Fiesta Potato Pie

I think casseroles, like meatloaf, tend to get a bad rap, which is sad because not all casseroles contain “cream of whatever” soup – many are quite delicious! It’s been chilly, rainy, and depressing in Boston lately so I decided to cheer myself up by making a savory Mexican pie featuring a mashed potato crust. This is definitely my kind of casserole! I’ve made this crust before and was really excited about whipping it up again and finally using up the remainder of my instant mashed potatoes (edited to add – I mentioned this in my first post about this crust, but since I’ve been getting so many questions about the use of instant dehydrated potato flakes, I wanted to let you know that I bought them just for this recipe so I would be able to control the moisture level of the potatoes – I wanted them to be able to hold their shape in the pan.  If anyone tries this with regular potatoes though, please let me know, maybe if they’re too wet you could add a bit of flour like you do with gnocchi to thicken them up!).

I filled the browned crust with layers of spiced ground turkey and cheddar cheese. This is definitely not the most beautiful dish, but it’s tasty, hearty, and super easy to throw together. It definitely hit the spot!

Fiesta Potato Pie
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups dehydrated mashed potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix potato flakes, water, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl until smooth. Press dough into a greased 10-inch greased tart pan with a removable bottom and bake at 350˚F for 40 to 45 minutes or until potato crust is golden brown and cooked through. Push down with the back of a spoon, if needed.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat canola oil over medium high heat in a very large nonstick skillet. Add onions and peppers and sauté 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and saute one additional minute. Add ground turkey to the skillet and break into small pieces with the back of a spoon; saute until meat is no cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add in chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and stir until well mixed, about 1 more minute. Add in diced tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.

Heat oven broiler. Place half the ground turkey mixture in the cooked potato pie crust, followed by the half the shredded cheese, and the remaining half of the ground turkey mixture. Top evenly with remaining shredded cheese. Broil for 2 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and pie is warmed through. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 463 calories, 30.7g fat, 2.7g fiber, 24.7g protein per serving
Cost: $1.35 per serving