Surprise Shepard's Pie

I have always followed the saying, waste not want not. With a small family of three, we tend to have a lot of left-overs. I love to cook large meals and forget sometimes that we are not a large family. Instead of eating that same meal repeatedly I try to find unique ways of reusing meals.

This week we had a beef roast crock pot style. It was a hearty meal, mixed with potatoes and carrots. A simple, yet delicious slow cooked meal. I thought why not use these left-overs to make an old-fashioned Shepard’s pie.

A Shepard’s pie is a meat and vegetable filling topped with mashed potatoes and baked. This recipe can be done with any pie dough, whether bought or scratch made. The filling usually is a meat and vegetable base. This is where I used this weeks left-overs. Topping it all with mashed potatoes, which can be done scratch or instant made.

Over the years I have tried and tried to recreate my grandmothers pie dough. Unfortunately, I am going on stories of her. I never got to know her, and she is not with us anymore. I hear she was the master baker of the family. She was infamous for her pie dough. Reusing left-overs sounded like a great way to try this recipe again.

Pie Dough Recipe

All Purpose Flour        1 cup

Sugar                           2 Tablespoon

Salt                               1 pinch

Butter, frozen               1 Stick/8 Tablespoon

Ice Water                     ½ - 1 cup as needed

1. Sift together dry ingredients
2. Shred butter and cut into dry ingredients until mealy
3. Slowly add in water until dough just comes together.
4. Chill at least 1 hour and use as desired

Printable Recipe

Build a Shepard’s Pie

1. Make pie dough and place in sprayed glass pie pan.
2. Par bake at 375°F, 15 minutes, with dry beans in foil to prevent dropping or over rising.
3. Allow dough to fully cool before finishing next steps.
4. Add in desired filling, top with melted butter and season as desired. I like to use a dash of an Italian blend.
5. Top with mashed potatoes. Feel free to create designs or swooshes for a nice finished look.

Whichever way you want to build this dish it is totally up to you. It is fast, simple, and filling. A quick way to use left-overs with a fun wintry warm twist.