Simple, versatile shepherd's pie recipe with fridge-foraged ingredients

As families hunker down at home amid the novel coronavirus outbreak it's time to forage through the fridge to make the most out of all the ingredients people already have on hand.

"Simple Beautiful Food" cookbook author Amanda Frederickson showed "Good Morning America" how easy it can be to make a meal out of ingredients sitting in the fridge and pantry.

"I started fridge foraging to encourage people to cook with what they've got and reduce food waste," she explained.

Now, the Nashville-based cook has opened up her social channels to try and help her followers get some recipe inspiration.

If someone sends her a photo of their fridge and pantry ingredients, she will then help decide what to cook, based on what she sees.

One family in North Carolina shared their supply of ground beef, carrots, tomatoes and potatoes and a classic dinner recipe came to mind for Frederickson.

"I immediately thought of Shepherd's pie," she said, "it's a hearty casserole."

"It's super adaptable, you can use different types of ground meat, you could make it completely vegetarian with lentils," she explained. "On top you could use mashed sweet potatoes, mashed cauliflower -- think of this recipe as a guideline not a strict recipe."

She continued, "use whatever you've got in your refrigerator and get creative."

Check out Frederickson's full recipe below and get more recipes that use everyday pantry ingredients here.

Shepherds Pie

Ingredients

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

Kosher salt

8 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme

⅓ cup canned crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon flour

¾ cup stock or red wine

Garnish with fresh herbs (if you have them)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cover potatoes with cold water and add in 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Bring to a low boil and cook the potatoes until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the potatoes and mash with a masher or ricer, mix in butter and cheese. Set aside.

In large saute pan cook the onion and carrots over medium heat. (Add in any other vegetables you make have like celery or frozen peas) as well as the dried thyme and rosemary.

Add ground beef and continue cooking until the beef is browned. Add in canned tomatoes, flour and stock.

Place the mashed potatoes on top of the filling and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Serve warm.