My adrenaline was rushing. I charged in with a mission, my eyes darting around to find my prize. With my luck, there would have been a run on what I so desperately wanted. But there they were – – a beautiful stack of 10 pound bags of potatoes. The stock clerk was piling on more and more, making a glorious tower. These weren’t your average bags of Russets – – they were 10 pound bags of Russets for 69 cents each. I snatched two bags and a 1 1/2 pounds of green beans on a major sale too. I go to check out and the cashier said, “That will be $2.33.” That was for 20 pounds of potatoes and 1 1/2 pounds of green beans. I came. I conquered. Oh, yeah.
So, let’s just say my family is eating potatoes. And more potatoes. But, they do keep well refrigerated. So far I’ve made one batch of potato soup, shepherd’s pie, and beef stew with potatoes. I’m going to start getting fancy with the potatoes, making them into a quiche crust, and some Italian torta thing my cousin Jenny wants me to try. It looks really neat.
This recipe is great for reinventing holiday leftovers. Let it cool for about 5 or more minutes before serving. It makes a ton.
Shepherd’s Pie
- 4 to 5 pounds of Russet potatoes
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 or more warmed milk
- Salt and pepper
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3 cups of gravy
- 3, 14 1/2 ounce cans of vegetables, mix of what you like – – I use corn, carrots, string beans
- 2 TBSP butter, melted
Spray a large (larger than your average 9×13 casserole) with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 450.
Wash and peel potatoes and place in cold water. Bring to a boil and lower to simmer. Cook until tender and drain. Put 1/4 cup butter in bottom of large bowl. Spill drained potatoes over butter, and let sit for about a minute to allow the butter to start melting. Mix until butter is incorporated, and add salt and pepper to taste. Add warmed milk and mix. If potatoes are still too thick, gradually add more warmed milk until you reach desired consistency. Add canned vegetables to potatoes and gently fold in with large spoon to incorporate.
Brown ground beef with garlic and onion. Salt and pepper the beef mixture while cooking. Drain beef mixture and put at bottom of prepared casserole. Pour gravy over beef mixture. Place potato mixture over gravy and beef. Melt 2 TBSP butter and spread over potatoes. Bake until browned.
Potatoes! When I buy a big bag I make a bunch of hashbrowns (cubed, w/ onions, seasoned w/ garlic, season salt, pepper, add ham or bacon) that you can have with regular breakfast or add to breakfast tacos or just eat plain. Yum. I also cut a bunch into wedges, put on baking sheet, drizzle w/ olive oil, mix ’em up to get them all coated, sprinkle w/ season salt, garlic and onion powder, and toss in the oven to roast. Really good with Yukon Gold. One of these days I’m going to try potato pancakes (latkes) again. We’d eat them with applesauce. You can also grate and dehydrate, I haven’t done that yet….
I’ve been looking at your recipes most of the day, I started with looking at preserving grapefruit as my friend’s son has a bumper crop every year from the tree in his backyard. Thanks!