Leftover Menu – Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe and More!

I am a firm believer in using up everything you have and I always encourage people to stop wasting food. A lot of recipes are especially well suited for this and today we’re including an easy Shepherd’s pie recipe. I’m also including a few tips about how to waste less food and make your food budget go further.

Tips:

• If you have leftover pumpkin puree, add it to a pot of chili. It gives a nice little bit of added flavor and, of course, extra nutrients.
• Keep a plastic bag of butter and margarine wrappers in your freezer. When a recipe calls for a pan or cookie sheet to be greased, just pull one out and use. Start saving them now so you will have a nice supply when your holiday cooking comes around.
• I often recommend that you save your little dabs of leftover ground beef in the freezer to use for all kinds of things including today’s Shepherd’s Pie recipe but it’s also good to keep a separate one for your taco meat. Then the next time you make your favorite cheese and salsa dip, just add some of your leftover taco meat to it. If someone wants a burrito for lunch, they already have the hamburger. Add cheese or beans and they are ready to go.

Menu:

Leftover Shepherd’s Pie
Tossed Salad
Bread or Rolls with butter and jam
Banana Cream Brownie Delight

Recipes:

This leftover Shepherd’s Pie recipe is very flexible. You don’t have to use the ingredients exactly as listed. You can add more vegetables or meat if you want. It is one of those meals you can have ready to pop in the oven in just a few minutes with very little work. The next time you have mashed potatoes and gravy, plan on making a little extra or use the leftovers to make this Shepherd’s Pie recipe the next day. You can keep cooked ground beef in the freezer to use and use canned gravy to make things go really fast if you don’t already have leftover gravy.

Leftover Shepherd’s Pie

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can beef gravy
1 cup frozen mixed veggies
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups mashed potatoes

Cook beef, onion and garlic until beef is brown. Drain. Add the rest of the ingredients except the potatoes. Place in a greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Spread potatoes over the top. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until heated through. You could add some butter cracker bread crumbs or cheese to it for a little extra if you want.

Banana Cream Brownie Delight

1 pkg. (13×9 in. pan size) fudge brownie mix
1 cup (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
3/4 cup peanuts, chopped and divided
3 medium firm bananas
2 (5.1 oz each) pkgs. vanilla pudding
1 2/3 cups milk
1 carton (8 oz.) whipped topping

Mix the brownie mix according to the package directions, adding 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup peanuts to it. Pour into a 13×9 greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes. Cool.

Slice bananas and lay on top of brownies in a single layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup peanuts and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Beat milk and pudding for 2 minutes with a mixer. Fold in whipped topping and spread over the top. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts and chocolate chips. Refrigerate leftovers.

For more quick and easy recipes to make your life easier, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.

Photo By: Lil’ Dee