Shepherd's Pie with a Twist

 As most of you know by now, I am a fool for shepherd's pie of any variety. Whether a mashed potato topping, beef or pork or turkey, any type of vegetable, gravy or tomatoes, this is my comfort food. So after freezing diced tomatoes with their juice a couple of weeks ago - yes, I will include the recipe for that - I went "aha!" when looking through our admittedly sparse pickings right now. We obviously 'dug into it' because this is the remnants of dinner tonight. Here is my little tutorial on one pot (and a casserole) Shepherd's Pie.

Frozen Diced Tomatoes

1. Wash all tomatoes thoroughly. I just put cold water in a sterilized sink and let them soakdwhile I prepared for freezing, then wiped them with paper towel before the next step to ensure they were cleaned (these were garden tomatoes)
2. Place water in a large pot - fill about half-way - add tomatoes and bring to a slow boil. Make sure the water covers the tomatoes totally so they can blanch properly.
3. Sterilize sink or use a large bowl, place ice water inside and let sit.
4. When skins start to split, turn off element and remove tomatoes one at a time with slotted spoon. Place in ice bath that you have created. Let rest until cool enough to handle. Dice each tomato with a paring or other sharp knife, placing in container with juice. Do not fill to more than 1 inch from the top of the container and pop on the lid.
5. Place in freezer or if you prefer, simply use right away in your favorite recipe (or this one).

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

• Potatoes 6 or 8 (enough for 2c of mashed potatoes)
• Diced tomatoes (1 1/2 c canned or as frozen above)
• Ground beef (approximately 1 lb)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Mixed vegetables of your choice
• Grated cheddar cheese (1 cup)
• Seasoning of your choice: salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, dry beef bouillion, a tbsp of ketchup, minced or chopped onions etc.

Preparation 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cook diced potatoes on medium heat in a saucepan with enough water to cover them and boil until tender when poked with a fork (approximately 20 minutes). Drain some of the water and mash the potatoes. You can add a splash of milk and a couple of tbsp of butter as well as 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 tsp salt for flavor and texture.

2. Brown ground beef in oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat with chopped or minced onions, stirring until brown (about 5-10 min.). Every stove is different so it's best to stay while the meat is browning.

3. Drain the fat from the saucepan (I used a small colander to make it easier).

4. Add diced tomatoes, frozen mixed vegetables and your choice of seasoning to the meat and stir gently with a spoon until heated through and thick - 10-15 min.

5, Pour into a 2 qt casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes to cover the top of the casserole and sprinkle with grated cheese.

6. Bake in oven until the cheese is melted and the meat mixture begins to bubble and seep through the mashed potatoes. This will take approximately 30 minutes.

7. Let sit for 15 minutes with a piece of foil to cover the top to cool it slightly and enjoy! Great with a side salad or garlic toast. With any luck you will have left-overs for the next day.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

This recipe is an adaptation from a recipe at allrecipes.com, one of my favorite go-to sites. It is perfect for potlucks, family dinners and with a bit of tweaking (see below), is just right for large gatherings (2 pans). This is the perfect dish to prepare the night before and bake the following day. And yes, I had to taste it for "quality control" <koff koff>.

Ingredients

• 2 large baking potatoes (or 6 regular)
• 1/2 pound lean bacon (or Real Bacon Bits)
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• 3/4 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
2. Poke a few holes into each potato using a toothpick.
3. Bake potatoes in the preheated oven until fully cooked, about 1 hour. Cool for about 15 minutes.
4. Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels and crumble.
5. Cut a thin slice from one side of each potato; carefully scoop out the flesh and transfer to a bowl. Discard skins. Mix 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, sour cream, milk, butter, chives, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder with potatoes. Spread potato mixture into the prepared casserole dish; top with 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until just bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
7. 
   

*Let the 'tweaking' begin. I baked 5 lbs of potatoes and, after letting them cool slightly, I scraped the contents into a big bowl and chopped them up with my spoon. I added a full bag (8 oz) of sharp cheddar, 1 1/2 c of sour cream, 2 tbsp of dried chives, half bag of Kroger 'real bacon bits', ground pepper and salt (didn't measure, just poured some on my hand and then into the bowl). I didn't use garlic salt because the chives provided sufficient seasoning). I used about a cup of milk and about 4 tbsp of butter. The potatoes were still hot enough to melt the butter when mixed in. I folded everything together, put it in one larger foil lasagna pan and one smaller, more shallow aluminum foil cake pan (about 8.5" by 12.5") for us. I used another half bag of shredded sharp cheddar to top the two pans and sprinkled liberally with dried chives and about half the pack of bacon bits. The casserole was moist, not wet, before baking and because I like my casseroles well cooked, the small one took about 25 minutes to warm through with bubbly cheese. I will probably cook the large one for about 30-40 minutes. Turned out tasty, slightly puffy and smelled delicious!*