Last week we started talking about what makes our time in the kitchen more efficient when we have such busy schedules. Making good use of our crock pot/slow cookers came in very handy with our busy schedule and allowed for some tasty dinners. Prepping and making meals ahead so their ready to toss in the crock pot are another great technique for busy moms trying to serve dinner to their families on weeknights.
Make Ahead meals allow us to prepare our meals ahead of time, save our sanity, and gives us more flexibility for those busy evenings filled with activities, so that we will have more time with our family. Plus, our pre-made freezer meals are ten times healthier than those pre-packaged meals from your grocer store’s freezer.
This Shepherd’s Pie recipe was the third recipe made during this week’s Make Ahead Meals.
Meal planning becomes easier for busy moms on weeknights with easy make ahead recipes saving time in the kitchen.
Shepherd’s Pie
Makes: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 cups frozen Make-Ahead Ground Beef
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups frozen corn or your favorite vegetable
- 1 cup beef gravy (gravy leftover that had been frozen)
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1/2 cup cheddar jack cheese, shredded
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Defrost ground beef mixture in microwave, 5 to 7 minutes or until it’s thawed. Remember to remove the lid before defrosting.
- Chop onion. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pressed garlic. (I use my garlic press a lot when adding garlic to a recipe.) Cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in ground beef mixture and seasonings. Add corn or other vegetables and gravy to skillet. Bring the mixture to a boil. Spoon into an oval or round baking dish.
- Shred half the cheese over potatoes. Mix together. (A Make Ahead step here is to already have the mashed potatoes made and frozen; just pull from freezer and thaw.)
- Spread mashed potato cheese mixture over ground beef mixture. (I piped the mashed potatoes over the top for something different.)
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove baking dish from oven. Shred remaining cheese over potatoes; let stand 5 minutes before serving.
With the Make Ahead Ground Beef I made at the beginning of the week, I was able to create three tasty dishes this week.
- Tamale Pie
- Zesty Taco Ring Bake (recipe coming soon)
- Shepherd’s Pie (recipe above)
