Irish Shepherd's Pie

Luke and I miss several Ames restaurants, of which one is Dublin Bay for its Irish Shepherd's Pie and Irish soda bread. Since we won't be traveling to Ames anytime soon and I've been wanting fall food lately, I attempted to make a homemade version of Irish Shepherd's Pie tonight. While it wasn't the same as Dublin Bay, it wasn't half bad, and I got to try a new vegetable in the process. I'm posting the recipe here for my memory's sake. Here's the recipe I concocted:

Ingredients:
1 stalk celery, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
2 parsnips, diced
1/2 c. frozen peas
3/4 lb. diced steak or stew meat
1/2 onion, diced
Garlic powder to taste
1/4-1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. basil

Mashed potato topping ingredients:
5 russet potatoes
1/4 c. cheddar cheese
Garlic powder and black pepper to taste
Enough butter and milk to create a spreadable texture.

Directions:
1. Boil potatoes in enough water to cover them for about 15 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain and mash with butter, milk, cheddar cheese, black pepper and garlic.
2. Place celery, carrots, and parsnips in saucepan with just enough water to cover. Boil for 10 minutes and then add frozen peas. Boil for 5 additional minutes or until desired tenderness is achieved. Drain the vegetables, reserving the water.
3. Meanwhile cook steak with onion and garlic powder. Once the meat is cooked through, drain any grease.
4. Mix together the meat mixture, the vegetables, 1 c. of the reserved water, and the spices (pepper, thyme, marjoram, oregano, and basil). Place into an oven-safe dish. Top with mashed potatoes. Top mashed potatoes with a few dabs of butter.
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven until warmed through and top is slightly crusty.

This was somewhat time consuming, but I completed steps 1-4 ahead of time and then tossed it in the oven in time for dinner. Since it was refrigerated between prepping and baking, it took about 45 minutes to bake. Because it's rather time consuming, I won't make this often, but it was good for a change from the usual. Next time I may try my hand at Irish soda bread.