Sausage Sheppard Pot Pie


Sausage Sheppard Pot Pie



Today I decided to use up left over’s in the refrigerator. I am trying to clear out the refrigerator and the freezer over the next month or two so I can get ready to buy the supplies I will need for fall and winter.
In the refrigerator I had a left over stuffed pepper and some chicken and vegetables I had made in the crock last night. Next I pulled out some Italian sausage from the freezer. I had bought some Italian sausage at Price Chopper when it was on sale. I found it too mild and not even close enough to having enough spices to make it taste like Italian sausage so I have been using it in sauces and other meals where the flavor of what I am making does not depend on the flavor of the sausage.
The next thing I had to do was figure out what I was going to make for dinner.
I went on line and looked at various recipes I could make.  I found noting that included all I had left over but a couple of different recipes if I combined them just right might work.
I decided to combine a sausage pot pie and a Sheppard’s pot pie together.
Once I made this decision I realized this meal was going to be easy and fast too make.
I began by taking out two sausages out of the freezer bag and left one in the bag for tomorrow’s breakfast so I can make sausage and gravy.
I broke up the sausage and put it in a cast iron pan with a little olive oil. Next I cut up all the left over vegetables and the remainder of the stuffing in the stuffed pepper and the pepper itself and added it to the pan and put it on a cast iron frying pan. There was only a little stuffing left over because I had made lunch out of the stuffing for two days but I included it the pan anyway. I had a piece of chicken left but set that aside for my lunch.
I covered the pan and put the flame on low.  Then I went off and made lunch. When lunch was over the sausage and vegetables were cooked and ready to be topped with potatoes and put under the broiler for a few minutes. So I went into my pantry and got out the Idaho instant potatoes and began making them up. I discovered that the little bit of milk I had in the refrigerator had gone bad. Not a problem I reached in the cold cut drawer and took out some shredded cheese and used that in place of the milk. I mixed it all together and put it in the microwave for a minute and a half. That is not what the directions tell you to do but let’s face it after the first time I do it my own way.
When the potatoes were cooked I took them from the microwave fluffed them up with a fork and gave them a try. They were great! I could have stood there and ate the whole bowl! Instead I frosted the top of the vegetables and sausage with them and placed them in the broiler for about ten minutes.
That was a mistake. I should have just left them under the broiler for about five to seven minutes. That’s ok as soon as I could I tasted the Sheppard Pot Pie to see if it was over cooked or burnt. It wasn’t and the part of the potatoes that was a little burnt on top was easy to peel off since it had formed a light crust.
I am giving myself a break for the little mishap of leaving the pan in the broiler too long because I have never used a broiler before. Next time I will know better and do it right.
I will include a picture of the pie right out of the oven.
I can tell you the Sheppard Pot Pie tasted great and I will enjoy having some it for dinner tonight.
Perhaps in a couple days I will use the remainder of the Sheppard Pot pie will turn into a stove top frittata. We will see.
Until then I will enjoy my dinner tonight from leftovers that will seem like a freshly cooked meal because I did it my way.

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