Shepards pie ala Welcome Kit

Incase you might be wondering what we are having for dinner tonight it is shepards pie. Now this might not sound worthy of a blog post about it but just hang in there and you will see why it truely is.

So upon arrival in our new home we are given a welcome kit and for those of you who have dealt with these you can attest that is might as well be consider cruel and unusual punishment to have to live with some of the things they give you. This time we ordered sheets ahead and a mattress pad so that we could actually sleep in some comfort. Now if only I had thought of the kitchen...

How to make shepard's pie...welcome kit addition

To start with get your meat ready to cook. If you need to thaw out the beef as I do you need to pre plan (which I didn't) and thaw in the fridge over night or fill the sink and keep coming back as the water slowly drains out until it is thawed. Putting it in a bowl would be way to easy and all your bowls (all three of them) are currently occupied with left overs and fresh produce from the market.

While the meat is thawing you fill one of the 2 pots they gave you with water and salt then throw in some potatoes fresh from the market. Get those boiling away and return when they are squishy.

At this point you realize that you have nothing even close you a potato masher so you reach for one of the plastic spatulas. I mean a spoon won't do and you can't use the metal flatware or you will ruin the pan and be charged later. Chop, smash, squash all you possibly can with the flimsy plastic utensil trying not to bend it to far for fear it will snap.

Once as squished as you are going to get it you add in milk, butter, salt, pepper and attempt to mix it up and make those awesome fluffy potatoes you love at home only to realize that super chunky heavy potatoes is all you will get. Good enough!

Make the meat and vegetable mix. If using frozen vegetables you have to cut through the bag with a knife as you were not granted the privileged of scissors. Mix and cook slowly so that you do not spill from the 1 skillet that is far to small for what you are attempting.

Once that is finished you look around to realize that you have been given absolutely nothing to use in the oven... oh wait... you have a loaf pan! Yes! why did I not realize the practical use of this pan before. Cookie sheets? Pyrex? Roasting Pans? Forget those who needs those for cooking anything when you have a loaf pan.

Layer as much as you can in the pan and cook in the oven that thankfully works. Then when the house smells wonderful and no longer (at least momentarily) like fresh paint you go to pull your miraculous shepherds loaf out of the over and realize you have be given 1 oven mit. So you calculate the odds of getting it out of the oven one handed and give up on that idea. You then realize you can use a towel for the other hand...oh wait, they only gave you one of those too and it is currently in the laundry as it was messy from the previous nights dinner. You then run upstairs and grab a hand towel from the bathroom and run back downstairs. You victoriously pull the Shepherds Loaf out of the oven and there you have it. Dinner ala wlcome kit!