Variations of Shepherd's Pie

Just like many others, I have to make the dollar stretch to feed three people all month. It isn't always easy to come up with different meals, but the challenge makes it fun. I made a variation of a shepherd's pie tonight that my daughter said was awesome. She actually said, "Mama, you outdid yourself on this one. Be sure to put this on the menu each week!" So I dare say I hit a home run with this one. I will call it Chili Pie.

Chili Pie

Here is what you do to make chili pie. I used about a cup of Bisquick and used enough milk to mix it up into a ball, but you can make biscuit dough from scratch if you want to. You want it to be the same consistency for which you would make biscuits. Take a pie plate and lightly grease it and then place your biscuit dough in it and press the dough out so the bottom of the pie plate is covered with biscuit dough. Let it stand for now.

Dice up an onion and sauté it in a frying pan. As the onion is clarifying, add a pound of ground beef. Cook the hamburger down and then drain off as much grease as you can. I empty the contents of the frying pan into a strainer and strain the grease out of the meat. I discard the fat when it cools into a plastic disposable ziplock bag and then dispose of it in the trash. Never put your fat down your sink.

After straining the meat and onions, put them back into the frying pan and put a can of chili in the meat and stir it up until it is all mixed up well. Now spoon the chili mixture over the biscuit dough that will be your crust. Now pour a good bit of parmesan cheese over the chili mixture. Next take 2 cups of milk and heat it in a small pot, add to the milk 3 tablespoons of sour cream and 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine. When the milk comes to a boil cut off the heat and add about ¾ cup of instant mashed potatoes. If your potato mixture is too soft, add a bit more potatoes to make it firm, but soft enough to spread easily. Pour some more parmesan cheese over the potato frosting on the pie, and then top it with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. This dish is very good. Enjoy!

Breakfast Pie

You can make the shepherd's pie in many variations. Last week I didn't have any hamburger, so I made it with Italian sausage. You make the dough the same way as you read above and press it to the bottom of the plate to make the crust. Fry up the Italian sausage. I like to take it out of the casing so I can crumble it easier into small bite sized pieces. Drain off all the grease.

Next scramble up some eggs with a splash of milk and cheese; let the eggs be a little moist, don't dry them out too much when cooking them. Then mix the eggs with the sausage and cover the crust with the egg sausage mixture. Cover the eggs and sausage mixture with tater tots and cover them with parmesan cheese and shredded cheddar cheese.