Well, guess I’m a little late for New Year’s sooooo, happy almost new month, guys! I would say my excuse for not writing is school and work, but to be honest it’s truly been a unmotivation to blog. Bloggers go through phases, right? All I’ve felt like doing after homework is watching Netflix, knitting and sleeping. Guess I need to get back on the blogging bandwagon if I want to encourage some cooks!
On that note, here’s the recipe I promised on my facebook page several weeks ago…. it’s a pretty rockin’ version of Shepherd’s Pie! I made it up based on the veggie soup I had in my fridge that was begging to be eaten and a 10-lb bag of white potatoes sitting on my shelf (needless to say, I only used five taters…guess I need to research somemore recipes!). Cobalt and I were so hungry the night I made this that we ate nearly half of the casserole…with the help of his sister, too of course ;-)
My absolute favorite things about this recipe is that it took maybe 45 minutes all together to make; and it was SO affordable. I mean I got the bag of potatoes for $3 at Aldi. The vegetable soup if you bought it in a can or as a frozen veggie mix is probably about $2; and a half-bag of cheese is about $1.25. So ~$6 for a meal that feeds 6 people? FULL OF VEGETABLES?? Sweet!
- 3 TBS olive oil
- 1/2 lb ground turkey
- Spices (salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
- 5-6 potatoes, sliced thinly (unpeeled)
- Pinch of salt
- Leftover veggie soup, drained (you could buy this in a can or just use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables for the same, if not cheaper, price)
- Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3 TBS cream cheese
- Salt, pepper, and thyme
- Fill a medium pot with the potatoes and fill with water until potatoes are just covered. Sprinkle with salt and let boil on stove (on medium-high heat) until potatoes are soft -- 15 minutes or so.
- While potatoes are boiling, turn on another eye of the stove to medium high and place a nonstick skillet (I used cast iron) on it. Pour oil in the pan and let heat for a minute or two. Add ground turkey and cook until no pink is left (if the pan dries up too quickly either turn the heat down a bit or add more oil, 1 TBS at a time).
- Meanwhile, pour veggies into the bottom of a casserole dish. Heat in the microwave on HIGH for 3-5 minutes, stirring to mix the heat after each minute.
- When meat is finished cooking, add spices. Then combine with veggies that are in the casserole dish, mixing well.
- When potatoes are soft, drain them carefully in a colander in the sink. Leave them in the colander for a moment. Put the pot back on the stove and add the cream cheese to let melt slightly. Return the potatoes to the pot and mash with a potato masher or blend with a hand mixer (if using this, pour a bit of milk in with the potatoes to prevent the mixer from choking). Salt and pepper the potatoes as needed and add a couple of tablespoons of green spices (thyme, rosemary, Italian seasoning, etc.).
- Spoon potatoes on top of veggies/meat mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top and microwave for 1 minute, until cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately! Serves 6.
- You can make this in the oven as well, layering all the pre-cooked ingredients and baking on 350 for 20 minute (until cheese is melted and ingredients are bubbly). I just found that a microwave was faster :)