Herd the Bird

Last week it started off somewhat mild, but as the week progressed, it got cooler and cooler. There's something so comforting about a warm meal made all in one pot.  I'd made mashed potatoes and had a good bit of them leftover. One of my favorite things to do is to transform leftovers into a new meal, so I made a delicious Shepherd's Pie topped with said potatoes.

Now traditionally, Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb, and most make it with beef.  But I went a little different route and made it with ground turkey.  You really can't taste a difference and it's a nice alternative if you want something a little healthier or have already had your beef fix for the week.

I served our Shepherd's Pie with leftover homemade bread that I'd made the day before in the bread machine.  I'd put it in the machine and left to run some errands and returned home to the smell of yeasty dough rising and baking. Ahh, such a wonderful aroma!  This pie is made with lots of veggies and what's nice is you can make it with whatever ones you like. Also, you can use fresh, frozen or canned veggies or a combination which is what I did.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

• 2 lb package of ground turkey (you can use the ground white & dark meat combo like I did or if you prefer, ground turkey breast)
• 1 medium onion, chopped as fine or chunky as you like (I prefer small dices)
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup green beans (I had fresh ones and steamed them for a few minutes before adding to the rest of my veggies)
• 1 cup corn (I had fresh, but a certain little one, was a bit fussy, so we resorted to frozen to speed things up)
• 1 cup leeks (I had frozen, sliced ones from Trader Joes)
• 1 cup fresh, sliced mushrooms
•  1 cup green peas (frozen)
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper 
• 1/2-3/4 cup of turkey or chicken stock (I happened to have turkey on hand since it's the holiday season)
• 2-3 cups of leftover mashed potatoes (Or make your own fresh taters to top with)
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional, but Donald suggested it and I went with it)

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Heat Dutch oven on medium high heat and add ground turkey. Break up with a wooden spoon and stir around pot until just cooked through.  I scrape it from the pot into a colander with a plate underneath to catch grease and extra liquid.  (I let it cool, then transfer it to an old can or jar and discard in the trash. )This makes it healthier and a lot less greasy on your palate. I do this to all ground meat I'm cooking.
3. Add onions and cook until tender and translucent.  Add garlic and stir in good with the onions to prevent it from burning. Then add the rest of the veggies of your choosing.  Add salt and pepper. (But don't go too crazy as you want to taste again after adding the meat, tomato paste and stock below.  These ingredients might add just enough saltiness to your liking and you won't need to put more. If you feel it needs more s&p, then sprinkle away. Remember, you can always add more, but you can't take away.)
4. Splash in about 1/2 of the stock and cover the pot and let the frozen veggies steam and heat up.
5. Add the drained turkey to the veggies and mix together.  
6. Add the can of paste along with the rest of the stock and combine.  Adjust seasoning if needed.
7. Top with the mashed potatoes.
8. Sprinkle cheese on top of potatoes and place in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes.

If you are not in any hurry on eating, this can sit for a while and still be quite hot. With the blanket of potatoes and cheese keeping the turkey and veggies warm beneath, you could leave this for days and return to find it still warm. However, if you'd like to eat that day, I would suggest going ahead and spooning out your portion onto a plate soon after taking out of the oven.  It will be very warm, but will cool down nicely.  I love watching steam escape from a fresh made meal. Plus, the warm plate will keep your hands toasty on especially cold days.  I wrapped our leftover bread in tinfoil and had it heat through the last 10 minutes or so.  To be honest, I miss the orange color of that carrots would bring to this dish and I'm pretty sure carrots are very traditional in Shepherd's Pie, but I just don't like cooked carrots.  Donald will eat them, but I just didn't feel like peeling, chopping and cooking something only to pick it out later.  Besides, as I said before, fussy pants wouldn't have allowed me to do this if I wanted to. If you like carrots, then by all means, add them to your pie.