Shepherd's Pie... or more accurately 'slop'

I cooked what was supposed to be Shepherd's Pie for dinner tonight. I've prepared this meal a couple of times in the last few of months, but both times it came out quite bland and dry—not moist with that 'kick' we like. The recipe isn't difficult so it's hard to mess it up. I wasn't sure why, here in Costa Rica, it came out of the oven so differently. Tonight, I made some gravy to add into the ground beef before combining all the ingredients into a casserole dish. I added some curry paste, rosemary, carrots, cream corn and the mash potatoes, I mixed in some leaks (from the garden). A sprinkle of grated cheese on top and into the toaster oven for 45 minutes. As I dug right in, scooping out the first spoonful, it was obvious there was far too much gravy! It wasn't Shepherd's Pie... it looked more like gruel... but boy, was it ever tasty. So the amount of spiciness was achieved this time around, but the consistency was an epic fail. I've renamed it Shepherd's Slop... and Kevin has christened it 'Sloppy Anne's'.