CHEESY SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH GROUND BEEF OR LENTILS AND CRIMINI MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• In a large saute pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and the butter. Heat until the butter is melted. Add the onions and carrots and cook for about 8 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
• Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly. Add the vegetable broth and, continuing to stir constantly, cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, and reduce the heat, stirring until the mixture thickens.
• Add the peas, corn, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for another couple of minutes then add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
• Cook the lentils according to package directions. Generally you'll rinse them, sort them (to make sure there aren't any little rocks or whatnot in there), and cook the 3/4 cup dried lentils with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
• In a medium saute pan, brown the ground beef, then drain.
• In another medium saute pan, saute the mushrooms over medium heat with a little olive oil until soft, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cooked lentils.
• Add half the onion/pea/corn gravy mixture to the ground beef, and the other half to the mushrooms/lentil mixture.
• Spread each mixture into two 8 x 8 casserole dishes. Set aside.
• Fill a large saucepan with about eight cups of water. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes. Boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes, until you can insert a fork easily into the center. Drain the potatoes then return them to the pan. Add the butter, splash half and half or milk, sour cream, and one cup of the cheddar cheese. Mash the potatoes, then add salt and pepper to taste.
• Spread half of the potatoes over the meat mixture in the casserole dish, and the other half over the vegetable mixture.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheddar cheese over each dish, then sprinkle each dish with 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs.
• Bake both dishes at the same time at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are nice and golden brown. Serve.