Whenever someone has a baby, families from our church provide several nights of meals This is a tremendous help to the families adjusting to a new family member. I have a special meal I always take to a family in need. My husband loves shepherd’s pie, and it is easy to make. It freezes well too. The recipe is so simple, it is easy to multiply to share easily, or prepare ahead for your own family. The measurements aren’t a science, but that’s part of the fun of making multiples!
Shepherd’s Pie.
3-4 pounds of potatoes
1 pound of ground meat (beef and turkey work well and can be mixed)
1/4 cup butter (we like our mashed potatoes rich and creamy)
1/2 cup milk (more or less, to make the potatoes yummy)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded cheese divided (we like colby and jack)
1 packet of brown gravy prepared (needs 1 cup of water to make)
1. Peel, wash, and slice potatoes–if you slice them in 1/4-1/2 inch slices you’ll make fewer cuts and still be able to cook them rather quickly. Place them in a pot of cold water and boil for about 20 minutes or until tender. Pour into a colander to drain.
2. As you mash the potatoes and add the butter and milk to desired creaminess, brown the ground meat. If you want to add flavor to the potatoes, do it now. We enjoy ours with a little garlic, but if I’m making to share, I usually leave out much of the strong flavors.
3. Drain the meat. Spread half of potatoes on the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Prepare the gravy mix.
4. Add the meat on top of the potatoes, spread the corn on top of the meat, and add 1/2 cup of the cheese.
5. Drizzle the gravy on top of the cheese. Add the rest of the potatoes on top–I’ve learned to use a metal spoon to plop and spread out from the edges of the pan toward the middle so it doesn’t pick up the cheese and corn.
6. If you’re going to freeze or cook later, cover it and either put in the refrigerator or freezer. If you are going to share it, put the remaining cheese on top.
7. Bake fresh pie at 350 degrees till warmed through, roughly 30 minutes (if it’s in a glass dish you should see the gravy bubbling at the edges). Bake a chilled pie at 350 degrees till warmed through, roughly 50 minutes. If you freeze, I recommend thawing in the refrigerator over-night.
I made three today, two in 9×11 foil pans to share and one in a 9×11 pan for us. I used 3 pounds of meat, 10 pounds of potatoes, 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of milk, 3 cups of corn, 4 cups of cheese, and 3 gravy packets. I spent under $20 for all of it, including the pans to give away.Whenever someone has a baby, families from our church provide several nights of meals This is a tremendous help to the families adjusting to a new family member. I have a special meal I always take to a family in need. My husband loves shepherd’s pie, and it is easy to make. It freezes well too. The recipe is so simple, it is easy to multiply to share easily, or prepare ahead for your own family. The measurements aren’t a science, but that’s part of the fun of making multiples!
Shepherd’s Pie.
3-4 pounds of potatoes
1 pound of ground meat (beef and turkey work well and can be mixed)
1/4 cup butter (we like our mashed potatoes rich and creamy)
1/2 cup milk (more or less, to make the potatoes yummy)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded cheese divided (we like colby and jack)
1 packet of brown gravy prepared (needs 1 cup of water to make)
1. Peel, wash, and slice potatoes–if you slice them in 1/4-1/2 inch slices you’ll make fewer cuts and still be able to cook them rather quickly. Place them in a pot of cold water and boil for about 20 minutes or until tender. Pour into a colander to drain.
2. As you mash the potatoes and add the butter and milk to desired creaminess, brown the ground meat. If you want to add flavor to the potatoes, do it now. We enjoy ours with a little garlic, but if I’m making to share, I usually leave out much of the strong flavors.
3. Drain the meat. Spread half of potatoes on the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Prepare the gravy mix.
4. Add the meat on top of the potatoes, spread the corn on top of the meat, and add 1/2 cup of the cheese.
5. Drizzle the gravy on top of the cheese. Add the rest of the potatoes on top–I’ve learned to use a metal spoon to plop and spread out from the edges of the pan toward the middle so it doesn’t pick up the cheese and corn.
6. If you’re going to freeze or cook later, cover it and either put in the refrigerator or freezer. If you are going to share it, put the remaining cheese on top.
7. Bake fresh pie at 350 degrees till warmed through, roughly 30 minutes (if it’s in a glass dish you should see the gravy bubbling at the edges). Bake a chilled pie at 350 degrees till warmed through, roughly 50 minutes. If you freeze, I recommend thawing in the refrigerator over-night.
I made three today, two in 9×11 foil pans to share and one in a 9×11 pan for us. I used 3 pounds of meat, 10 pounds of potatoes, 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of milk, 3 cups of corn, 4 cups of cheese, and 3 gravy packets. I spent under $20 for all of it, including the pans to give away.
As I have explained, this is a organization tool. It's not a miracle apparatus. It could without difficulty change into yet another expense should you not put the effort and time into finding out how to make the most of it.