1. This dish needed to serve two adults + two children so I was concerned about including a medley of little frozen vegetable bits the kids might reject. So I swapped in an equivalent amount of frozen corn (I took a gamble since I have yet to meet a kid who isn't OK with corn) and sliced mushrooms (large enough to pick out if necessary).

2. I made a ton of mashed potatoes because Laurel and I love mashed potatoes and my brain wasn't quite up for mentally converting whole potatoes into mashed cup equivalents. For my mashed potatoes, I make them divine with plenty of butter, milk, and magic salt.

3. I doubled the recipe, thinking I would make larger tray for my friend's family and a smaller one for home. Then I was a little concerned when I realized that the recipe is to fit a 2 quart baking dish -- essentially, a glass 9" x 9" baking dish, which seemed a bit small to bring for casserole patrol. But it worked out fine -- perhaps my meat layer was a little shallower, but it definitely seemed enough, the mushrooms added bulk, plus I had extra mashed potatoes to spare to add to the top. I was able to spread the double batch between a 9" x 13" tray for my friend and a 9" x 9" dish for home.

And the a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/shepherds-pie" target="blank">Shepherd's Pie was fantastic -- so simple but so good! My friend's family loved it, as did Jon, who isn't typically a go crazy over casserole sort of guy. We fought for the leftovers the other night; clearly, when I make this again (possibly tonight since it turns out we're having guests...), I need to make a big batch for home!

Image credit: Martha Stewart