Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Glad in conjunction with their #SAVEITSUNDAY program. With #SAVEITSUNDAY, Glad hopes to educate the public about the consequences of food waste, and I am proud they’ve asked me to be a part of the program. I am being compensated to share my #SAVEITSUNDAY experiences; all opinions are 100% my own.
Potatoes!
My family loves them and I buy them a lot. The best way to store them has always been a bit of a mystery to me, though…I’ve never been sure whether or not you are supposed to keep them in the refrigerator.
I’m really learning a lot since I started doing these monthly posts in conjunction with Glad. According to the food storage experts over there, potatoes should not be kept in the refrigerator. And once they’ve been peeled and/or cut, they should be placed into a large bowl and fully submerged in water, then covered with plastic wrap, like Glad ClingWrap, or perhaps a tea towel. (To learn more about the best ways to prep and store your foods, see Glad’s Protection Pointers.)
Prepping and protecting potatoes means they’ll stay fresher longer. This is good news, because it means less chance of food waste! And now that your potatoes are going to last longer, you can enjoy them in many different ways: bake them, dice and pan-fry them, roast them, mash them. You get the picture…you can do so much with potatoes.
One of my favorite things to do with potatoes lately is to use them in this easy and delicious Shepherd’s Pie Recipe.
Shepherd’s Pie may be one of those classic, basic recipes that everyone already knows how to make…but maybe not? You see, somehow I got to be 43 years old I had never made Shepherd’s Pie before a few months ago, when I happened on this recipe from Simply Recipes. Just FYI: true Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb (or mutton), while Cottage Pie is made with beef. So technically this recipe is for a Cottage Pie when made with beef…but, use ground lamb and it’s a Shepherd’s Pie.
Got it? Ok, here’s the recipe.
[cft format=0]
Tasty Shepherd’s Pie variations:
Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie from Food52
Carrot Mash Shepherd’s Pie from A Cozy Kitchen
Paleo Shepherd’s Pie from Eat Boutique
Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie from Diethood
See what my fellow #SAVEITSUNDAY bloggers are up to:
Visit Kristin/The Frugal Girl
Visit Mavis/100 Dollars a Month
To learn more about Glad and #SAVEITSUNDAY, follow Glad on Social Media:
Glad on Facebook
Glad on Twitter
Glad on Instagram
Related reading:
American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It)
Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal
*This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links. When you make a purchase via one of my links, I earn a small commission. I appreciate your support.
Recipe for Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
- *2 pounds potatoes I used Yukon gold potatoes
- *1/2 cup cream
- *4 tablespoons butter divided
- *1 large onion peeled and diced
- *2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- *One 10-oz. bag organic peas and carrots or an equivalent amount of freshly shelled peas and diced carrots
- *1 pound ground beef or use ground lamb
- *1/2 cup beef broth
- *2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- *sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- 1. To make the mashed potatoes, peel the potatoes if they are not organic, then chop them. Place potatoes in a medium-large pot on the stove and add water to cover. Bring water to a boil, add a generous pinch of salt, and boil until tender (15-20 minutes). Remove from heat and pour off almost all the water. Add the cream and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Mash the potatoes for a minute of two using a potato masher. I like my mashed potatoes to have some texture, but you can make them as smooth as you like. Add salt and pepper to taste, then set aside.
- 2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large (preferably cast-iron) skillet, then add the onion and sauté until tender (about 8 minutes). Add the garlic, peas and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. Add beef and beef broth and sauté, breaking it up as it cooks, until meat is no longer pink and broth has been absorbed (about 4 to 5 minutes). Stir in the worcestershire sauce. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- 3. Spoon vegetable/beef mixture into a baking dish (or just bake it right in the skillet, if you used cast iron). Spread potatoes evenly over beef; if you like, you can use a fork to make a "crosshatch" or other pattern in the potatoes. Bake until potatoes are lightly browned, 15-20 minutes, then serve.
