Freezermeal Friday: Shepard's Pie

Hey now! Here's a shocker, did you know there are several different ways to spell "shepard"...The way I spell it may or may not be one of them. I saw it mostly as "shepherd", but that's like, SO hard to type, that it just took me 3 tries. So guess what? Screw it! It's "shepard" to me! This is another great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. This is a nice, healthy, lower fat comfort food, since all the fat comes from turkey and olive oil, and the rest is veggies.

Today is probably the nicest day (almost) so far this spring. It's really beautiful outside, and you can tell that everyone is in such a great mood because it's warm. My superintendent Ismael was hangin' on the stoop next to mine, and he seemed pretty happy. Guess what he did next? Carried some packages up to the 3rd floor and put them in my apartment for me so that I didn't have to make 400 trips up and down with the packages and the baby. How nice! I mean, he'd be as helpful even if it were cold, but I think the weather helped his mood. Great stuff!

I'm just in the best mood today, and am getting a lot done. Too bad Mike will be home in 3 hours and probably ruin it all. (Ha! JK Mike - oh wait, I forgot, you don't read my blog anymore...so you won't even see this!)

I've gotten a lot done today:

1. Grocery Shopped


2. Got $.99 Whole Foods Organic Sale apples (about 7 lbs) for homemade applesauce and lunches


3. Got a case of mason jars to jar said applesauce


4. Made mashed potatoes


5. Made shepard's pie


6. Made myself breakfast and lunch


7. Blogged about 1-6

Here's your recipe for the day! OK, and do you want to know something ridiculous? As soon as I got done spreading the potatoes, I realized I forgot to add frozen corn and peas...like the best part. So, anyways, please don't follow in my footsteps. I am an idiot. On a lighter note, I just saw the commercial for tonight's SuperNanny, and man, is she bringing it. There's a "sex-talk" involved, which is all I needed to know. I guess I'll make Mike go down to one of the college dining halls to watch NCAA basketball.

I've included the measurements in pieces of vegetables you need (6 carrots) and cups (4 cups), which means you could EASILY make this entire thing with frozen vegetables. That would be so EASY + FAST + THRIFTY of you!

don't forget the peas and corn like I did!

From here on, the spacing is doubled, and I have no clue why, sorry.

Shepard's Pie

(you can easily make this vegetarian by omitting the turkey and adding a few extra veggies!)

serves 6

1 lb. ground turkey (on sale at Whole Foods - $2.99)

1 lb. carrots chopped (organic - about 5 medium - 4 cups - $.75)

2 stalks celery chopped (about 2 stalks - 1 cup - $.20)

1 medium onion ($.07)

1 c. frozen peas (organic - $.50)

1 c. frozen corn (organic - $.50)

2 cloves garlic ($.04)

2 t. dried basil ($.12)

1 t. dried parley ($.06)

1 t. dried oregano ($.06)

1 1/2 t. salt (<$.01)

1/2 t. black pepper ($.03)

2 T. olive oil ($.24)

1 T. cornstarch ($.06)

1/2 c. water ($.00)

4 c. mashed potatoes (about 6 medium potatoes $1.00 Haymarket + 1 T. olive oil ($.12) + 1/2 t. salt (<$.01) + 1/4 c. milk or soymilk (organic - $.09) = $1.22)

Total is $6.85 that's $1.14/serving, yum!

1. In a medium covered pot, over low heat cook until softened:

• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• basil, parsley, and oregano
• chopped carrots
• chopped celery
• chopped onion
• chopped garlic

2. When celery and onion are translucent (I like to keep the carrots a bit firm to the bite), add the ground turkey, and cook until browned.

3. When turkey is browned, add frozen peas and corn (unless, like me, you're deciding to forget to do that).

4. When meat is browned, mix 1 T. cornstarch with 1/4 c. water and add to pot, stir and let cook until thickened a little bit.

5. Pour meat and vegetables into a dish, and top with mashed potatoes. Rough up the top of the potatoes to make nice little peaks that will get nice and brown and crunchy.

6. Let the dish cool. Then freeze. I think the easiest way to do this is to wrap the entire dish in plastic and then again in aluminum foil. If you put it in bags it'll get all messy, but still taste great nonetheless!

7. When you are ready to enjoy this delicious dish, let it thaw a bit in the fridge (like, put it in the fridge in the morning), then bake it at 350 until it's bubbling, probably about 20 minutes. Then crank it up to 400 to brown the potatoes.

scrimpyTips:

- I use cornstarch and water here instead of broth to form a gravy. Some people use beef or chicken broth, but I don't think you need to spend the money. All the flavors from the turkey and vegetables are in the oil at the bottom of the pot, so all you need to do is add a thickener, in my opinion.

- You can use any type of ground meat for this dish. Actually, I think you could use any leftover meat.

- You could easily make this vegetarian, which I mentioned before...I just don't know if anyone reads my pre-recipe ramblings.

- Remember to keep the heat low and the cover on the pan, that way the moisture from the veggies comes down to help them cook and form a little broth at the bottom. Doing this allows you to use less fat.

- I would looooove this with mushrooms added. Talk about yum.

- You could add some breadcrumbs mixed with butter on top, too!