Using Holiday Leftovers ... Shepherd's Pie

This dish is the ultimate comfort food for a cold winter’s night, and is an economical complete dish with meat, starch and vegetables all in one. It is easy to pull together, especially if there are leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge from the holiday table.

I like this simple dish so much that whenever I make mashed potatoes, I make extra just so I can whip this up the next day.

Shepherd's Pie
(Serves 6.)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pounds lean ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour for a GF meal)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans and corn)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Leftover mashed potatoes or Mashed Potato Topping, (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Shepherd's Pie

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and onion to the skillet and brown, breaking up the meat, until it is just cooked through. Drain off the fat.

Add the flour to the skillet and stir to combine. Slowly stir in the broth then add the tomato paste. Stir in the mixed frozen vegetables and add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until heated through and well combined, about 10 minutes.

Transfer mixture to an ungreased shallow 2-quart, oven-proof casserole dish.

Spread mashed potatoes over top of meat mixture. Run tines of fork diagonally over potatoes, give casserole a quarter turn and repeat with fork.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve at once.

Mashed Potato Topping
• 5 medium-sized Yukon gold potatoes, each peeled and split in half (about 2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender. Toss the potatoes into a colander to drain. In a bowl either mash the potatoes or use a potato ricer.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix well. Add additional butter or milk until the potatoes reach a nice creamy, but not runny, texture. Use for topping the Shepherd's Pie.