Shepherd's Pie and Irish Guinness Geniuses!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm half Irish so this is my day to go around telling people that, whilst wearing green, dawning "Kiss Me I'm Irish" buttons, and consuming all things corned beef and green on this day! Oh and Irish jager bombs, must not forget those! So happy St. Patrick's Day to you, cheers if you're Irish, kiss kiss to you all, and today I give you the yummiest Irish Shepherd's pie recipe. Paired with traditional Irish jagerbomb beverages but of course! I changed the name to Irish Guinness Genius because it has Guinness which is well genius duh.

So for the traditional St. Patrick's Day festivities we made Shepherd's Pie and had a few Irish Jagerbombs, but since we knew we'd be hardy-ing the night away, we started the weekend off with friends at Angeles National Forest.After hiking a good 6 miles and working up an appetite, we came home to make this scrumptious meal you see pictured above. 

Angeles National Forest adventure pictures and stories coming tomorrow, but for today, onward with the feast! Thanks to my great friend and fellow Irish girl, Sarah, we whipped up this yummy meal for everyone to dig in to. We made a 13x9 tray full of this goodness, so here's what you'll need: 

SHEPHERD'S PIE

- 1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey meat like we used)

- 1 TBL olive oil

- 3-4 medium carrots finely diced (or 2 big ones)

- 1 large yellow onion finely diced

- 1 1/2 cup peas (frozen or canned, but I love peas so I added in that extra 1/2 cup)

- 3 sprigs finely chopped fresh thyme

- 2 sprigs finely chopped rosemary

- sprinkle of kosher salt

- 2 teaspoon basil 

-1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery

- 1 TBL butter

- 1 Guinness beer

- 1 large bowl of mashed potatoes (made to your liking, I used butter, milk, garlic, and sour cream)

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Saute the onion, celery, and carrots in the oil and then add in the ground beef and cook until browned
• Add in your thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and basil
• Then add in the butter and peas
• Stir in the Guinness beer and let this simmer for 5-7 minutes 
• Remove from heat and spread the meat portion into a 13x9 pan and top it with the mashed potatoes
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the top is crispy to your liking and serve

*cheese on top is optional and super yummy!*

Irish Jagerbombs which we'll so aptly refer to as Irish Guinness Genius bombs- super bomb and delicious (I can't even believe I just said super bomb, but they are so delicious dot com). You cannot go a St. Patrick's Day without consuming one of these bad boys. But remember you have to drink it up before it starts to curdle.

What you'll need: 

- 3/4 pint Guinness stout in glass large enough to hold the shot glass also

- 1/2 shot Bailey's Irish Cream

- 1/2 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey

• Add  the Jameson and Bailey's to a shot glass layering the Bailey's on bottom
• Pour the Guinness into a pint glass only about 3/4 full and let it settle as you will dropping the shot glass in (very carefully of course)
• Drop the shot glass into the Guinness and chugarooo! 

Such a yummy traditional Irish meal and beverage! Thank you to my Sarah bear who came over with her hubs and shared the weekend with us, this recipe was so fun and easy and YUMMY to make! 

Hope you enjoy your St. Patrick's Day, have fun, be safe, and of course drink responsibly :D

Love, your mom

xoxoxo