutes and they look like this!!!!

While they are baking make your filling.

First add 1 cup water, Worcestershire sauce( I add it to everything beef I make, everything), seasoning and bring to a boil. Then add the gravy powder. I used 4 tablespoons and then added the last half cup of water. Then add already cooked ground beef, veggies and mix.  If it looks watery, add some more gravy powder and boil a bit longer. Then let it sit for a few and thicken.

and you must taste it!! If it needs more seasonings, now is the time to do it!!

Ladle it into your pan. I used a 2/3 cup and it filled them all up.

Look at how cute that it!! I used a cookie scoop to make beautiful mashed potato topping! Thank you Nikki for the awesome idea of using a cookie scoop!

Isn't it the cutest thing?

All done and ready for oven!! Bake for 20 minutes and........

Viola!!! Looks good enough to eat!

So I did! Nom! And it actually came out without falling completely apart. Use a silicone spoon if you have one.


http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Mini-Shepherd-s-Pies