Pioneer Pie

Think of this as a Shepard's Pie like meal only inspired from a different continent/culture and containing different layers. It is called: "Mom being creative to keep teen boys happy."  

I made this with buffalo meat which made me think of Pioneers crossing the prairie being gifted with buffalo meat from Native American hunters.

I used a 10 1/2" cast iron skillet to layer everything in after preparing the ingredients:

  1. I cooked 3 red skinned potatoes , slightly larger than a baseball. Keep the potato skins on and gently simmer them whole until tender. Make into mashed potatoes with butter and milk.  You could easily cook more potatoes for a thicker potato layer. You could then feed a crowd larger than me and 2 hungry teen boys. We had enough left over to feed another light eater. (Potatoes fom Kent Family Growers Farm, milk from some local goats, butter from grass fed cows in Ireland.)
  2. Saute' a purple onion. I used one onion that was slightly larger than, again, a baseball. (Kent Family Growers)
  3. Cook up some spicy buffalo sausage. I used one package that was a bit more than 1 pound. Yes, this is local meat and available at Nature's Storehouse, Canton, NY.  I chopped these sausages up as you can see from the picture.
  4. I grated 3 kinds of cheese: a green onion cheddar from Vermont and available at the Potsdam Food Coop, a fresh feta from Vermont, and a smoked gouda from NY State. Both the feta and gouda available at Nature's Storehouse.
  5. I had on hand about 1 cup of leftover tomato sauce made from Martin's Farm Stand tomatoes, onions, garlic, and bell peppers.

 

 

6. OK, now for the layering:

  • Smush the mashed potatoes into the bottom of your cast iron pan, buttered of course
  • Layer the buffalo - onion mix on top
  • Drizzle the tomaoto sauce over the buffalo mix
  • Add cheeses
  • Bake at 350F for 10 minutes to melt cheese (I forgot to take a picture of the finished, melted Pioneer Pie. I had two hungry teen boys waiting less than patiently.)
  • Serve with a root veggie slaw (It is winter. If it was summer, you could serve with a green, leafy salad.)
You can see the red skin pieces in the mashed potatoes.                                                       &nbs…

You can see the red skin pieces in the mashed potatoes.                                                                                                    There is tomato sauce under that cheese.