Mexican Cottage Pie

I have to explain that a lot of these pictures were snapped quickly before I knew I was really going to start this blog, so I didn't do a whole lot presentation-wise. I promise I will try my best to improve the picture quality!
On to the Mexican Cottage Pie. It is a layer of 1/3 any cornbread recipe, ground beef mixture, topped with a mash of white and sweet potato:



I have the bad habit of making things on a whim, with what is in the cupboard.

I can guess what was in this. Let me introduce you to a staple in my kitchen. It's such a staple, that I bring back several boxes of this every trip I make to the states. Blame my Puerto Rican best friend who introduced me to this in college.



Cook up your lbs of ground beef, with one packet of this (or some other stock cube seasoning-- don't mind that its chicken).

Few pinches of (to taste, just keep sampling it until it tastes good to you)
white pepper
chili powder
cumin
basil
half tube of tomato paste
2 cloves of garlic, I put them throw a garlic press, you can finely chop
shake of Worcester sauce (another staple)
1 red pepper
mix in a rough cup of shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2-1 cup peas.

I actually cooked a 1/3 recipe of cornbread in the bottom of this pan before I added the hamburger meat. Any all recipe will do. You can skip this step, but it makes the pie oh-so-nice. You can make half of a jiffy cornbread mix if you'd like.

Spread the ground beef into a 9x9 or other pan (or on top of your cornbread). Press it down nice and tight.

The top is a mash of both white and sweet potatoes (2 white, on 1 sweet). Steam and mash, spread across the top. Sprinkle some cheddar on top.

Bake 20-30 minutes at 350F

Spoon out and consume, comfort food!