The thread was discussing ways to be thrifty when buying and cooking food....
flaflwrgrl posted
I've learned to put a tiny amt. of water in the pan after I cook any meat & glean the browned juice off, pour in a container & freeze. When I have enough stock then I've learned to make a killer Shepard's pie using beef, pork or chicken. Put the stock in & some water, cut up carrots, Italian green beans, onions, salt, pepper, & a tiny amount of frozen shoepeg corn. Cook that a few minutes, then I thicken with either tapioca flour or arrowroot flour & you have to make it pretty thick b/c in the later cooking a lot of water will come out of the veggies & thin it. Then I put the veggies & gravy into personal loaf pans. I've usually planned ahead & when I made mashed potatoes, I made lots extra & added very finely chopped onions to the taters. The mashed potatoes need to be room temp to spread. Spread them about a 3/4" thick layer over the veggie/gravy mixture. Use a baster to put a thin wash of oil on top & a fork to make peaks. Stick the whole thing in the oven @ 425 for about 30 min. If it's not brown enough on top then just hit broil for a bit until it's nice & crispy looking. I serve it right in the loaf pan which fits perfectly on a plate.
