Hillbilly Shepard's Pie

Let me begin by saying how much I love this recipe.  That should be a given since there are cheese and potatoes involved, but it deserves repeating.  That being said, I rarely make it because it isn't that great for you.  I got the Original Recipe here, and it was fantastic, but like I said it isn't great for you and it made A LOT, so I had to modify it.  I started out by trying to make it with gravy instead of the condensed soup- but that didn't help the nutritional value much.  Then I added veggies, but with the veggies came a request for cheese- so they kind of cancelled each other out.  Ultimately, it has evolved in to a Shepard's Pie like food...but with a lot less class.  

You will need:

30 Frozen tater tots (or 3 servings)

1/2 cup Shredded Cheese- any kind

1 pound Ground meat (I used beef, but turkey and chicken work great!)

Mixed frozen veggies, about a cup

1 packet Taco Seasoning (please buy the low sodium)

S.0.S Mix (Thank you Pinterest!)

1 skillet

1 large measuring cup

Whisk or milk frother

Square baking dish

Ignore the bread on top of the toaster- this is what happens when you leave groceries out!

Instructions:

Begin by browning the ground meat in a skillet. Make sure you break up the big chunks so you have a nice, even crumble.  Once the meat is browned, drain off the grease- or use my method of pushing all the meat to one side and sopping up the grease with some paper towels.  Classy, I know.  :)

So much easier than dumping and draining,  plus is saves another dirty dish!

After draining the meat, add in your taco seasoning, and follow the directions on the package.  You don't have to use a taco seasoning packet, you could just use the seasoning of your choice...I will never know.  Divide your meat mixture into 2 parts.  Since this is one of our monthly meal plan meals, I will be using the rest of the ground meat later in the week.  Half of it goes into our baking dish with our frozen veggies, half goes in the fridge.  If you want to use all your meat you can- but you will need to double the rest of the ingredients.

Make sure you mix the veggies and meat together so you get an even distribution

While the meat was browning, you could have started your S.O.S Mix.  If you forgot like me, start it now.  Take 1/3 of a cup of the mix and add is to 1 1/4 water  and mix well.  The directions said to use a whisk, I used my milk frother...because it works on everything! Mix until combined and the heat it until it thickens- which was about 4 minutes in the microwave, stirring every minute.  Make sure you watch it, it has a mind of it's own.  

Milk Frother!!!!

Scatter your tater tots on top of your meat and veggie mixture.  I beg of you, count out your tater tots.  There are a whole lot less tater tots in a serving than your eyes think there are.  30 tater tots, that is it.  Pour the S.0.S. Mix over the tater tots.  The S.0.S. Mix is replacing the condensed soup in the Original Recipe.  Like in the Original Recipe, you need to pour it over the tater tots.  I tried putting the tater tots on after- it's not the same.  

Delicious potatoes swimming in saucy goodness!

Sprinkle your half a cup of shredded cheese on top.  When I say half a cup, I mean a loosely packed, level 1/2 cup.  If you have tiny girl hands like me, you can probably reach in and just grab two handfuls.  Unless you know you have tiny girl hands, I would measure first.  Lots of calories and fat in cheese!

Cheese!

Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Then, uncover and bake until the top is brown and bubbly.  I'd show you a picture, but I forgot, and then we ate it all.  You can imagine though.  Just think about what delicious looks like, and then add tater tots and cheese.  

Serves 4.  

Nutritional information (per serving)

Calories: 299

Carbs: 30

Fat: 14

Protein: 16.5

Fiber: 4.5

Sugar: 4.5

I admit...I had two servings yesterday.  But it was so worth it!

That's what's for dinner!