Shepherd's Pie, Re-invented

I heard once that Shepherd's Pie was a great winter meal but the flavor was bland and that the ingredients could end up being too pricey if it wasn't prepared right...and for this reason I decided to "re-invent" this dish with a few extra goodies that would  delight even the harshest critic!

The ingredients I'm adding are minced garlic, sautéed onions, worcestershire sauce, Knorr beef bouillon and 4 cheese sprinkle topping!

Let me begin by saying, be prepared to work in the kitchen for at least 2 hours and I've actually cut down on prep time by using ready-made mashed potatoes (otherwise you'd be working an additional 1.5 hrs!).

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs mild country sausage 
- 2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
- 2 LG family size Bob Evans mashed potatoes (32 oz containers)
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 Tbsp minced garlic 
- 6 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp Knorr beef flavor powder
- 2 cans of corn
- 2 pats of butter
- fresh cracked pepper
- 4-cheese sprinkle (8 oz)

Prepare:

Brown the 2 lbs of sausage with half the onion cut into small chunks. Add 1 tsp knorr powder, 3 Tbsp Worcestershire, 2 Tbsp minced garlic & fresh cracked pepper. Do Not add water!

Cook until onions start to caramelize and the meat begins to show some burnt edges (for extra taste!).

Drain & put in a bowl and set it aside. Now repeat the exact same process with the 2 lbs ground beef. Make sure the meat starts to get slightly burnt and onions are completely soft. Drain excess fat.

Mix both meats in a deep 10 x 14 baking pan and even it out with spatula. 
Heat 2 cans of corn (without can juice) with 2 pats of butter in the microwave. Now layer it on top on the meat evenly. 
Next, heat the mashed potatoes about 3 minutes each in microwave to make them softer and easier to apply over the corn. 
Bake at 400° F for 45-60 minutes or until the top turns medium brown!

As soon as you pull it out, sprinkle 8 oz cheese mix on top and let it melt!

Let it stand for 15 minutes before you cut into it so it won't fall apart!