Shepherd's Pie

I recently saw a picture from my cousin-in-law of 'lazy shepherd's pie'. With all those potatoes leftover from the pot roast (we bought a 10-lb bag for cheap), this was the perfect way to use em up. And I get lunch for a couple days!

This was all stuff we had on hand. Use fresh ingredients as desired.


Ingredients (fills a 12x8 pyrex):
0.8 kg ground beef
0.25 cup dried onion flakes
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs powdered thyme
1 small can tomato paste
equal volume of frozen veggie mix as beef, heated and ready to use
equal volume of mashed potatoes as the beef/veggie mix
2-3 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese

Method:
Cook the beef in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add in onion flakes until they rehydrate.
Drain away the fat.
Add chili powder and thyme and whatever spices/seasoning to taste.
Add tomato paste. Stir well.
Add veggies and heat through.
Pack the mix into the bottom of a baking dish.
Sprinkle with about half the cheese.
Cover with an equal amount of mashed potatoes.
Top with cheese.
Broil in the oven at 450F until cheese bubbles and browns.

Comments:
The tomato paste is optional. You can opt for a gravy taste if you use beef buillion.
If you are using leftover mashed potatoes, bake in the oven at 375F for 15-20 minutes to heat through before broiling to brown the cheese.


Verdict:
Good, if a bit bland. We're trying not to use much salt in our cooking. We should also probably get into the habit of taste-testing =P