The grand feast is over and, if your family is like mine, the leftovers seem to multiply like loaves and fishes. 

Now, of course, everyone had sandwiches the days after Thanksgiving. Hubby has munched on those turkey bits at midnight every night now. The kids have cleared the mac and cheese but have forgotten that they do in fact like the green stuff in the green bean casserole. No one wants another sandwich. What can be done with these leftovers?

In my house, they become Shepherd's Pie. 

There are ton's of recipes for after Thanksgiving, I know. From super sandwiches to casseroles to pot pies, it seems like everyone has an idea, but I love doing shepherd's pie for a few reasons. The main one is that I don't have to mess with dough. Chances are that I have already waged a war with pastry over at least 2 pies, and possibly other dishes, and I don't want to do it again. 

It is also practically guaranteed that I will have leftover mashed potatoes. My husband is a potato lover in the truest Irish sense which means that I don't make a bowl of mashed potatoes. I make a COMMERCIAL SIZED MIXING BOWL of mashed potatoes. He may pick at turkey scraps that were shredded off the bird for a snack, but he will pilfer spoonfuls of leftover mashed potatoes and eat them like lollipops. It is not uncommon in those days after Thanksgiving to find him walking around the house with only a spoon handle visible out of his mouth.

Furthermore, my version of shepherd's pie is easy. I just cooked for 20 to 40 people, I do not want to stand and make a roux or gracefully layer anything. I want to chuck it in a bowl, bake it, and call it a day. And I want to use as many leftovers as I can from dishes that I know will die a slow, painful death shoved to the back of my fridge.

For this recipe, I use leftover turkey, green bean casserole (or green beans), any other cooked veggie that is served except the sweet potatoes, stuffing (dressing), gravy, and mashed potatoes. Talk about clearing out the haul. You can also make this shepherd's pie as big or as small as you want depending on the amount of leftovers you have or how many you need to feed. I'm going to give you the measurements I use for my 11 in. deep oval baker (about the equivalent of a 9 x 13 baking dish- so 3 qt). This feeds my family of 4, including my potato obsessed hubby, with a serving or 2 of leftovers for lunch at work the next day.

Ingredients:

2 c. Cooked Turkey, diced or shredded

1 c. Green Bean Casserole

(If you had green beans alone, just add 1 ½ c of those and a can of cream of mushroom soup)

1-2 c. Random Veggies (cooked, diced or small)

(I have used corn, carrots, peas, cauliflower, broccoli- even broccoli casserole, onion casserole… Honestly, just grab whatever has a hint of veggie and toss it in there but make sure it is savory. That is why I don’t use sweet potatoes. Shepherd’s pie and marshmallows do not go together.)

1 c. Stuffing

1 c. Gravy

1 c. Milk

(You can also use cream- but this is a great chance to kill the open can of evaporated milk that you know you still have and won’t use and will die in the fridge before Christmas baking!)

½ tsp Ground Mustard

1 tsp Thyme

2 tbs Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 c. Mashed Potatoes

(This really depends on what casserole dish you are using- in my deep oval baker I use just over 2 cups but in a standard casserole with a wider top, you will probably need 3.)

Instructions:

• 1.Preheat oven to 350 °F
• 2.Put all ingredients, except the mashed potatoes, in a big mixing bowl and mix together. thoroughly.
• 3.Lightly spray, or grease with butter, your baking dish. Pour in your mixture from the bowl and spread evenly with a spoon
• 4.Place dollops of your mashed potatoes on top and spread in an even layer. You can also pipe this on for better presentation, but like I said, this recipe is about ‘easy’ so I don’t do that.
• 5.Bake for 25 minutes then crank up the heat to 425 °F for 5 more minutes to get nice golden peaks on those potatoes

Tada! Leftovers cleared and dinner on the table! Enjoy!