This is another recipe from my 1968 New Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. It's called Hamburger Pie, but I think somewhere in the 30 years since it was called that, somebody thought it would sound better called Shepherd's Pie. Actually, it's not really what I would call a pie at all. There's no crust, but I guess not all pies have a crust. Truth be told, I didn't even put "hamburger" in mine. I used turkey, but it would just sound funny calling it Turkey Pie.

One of the main reasons I use ground turkey is not because I'm trying to make it healthier, it's because it is more economical. Also, it's because it tastes a lot less greasy than ground beef. A pound of ground turkey here costs about $2.00 compared to ground beef which costs about $3.50 a pound. The healthy part is just a fringe benefit. Just because I use ground turkey doesn't mean you have to. Use ground beef if you want, but just make sure you try this recipe. If your man is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, he's going to love this!

About 5 medium-sized potatoes
1 small onion (about 1/2 cup or so)
1 pound ground turkey or beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 can green beans
1 can tomato soup (or 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon corn starch, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt)
1 egg
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese

First, I put a pan of water on the stove to boil while I peeled and quartered the potatoes. I used Russet potatoes, another economical option. Yukon Gold are my favorite, then red potatoes and then russets, but put a 10 pound bag of russets on sale for $2.00 and they quickly make it into my food buggy!

To quarter potatoes, just cut them in half and cut the halves in half so you have 4 pieces.


Once this was done, I carefully dropped the potatoes into the hot water. If you're making this right now, you'll understand why I say carefully. The water is good and hot and will splash you if you're not careful.


Next, I chopped up a small onion and put it in the skillet with the ground turkey.


I cooked it until the turkey was brown and the onion was clear.  While that was cooking, I greased an 8 x 8 x 2 inch baking dish with a little bit of shortening.
Now this is where I thought for sure the recipe would say to drain the ground beef, but it didn't. I went ahead and drained it though.

This was before it was drained, just thought you might want to see it browned and the onions clear :)

In a small bowl I mixed up the tomato sauce, corn starch, sugar and salt.


I added the "tomato soup" to the skillet. Then I opened a can of green beans and drained them and added them too.


Well, by the picture it looks like I added the green beans and then the tomato soup. Next I added the salt and took my pepper shaker and shook it all over the mixture. Who knows how to measure a dash? I stirred it all together and then poured it in the baking dish.



By this time my potatoes were done so I drained them and put them back in the pan. Using a potato masher, I mashed them up.


I warmed up the milk in the microwave for about 20 seconds before I poured it in the potatoes. Then I added a beaten egg and mixed it all together.


Using a big spoon, I scooped up potatoes and mounded them on top of the meat mixture.


Now it's time for the cheese! I was tempted to use more because I love cheese, but I settled for the half cup and actually, it was just enough.



Did I mention you need to turn the oven on 350 degrees? In my opinion, there's really no need to preheat the oven if you're baking a casserole. Now cookies and cakes, that's a little bit of a different story. So, I turned the oven on 350 degrees and put the hamburger pie in to bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Twenty-five minutes later the sauce was bubbling, the cheese was melted and the tips of the potatoes were browned. I scooped it out on a plate and took it to my hubby.


It was a "second helping please and send me some for lunch" and he hardly ever specifically requests leftovers for lunch!