What Delicious Dish Are You Making? NNB's Reimagined Shephards Pie

Special Shephards Dinner Pie: Flavorful, Cheesy, Potato, Vegetable, Italian Turkey—Goodness.

This recipe has been tried, tested, and everybody approved. The only people that don't like it, are those who don't like mashed potatoes. If that is not your issue, then you will enjoy this all-in-one—possibly gourmet, meal. My version of Shephard's Pie is rich and filling. And according to these two people, it's:

The best personal creation I've had in years. Thank you!—David Brown & Joshua Lewis (BTW, they are my sons). Ha Ha!

This rich full meal is not for the dieter, but if you are dieting, I suggest you make this a cheat day or eat a smaller portion. When I first made this recipe several years ago, I wanted to make something worth repeating. I loved the idea of Shephards Pie, but I disliked the original recipe with lamb. So, could I create something everyone would eat, including me? And, who doesn't like mashed potatoes?

Unfortunately, I found one that doesn't like mashed potatoes, but again, she's only one person—Alyxx. She knows I love her for life.

I've tried it with both regular and sweet potatoes; both are delicious. At a work food competition, I won second place because it was too cheesy. I had velveeta and regular cheese. My next thought, "What type of meat would be a bit more healthy and flavorful?" We don't use pork in our home, so, it was ground beef or turkey. It was tempting to go with the ground beef, but I always use ground beef for my Famous Nachos. I'll do that recipe next.

With turkey being the alternative, and I know turkey can be boring by itself. I had to think about what was in my freezer, and I found, Italian Style Turkey Sausages from Jenny O. There is no advertisement here, but they are the only ones in Los Angeles that make it in turkey. So, I used the sweet and the hot as a mix for some spice and extra flava. Yes, you can use regular Italian Pork Sausage or beef, or Beyond Meat, if you like. Lease it to say it was a hit.

I've perfected it over the years and tried some other ingredients, but there are some mainstay items you can't do without, like onions (green, and white, yellow or brown), sour cream, bell peppers (red, orange, yellow; no green, too bitter), Velveeta and/or Mexican style cheese, and broccoli, or from the original (Mixed vegetables), but I prefer a more flavorful vegetable that soaks in some of the other meat pie flavors.

Reimagined Shephard's Pie on a saucer

Section 1: Ingredients

Here are the ingredients for a medium to large baking pan to feed 10 or More:

• 8 to 10 lbs of russet, yellow, red, or sweet potatoes.

• 1-1/2 to 3 lbs of ground turkey, beef, Jenny O Italian Turkey Sausage or veggie meat.

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted or salted butter or alternative if preferred.

• 2 bushels of green onion (1 to 1-1/2 cups of cut green stem for top of pie).

• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups).

• 2 cups (16oz) Sour Cream.

• 4 cups of Mexican Style or your choice of cheese.

• 2-4 cups of broccoli or mixed vegetables or cauliflower, etc.

• 1 to 2 cups milk or (unsweetened almond milk or your preferred substance unsweetened).

• 1 - 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

• The spices used are salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and other seasonings to taste.

Section 2: Meal Prep & Cooking Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.

• Cook time: 1 & 1/2 hours

• Cut up broccoli to bit-size pieces. Chop onions, bell peppers, and slice green onions. - Place 1 cup of sliced green onion stems to the side.

• Mashed potatoes:

- Wash, peel and place the potatoes in a medium to large-sized pot.

If preferred, you can leave skins on, but make sure you wash them. I've done it both

ways and both are delish.

- Once fully cooked, add in 2 to 3 sticks of butter or alternative, sour cream, milk,

smash and season to taste.

• Meat Prep: Jenny O Turkey Italian Sausage (Sweet or Hot or Both). Make sure all meats are thawed completely. Cooked 2 ways:

- Sauté vegetables with 1 stick of butter or nonstick spray. Set to the side.

With skin: Thoroughly cook. Let cool. Slice along the sausage, then cut round slices.

- Add meat, then Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings to taste into the

sautéd vegetables .

Without skin and all other meats: squeeze meat out of casing, into the sautéd

vegetables and cook thoroughly.

1. Remember, cheese naturally has salt, so minimizes adding too much salt to the potatoes and meat.

2. Taste all the completed prepared foods before assembly for additional seasonings as needed.

Section 3: Assembly in Casserole or Large Party Dish

Before assembly, decide how you want to layer your pie: Double or triple Layered. The pictures shown are double layered. Below instructions are for both.

Triple Layer

• Place layer of mashed potatoes on bottom of pan.

• Layer vegetables (broccoli or preferred veggie) to cover potatoes and top with 1-1/2 cup cheese.

• Add the middle layer of potatoes. (Your spreading technique is key here!)

• Layer the meat/veggie mixture and 1 cup cheese.

• Add the top layer of potatoes and remaining cheese.

• Top with sliced green onion stems.

Double Layer,

• Place layer of mashed potatoes on bottom of pan.

• Layer in veggies to cover potatoes, (1-1/2 cup) cheese, then meat on top of cheese.

• Add in top layer of potatoes, cover potatoes with cheese on top and sprinkle on green onion stems.

1. Bake 30 minutes until thoroughly melted and simmered together.

2. Remove pie from the oven and rest for 30 minutes.

Voila! Your pie is ready to serve.

This blog was fun to do and write. Sharing a part of who I am and what I make twice a year for family and friends. It's definitely a meal that will go right away, depending on how many people you feed or you can have left overs or give some away.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and make it your own. Until next time, when I make my Famous Nachos.