Happy Fourth of July. Sweet tooth n comfort food!!!!!

It's Fourth of July, United States Independence Day. We got some fireworks and I was looking forward to play....Unfortunately, the weather is not so nice today, raining... we have to postpone to tomorrow's evening.. :( Well, in celebration of Fourth of July, I baked a yellow cake/cupcakes with a vanilla cream cheese frosting. The small heart cake was for us and the cupcakes were for his friends. It was sweet and delicious..... :)

Since it was raining today, I wanted to make some comfort food for dinner... so I had to browse my recipe books... I looked at my "Step by Step Comfort Food" by Bay Books. I always preferred recipes books with step by step instructions accompanied with pictures.... make it a little easy for me.. hehe... Well, I chose Shepherd's Pie for our dinner today... :)

Ingredients:
2lb 4 oz (1kg) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 oz (30g) butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2lb 4 oz (1 kg) minced (ground) lamb - I used ground beef
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup (250ml) vegetable stock - I used beef stock
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup (155g) frozen peas

1. Cook the potatoes in large pan of boiling water for 15-20 mins, or until tender. Drain well and return potatoes to the pan over low heat. Remove from the heat, add the butter and milk, and mash until smoot. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft an just beginning to color. Add the meat, increase the heat and cook until browned.

3. Add the carrot to the pan and cook for a few mins. Sprinkle on the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 min. Slowly add the stock, stiring constantly, Add the Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil and cook for 2-3 mins, or until the gravy thickens. Season to taste. Stir in the peas and transfer the mixture to a 8 cup(2 litre) ovenproof dish.

4. Spread the mash evenly over the meat, Use a fork to swirl the surface. Bake for 40-50 mins, or until the potato is golden.

My shepherd's pie in the oven for bake.......

After the bake, this is what it looks like......

Served with slices of bread and some prawn crackers..... ~~DELICIOUS~~

P.S: We were at our friend's house (around 5pm), when we were told about a terrible tragedy happened just a few hours ago..... about a former quarterback player, Steve McNair, who led the Tennessee Titans was found dead with multiple shots in Nashville. It was unbelievable. We were in Nashville on Friday and today, a famous ex-NFL was killed. This is so sad.... :( Our deepest sympathy on to his family. R.I.P.