This is a recipe that our friend Steve Spivey developed a few years back when my cousin Vikki and I were working on recipes for the Pillsbury Bake-off. None of us won (we were robbed!) but we came up with some cool recipes and also learned some things you should just Not Do. Trial and Error and all that, ya know?
This is one of those recipes that seems very simple but for some reason, just WORKS. This is delicious hot out of the oven, but it also reheats remarkably well!
Steve’s recipe calls for instant potatoes (in part because of the competition) but if you’re a glutton for punishment, you can make and use real potatoes. I am devoted to the new ready-to-serve mashed potatoes from the refrigerated section, so I’ll probably give those a try.
Makes 2 deep dish pies
Ingredients
2 – deep dish pie shells – precook pie shells according to instructions for pies with fillings
1 – pkg frozen french style green beans – small bag he thinks – it’s really up to you how many green beans you want in the mixture
(must be totally thawed and drained of all liquid)
Instant box potatoes – make 8 servings with double the butter; adjust with milk if needed to make them more pliable
2lbs – Ground beef or a combination of ground beef and turkey
Garlic to taste
1 large onion or to taste
1 small can of tomato paste or more to taste
Parmesean cheese for topping potato layer – as much as you want, really adds an extra BAM! to the taste sensation
Brown meat, remove from pan and drain
Saute onion and garlic in same pan
Add meat back to pan
Add green beans to mixture
Add tomato paste
Mix and get all ingredients hot
Add salt and pepper to taste
Spread meat mixture between both pie shells
Spread mashed potatoes on top – it will be a lot, like about 2 inches high
Sprinkle cheese on top
Bake at 400 for about 15 to 20 minutes
MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO KEEP ALL THE LIQUID TO A MINIMUM or the pies shells will be soggy.
Everything is really to taste, if you need more tomato taste then add more tomato paste.
Thanks, Steve, for the recipe, and thanks, Vikki, for sharing!
Steve says instant potatoes work better than real, it has to do with the consistency of the mash. The boxed seem to be fluffier. So if using real potatoes, you need to make sure they are not heavy, they should be fluffy and light.