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!

My husband asked what I was cooking for supper tonight and when I told him we were having Deer Ham, he said, "well, you're not cooking anything then!"  Earlier this week, a friend from work took a deer ham that I had in my freezer and had her husband smoke it for me. I've had it in my freezer for a while trying to figure out how to cook it. We were talking the other day and she told me that her husband made his own rub and when he smoked meat he would smoke a bunch for them and their friends and neighbors. Fortunate for me he was ready to smoke some more! She brought it back yesterday. It smelled so good! This evening I pulled it out of the fridge, put it in a baking dish and covered it with foil. It baked in the oven for about 30 minutes on 350 degrees. After I put the deer in the oven I told my husband, "I am cooking, I'm making mashed potatoes, with real potatoes!"

I don't know if Yukon Gold potatoes are in season right now or what, but those are my potatoes of choice and Walmart finally got them back in the store. If I didn't have those I would have used red potatoes. Russet potatoes are not that good to use for mashed potatoes. They're better if you use them for frying or baking.

After I rinsed and scrubbed the skins of the potatoes, I cut them up into chunks. Most of them I cut in half and then cut the halves in half and then I cut those halves in thirds.



I covered them with water and added about a half a teaspoon of salt and put them on the stove to boil.


I should have timed how long it took, but I figure it was about 10 minutes or so. When I was able to easily stick a fork all the way through the potato I turned off the burner and drained them in a colander in the sink. I shook the colander to make sure all the water was drained and poured the potatoes back into the pan.


Over the years I've made several batches of real mashed potatoes. If I have evaporated milk on hand, that's what I use. If not, I use regular milk. The key is to heat the milk up before you add it. I put about a cup of cold milk in the microwave for about 45 seconds before adding it to the pan of potatoes.


Then I added about half a stick of butter. I never use margarine. I know it's silly, but ever since my daughter came home from school and said margarine was one molecule away from being plastic I quit buying it. Honestly, nothing can beat the taste of real butter. If you've been using margarine to make cookies, try using real butter and I can almost guarantee you won't use margarine in your cookies again.


Next I took a potato masher and started mashing the potatoes. I added about 1 teaspoon of salt and a few shakes of pepper and finished mashing the potatoes.


They must have been really good. Usually my husband asks for seconds of the main dish, but this time he specifically asked for more potatoes too!  And Debbi, if you're reading this, let your husband know he did a wonderful job. My husband and I thank you both!


My plan for the rest of the week is to make:

• Mexican Pasta
• Sweet and Sour Pork
• Chicken Cordon Bleu
• Black Forest Cake

So be sure to check back later for the recipes for these!