Are you sick of Thanksgiving food yet? We were. On Sunday, we happily ate bar food in Valley Falls, Kansas after cutting down a wild Christmas tree on our friends’ land. A greasy burger and fried mushroom never tasted so good.

But still, those leftovers linger in our refrigerator and let’s face it: there’s NO WAY I’m letting it go to waste, sick as we may be of the stuff. Repurpose it, I will.

One great way to use up the lurking leftovers is to make shepherd’s pie. It’s good for using up leftover vegetables, leftover mashed potatoes – heck, you could probably throw some turkey in there. I didn’t have any turkey to throw in, because I didn’t cook a turkey this year. That’s right, we had cornish game hens for Thanksgiving. I am such a rebel.

We like our shepherd’s pie with ground beef, although you could sub with lamb or even turkey – why not?

So I began by browning 2 lbs of ground beef with two teaspoons of salt, and then draining off the fat.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225622/

Then I mixed in a tablespoon of curry powder and a teaspoon of seasoning salt, and put the meat in a casserole dish.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225623/

Next, I used some remaining grease from the hamburger to saute vegetables. I started with a half a cup of carrots (because they take longer than everything else), and as they grew tender I added in a clove of garlic, minced, half an onion, a cup of frozen whole green beans, a half a cup of peas, and a half a cup of corn. Salt and pepper liberally and saute until everything is tender, but not mushy.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225621/

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225624/

Then I added the vegetables to the meat and stirred everything to combine.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225625/

Next, I dolloped some potatoes on top, probably about 3 cups or so, and then spread them out with the back of a large spoon.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225626/

And then I pricked at the potatoes with a fork so they’d get some texture. That texture picks up brown nicely and gets a little crunchy. We likey the crunchy.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225627/

Bake at 350 for fifteen or twenty minutes, or until everything is warm through and slightly brown on top. So easy!

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225628/

Curried Shepherd’s Pie
3 to 4 C mashed potatoes
2 lbs ground beef
1 C chopped carrots
1/2 C frozen whole green beans
1/2 C frozen corn
1/2 C frozen peas
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T curry powder
1 tsp seasoned salt
salt and pepper to taste

You can make this with almost whatever you have. Leftover green bean casserole? Throw it in there! Creamed corn would be good, and so would sweet potatoes on top. Be creative – this is definitely a “kitchen sink” sort of casserole. I enjoy the curry flavor in it as it sort of brings a little something new to the table. Especially after the salty and savory dishes of Thanksgiving, I like to bring some spice to the show.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/28/225629/