Shepherd's Pie with Directions for Freezing
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 medium or 2 to 3 large potatoes, scrubbed with a clean vegetable brush
- ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
- 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
- 1 medium onion, scrubbed with a clean vegetable brush, chopped
- 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables (i.e. peas, carrots, corn, green beans), thawed
- 1 cup savory beef gravy, purchased or homemade
- 4 ounces Neufchatel or low-fat cream cheese, cubed and softened
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Directions:
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Peel and quarter potatoes, cutting into even chunks. Place in a large sauce pan; add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Salt water, if desired. Cover pan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 20-25 minutes or until fork tender.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and chopped onion. Stir often to crumble, until cooked through and temperature reaches 160°F on a food thermometer. Drain fat.
- Stir vegetables and gravy into meat. Spoon into a 9-inch square pan or 2 8-inch pie pans.
- Remove cooked potatoes from saucepan and drain in a colander. Return potatoes to pan; heat gently on stovetop on low heat for about a minute to further dry potatoes.
- Mash potatoes in pan with a potato masher or remove potatoes and add them back by passing them through a potato ricer.
- Mix in cream cheese, ½ of the shredded cheese and the garlic. Add a little hot milk if the potato mixture appears too thick.
- Cover meat mixture with potato mixture. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup shredded cheese. If freezing Shepherd's Pie, skip to Prep, Freeze and Bake section.
- Preheat oven to 375 °F. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through (165 °F as measured by a food thermometer) and potatoes begin to brown.
Notes:
PREP, FREEZE AND BAKE:
- Place prepared, unbaked pie in the refrigerator until completely cooled.
- Wrap cooled pie in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Label with contents and date; place in freezer. For best quality, serve within 2-3 months; however, shepherd's pie will remain safe indefinitely, stored at 0° F.
- When ready to eat, thaw for about 24-hours in the refrigerator.
- When ready do bake, reheat oven to 375 °F. Remove foil and plastic wrap; bake thawed pie for 20 minutes or until heated through (165 °F as measured by a food thermometer) and the potatoes begin to brown. Shepherd's pie baked cold from the refrigerator may take slightly longer than if baked immediately. Loosely cover with foil at the end if needed to prevent pie from getting too brown.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Software Used: ESHA Food Processor
