Fall is coming, and that means that it will be time to make one of our favorite fall dishes. It's called "Dinner in a Dish," and it is like a glorified shepherd's pie and it is fantastic, and by far one of the favorites here.
The kids don't eat it, but they usually get a tv dinner, hamburger, or something else to eat on the night that we have it. R won't eat it because of the potatoes (texture thing - won't eat potatoes unless they are french fries). Bit won't eat it, because well, I've no idea. She's eaten it before, but, now like meatloaf, she won't eat that either.
It takes time to prepare, but trust me, it is WELL, WELL worth the time and effort put into it.
Follow me below the fold, for the recipe and visual stimulation of this wonderful, tasty, fall dish!
What is Needed:
- 2 lbs ground turkey
- 1/2 an onion diced
- 1 whole tomato or 2 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
- 6-8 potatoes washed, diced
- 1/2 cup milk
- Salt, pepper to taste
- Italian dressing or Seasonings
- 6 pieces wheat bread, toasted, cubed (croutons work well too)
- 2 cups (or more if you desire it) shredded cheese
First step, boil potatoes to make mashed potatoes. Ensure that the water is liberally salted, this ensures that you have to add less while you are mashing.
While the potatoes are boiling, begin by browning the two pounds of ground turkey in a nonstick skillet. Add the Italian dressing (this is just to add a bit of flavor), or if you are not using Italian dressing you can season the meat with any combination of seasonings you like. For this particular batch I used Adobo, oregono, basil, salt and pepper. It worked well.
Once the meat is browned, add the veggies. Tomato, onion, can of corn. You can take liberties with the veggies if you aren't partial to any of these. But, these are the standards, and corn is usually a standard used in Shepherd's pie.
While the veggies are getting cooked, and the bread should be toasted and cubed to be added as one of the layers. You can skip the toast, but it doesn't quite taste the same without it. We've tried.
Now, in your large baking dish (we use an enameled roasting pan) make your layers. The first layer is mashed potatoes. Cover the bottom of the dish with the potatoes.
The second layer is half the meat and vegetable mixture, added and spread atop the layer of mashed potatoes.
Third layer is about half of the toast atop the potatoes, meat and veggies. Things are starting to look very, very yummy.
Layer number four, add about one cup of the cheese of your choice.
Continue layering until everything is done.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for twenty-five to thirty minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden. This one, is definitely one of those dishes that does well as left overs. Reheated the next day, its FANTASTIC!