Summarize the following:
In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 cups ground beef and 1/2 cup chopped onions. Season with thyme, cloves, chopped garlic (if desired) and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring to crumble the meat and mix in the spices, until the meat is evenly browned. If you'd like a more flavourful pie, you can also use a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg as seasoning. Once your meat is cooked through, use a wooden spoon or spatula to push your meat to one side of the pan and tilt the pan away, letting the grease pool on the other side. Spoon it grease out, or carefully tilt your pan over a grease safe container to dispose of it. Place your cooled grease into a sealed non-recyclable container and discard it into your regular trash can. Do not dump grease into the kitchen sink or toilet bowl or even use hot water to wash it down the drain. This allows grease to get into the sewage system or harden in your pipes. Be careful whenever handling hot grease. Chop 1 potato into small pieces and add it to the skillet with 1 1/4 cup beef broth to start. Pour in 1 1/2 cup carrots and peas. The beef broth will keep your filling moist once the grease has been drained out. You can peel your potato if desired. If you want something different, try using a sweet potato instead. You can also add more or less beef broth as needed, but don't let your filling get too soupy. You may need to thicken your filling if it gets too runny. This can be done in a number of ways. Here are some things to consider: Mix two tsp. of flour with 1/4 cup cold water or 1 tbsp. cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water before stirring it into your mixture Thicken with flour. For each cup of filling, use about 2 tbsp. of flour. Add the flour in increments of 1 tbsp. Add the flour slowly and stir in each addition. This will help prevent lumps from forming in your filling. Cook and stir for 1 additional minute until your sauce is thickened and bubbly. Thicken with cornstarch. For each cup of sauce, use 1 tbsp. of cornstarch. Add the cornstarch in increments of 1 tbsp. and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add 2 minutes to your cooking time for cornstarch.
Cook your meat. Discard the grease or fat. Add the vegetables and beef broth. Thicken your pie filling (optional).