Shepherd's Pie

Finally, we took a camping trip!  First one for our little Owen! 

We camped with Matt's brother & family and took turns cooking our campsite meals.  The next few posts will feature recipes that we tried over the weekend.

There were 6 adults and 3 kiddos (who eat food anyway).  What could we make that could feed a lot of people?  We thought and thought... finally we settled on Shepherd's Pie.  Though traditionally, Shepherd's Pie is made with ground lamb or beef, we decided on a slight twist on the recipe using a shredded beef roast.

Shepherd's Pie
12" Deep Dutch Oven
18 coals on top, 12 on bottom 

8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/3 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup oil
2 onions, chopped
1/4 cup flour
3 1/2 cups cooked, shredded beef (this was a 2 1/2 pound chuck roast before cooking)
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup beef broth
2 cups frozen peas, thawed

 Boil potatoes until soft.  Drain and return to pot.  Add butter, milk, and cheddar cheese.  Mash together.  (To make life easier at camp, I made these ahead at home and brought them along).

In the bottom of the 12" Dutch oven, cook the carrots in the oil for 10 minutes.  Add onion and cook 10 minutes more until vegetables are tender.  Stir in flour, shredded beef, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth.  Add peas and stir.  Top with mashed potatoes- smoothing to make a nice crust.   We made this along with Garlic Knots (cooked in the 14" DO)!

Cook for 30-40 minutes with recommended coals (depending on outside temperature and wind, more coals may be necessary).