The Incredible Potato

OK.  Potatoes are just plain cheap.  This week at one of the local grocery stores you can get a ten pound bag for $1.99.  That's a mere twenty cents a pound!  That is a lot less expensive than pasta or even rice!

My kids love potatoes.  They speak variety.  Variety in the kind of potato: red, russet, Yukon gold, white, and others I have never even tried.  Variety in what you can do with them: bake, fry, hashbrown, whip, mashed, sliced.  The list goes on and that is using them as a stand alone.  You can use them in a lot of recipes too.  You can do so much with them, but as I look at my current menu calendar for October they are only on the menu six times.  Even if I just added a few more meals with potatoes, that could impact my budget in a positive way.

Look at it this way, when I made spaghetti this month, the pasta (I had to use two packages) cost me $4.36.  That's just for the pasta.  Nothing else.  Compare that with this complete dinner I made the other night.  It was a variation on  Shepherd's Pie.  The cost: $4.46.  Total!!! 

This is a great recipe when you are in a hurry.  I used some of the hamburger I froze from batch cooking the other night.  Although I had to boil the potatoes and whip them, this is a great recipe to make when you already have leftover mashed potatoes!

SHEPHERD'S PIE (A VARIATION):

1 pound of hamburger
2 cups of soy milk
2 cups of water
3 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 cup gf flour
1 package of frozen mixed vegetables
Whipped potatoes (I think I used about 4 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown your hamburger.  Crumble.  If you are using hamburger you already cooked, you are already ahead.  Add the vegetables to the hamburger and cook over medium heat.  When vegetables are cooked, add flour to thoroughly coat the hamburger and vegetables.  Add your water, soy milk, and bouillon cubes.  Stir until the mixture thickens.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour into a casserole dish and top with whipped potatoes.  Place in your preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes.

This was simple and delicious.  You could add a salad or vegetable or let the dish stand on it's own.  You may want to adjust your liquid amounts.  Mine turned out like a thicker gravy, but if you wanted a more solid meat mixture try reducing the water and milk.  I hope you enjoy!