Perfected Shepherd's Pie

I have been making and perfecting my Shepherd’s Pie for about 7 years now. At this point, I don’t know that this recipe could get any more perfect. I know I am tooting my own horn here, but this recipe is that good! For those of you who have been living under a rock your whole life, a Shepherd’s Pie is a beef, vegetable, and tomato sauce casserole topped with mashed potatoes and cheese.

About a month ago when I first started to do a little freezer cooking, I made a big batch of the beef-and-vegetable filling for Shepherd’s Pie and froze enough to make 2 large casseroles. Well last night for the first time I made this dish using the frozen filling, and it was PERFECT! I did make fresh mashed potatoes to top my casserole, so it wasn’t quite as speedy as most of my from-the-freezer dinners. However, definitely worth it!!

* Freezer Foods Tip: [I haven’t personally tried freezing potatoes of any kind yet, but I have read (and would imagine) that white potatoes do not freeze well. I can’t imagine mashed potatoes retaining their creamy texture after being frozen. Yuck.]

**SUPER LAZY NOTE: I have used pre-made Country Crock mashed potatoes in a pinch once when I didn’t make enough mashed potatoes, and it was fine. Now that I think about it, mashed potatoes from the deli at the grocery store would probably be cheaper than the plastic tub style.

Below are my original directions (written down for the first time) to make and freeze enough beef-and-vegetable filling for TWO large Shepherd’s Pies. J

~LAZY LAURA’S PERFECTED SHEPHERD’S PIE~

First, you will need to gather your ingredients. Shepherd’s Pie is extremely versatile so feel free to leave out the ground beef or substitute ground turkey. Add or omit any vegetable depending on your tastes. This meal can pack a powerful nutritional punch, so be sure to add any and all vegetables that your family will eat. All vegetables combined well in this dish so go crazy! Romanesco Cauliflower and fresh yellow squash have been some of my favorite seasonal additions.

~Ingredients for Filling~

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

4 cups of spaghetti sauce (Prego for me)

1 small can tomato paste

Pinch of salt, pepper, and oregano

½ sweet or yellow onion, diced

3-5 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1 small head of broccoli, chopped

5 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 small zucchini squash, sliced and quartered

1 can kidney beans

1 can green beans

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

STEP 1: Prep all of your vegetables! Dice the onion and bell pepper, mince the garlic, chop the broccoli, peel and slice carrots into bite sized pieces, and slice and quarter the zucchini.

STEP 2: Brown ground beef in LARGE skillet. Add onions and garlic to the meat in the last few minutes of cooking. Drain (if necessary) and transfer the meat to a bowl. Wash your skillet.

STEP 3: Then I add my broccoli, carrots, and a 1/3 cup of water to the large skillet, cover, and cook on medium-low, for around 5 minutes to soften them up a bit. Then I add the bell pepper, zucchini, and any other fresh vegetables you are adding, and cook for several more minutes.

STEP 4: Add spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, salt pepper, and oregano. Heat through. Stir cooked ground beef into the sauce mixture. Then add all canned and frozen vegetables (including kidney beans).

STEP 5: Pray your skillet can hold all of this. Stirring occasionally, heat this beef-vegetable-sauce mixture through on medium-low.

STEP 6: Transfer the filling to TWO, LABELED gallon sized Ziploc freezer bags. Freeze them flat. I would NOT use a freezer bag with a slider seal for this dish since it definitely has some liquid to it.

~When you want Shepherd’s Pie for dinner~

STEP 1: Pull the bag of filling from the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw the night before (or at least a few hours before) you want to cook it.

STEP 2: Heat filling through in large skillet on medium-low.

STEP 3: Make a decent sized batch of mashed potatoes. [Peel and boil potatoes, drain, add butter, milk, salt, then mash. ‘Nuff said.] After many times of running out of potatoes before covering my whole casserole, I now mash about 12 potatoes.

STEP 4: In a large casserole dish or a 9 x 13 cake pan, pour in and level meat-vegetable-sauce mixture. Dollop on the mashed potatoes, and then spread them to cover the casserole. Sprinkle cheddar cheese (Tillamook!!) on top.

STEP 5: Bake in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes. Then slice and enjoy!