Displaying pep, she's hired for meat-and-potatoes fare (9,3)
I believe the answer is:
shepherds pie
'fare' is the definition.
(shepherd's pie is a kind of food)
'displaying pep she's hired' is the wordplay.
'displaying' indicates an anagram (the anagrammed letters display the answer).
'pep'+'shes'+'hired'='pepsheshired'
'pepsheshired' is an anagram of 'SHEPHERDS PIE'.
'for meat-and-potatoes' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for shepherds pie that I've seen before include "Minced meat dish" , "Meat and mashed potato dish" , "Mince and mashed potato dish" , "Meat-and-potato dish" , "Food" .)