This past weekend found me in a world of panic. Somehow I've been accumulating piles of meat in my freezer. When it comes to cooking, my ambitions are lofty, but by the time I get home after work, all I want to do is immediately enjoy my dinner. Inevitably, despite mounds of good intentions, I find myself consuming Ramen, cereal, or, on a particularly good day, some variation of the chicken-and-white-sauce-over-pasta (IF I've had enough foresight to leave some chicken out to thaw- but not so much foresight that it's gone bad by the time I get around to using it). The other significant factor contributing to this overhual of dead animal is my inability to pass up a good deal and my fear that chicken will never again drop below $4 a pound and if I don't buy up huge quantities while it's available, I won't be able to afford it and I'll be stuck eating Ramen or cereal for the rest of my days (is this ironic?).

So Saturday found me looking at something like 12 pounds of ground beef and I'd had enough. "That's it!" I exclaimed (to myself, alone in my apartment). "I'm going to damn do something with this ground beef!" I took stock of all the food I had on hand that was in danger of going bad soon, and what I came up with was some variation of Shepherd's Pie, which I will be calling

Cowboy's Casserole (because seriously, are shepherds even a thing anymore?)

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb sausage
• 3 potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 head cabbage, slice
• 1 can fresh kernel corn, drained
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 can mushroom soup
• 1/2 C sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

The key here is to SEASON THE MEAT. I cannot overemphasize this point (well I could, of course. I could say 'seasoning this meat is more important than the name you give your first-born'. I think we can all agree that would be a bit of an exaggeration). But still, if your ground beef tastes like ground beef, then your dinner will taste like you are poor.

So season the ground beef with salt, pepper, cumin (my favorite spice), Worcester Sauce and some italian seasoning, mix it with the sausage, and brown it in a frying pan. Dump all the veggies in a (big) bowl, pour in the soup and sour cream, and gave it a good mixing. Spread the mixture (which at this point will be five times larger than you originally intended) in a 13x9 casserole dish, cover it with grated cheese, and stick it in the oven for 45 minutes-1 hour.

I've been eating this stuff all week and I've still barely made a dent, but I have to say that I really enjoy it. It's perfect for those cooler days, now that we're actually experiencing them down here in the South. It's simple, cheap, and copious. Everything a cowboy could want :)