Note that amounts may not line up precisely because we kinda fucked around with the potato step. Any ingredients not accounted for in the main portion should be assumed to be potato-related.

Cottage Pie
as overhauled by Yellcat Lair, round 1

Ingredients:
Mashed potatoes sufficient to cover the tray (one packet Idahoan prepared p much per directions, or 2 lbs raw potato mashed)
- if mashing from scratch: 1/2 cup milk
- if mashing from scratch: 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon parmesan (sprinkle cheese is fine)

1 onion, chopped roughly
1 generous dragon handful baby carrots, chopped in half
chopped garlic to taste, probably not more than a tablespoon
1 tablespoon or so butter or delicious frying fat (try bacon grease)
2 pounds ground beef (or lamb, if we want to make this a shepherd's pie)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (careful with increasing this, as boiled pepper is pepperier than finishing pepper)
2 tablespoons tomato paste, or 4 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (omit if anyone is gluten-sensitive!!!)
1/2 cup sangria from the big jug (or 1/4 cup of a nice flavorful vinegar such as red wine or apple cider) - while it should cook off enough to not have an alcohol taste in the finished product, it would not be safe for someone with an alcohol allergy such as Amber. ;)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (could increase this)
1 cup frozen peas, or frozed mixed vegetables with all the lima beans picked out (to local taste)

Prep:
Oven 425F.
Nonstick sautee pan.
Orange pot for the potatoes, if boiling; or else orange bowl if instant.
9 x 13 glass casserole pan, or the big dutch oven
Boiling water (for potatoes, if instant)
Thawed meat.
Baster and container for discarding grease.

IF MASHING POTATOES: cut potatoes and set to boil about 20 minutes, until tender.

Chop onion and carrots into roughly forkable chunks.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter or bacon grease on medium high heat in the sautee pan.
Add onion and carrots.
Cook on medium high until onions have become translucent.

Add garlic and ground meat to sautee pan, stirring and breaking up chunks until meat is no longer pink and juices coming out have started to look more like fat and less like underlying meat juice broth. (This is a great time to check on the potato situation. Prepare instant potatoes or mash regular potatoes.)

PREHEAT THE OVEN ABOUT NOW

Skim off most of fat with baster, for it has done its job.

Add ketchup; stir for 1 minute, ish, until well incorporated.

Add flour; stir for 1 minute, ish, until well incorporated.

Add wine and cook until wine has largely evaporated, a few minutes.

Approximately simultaneously:
Add broth
Add thyme
Add pepper
Add salt

Stir until any delicious brown bits on the bottom of the pan have been unstuck.

Make sure it is back to a boil.

Stir in frozen vegetables, until well incorporated.

Transfer into casserole dish.

Carefully spread mashed potatoes on top: by spoonful, or with a piping bag if ambitious.

Sprinkle cheese on top.

This will bubble like a motherfucker, so if there's any chance it will boil over, put something underneath to catch the drips.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned on top of potatoes.