American Pie - Blogtoberfest #22

I picked up this recipe back in 1994 when I was off sick from work with a back injury and had to resort to daytime TV for entertainment.  Jane Asher use to host an afternoon TV show called Good Living and one day featured this lovely, tasty alternative to a shepherds pie.  I only grabbed the basic details of how to make it, but it is one of those recipes where the quantities really aren't that important - you can just develop the recipe to suit yourself.

Ingredients

500g (approx) pack of turkey mince
1 onion
1 jar or can BBQ sauce - I usually use the Homepride can
Lea & Perrins (optional)
Brown Sauce (optional)
1 x 420g tin baked beans
Grated cheese
Potatoes and assortment of root vegetables

Peel and chop potatoes and root vegetables - I usually use ordinary potatoes, sweet pots, carrots, parsnip and swede. Cook in boiling water until soft enough to mash with a little milk and butter - put to one side.  Quantities of potatoes and root vegetables depend on how thick a layer of mash you like on your pie.  Preheat oven to 190 c.

Chop the onion into small pieces and gently cook until soft in a little oil.  Add mince and cook until all the mince is browned - strain off excess liquid that has cooked out.  Add jar of BBQ sauce and other sauces to your personal taste - I always put a good dollop of L&P and brown sauce in but you could leave these out.  Gently simmer for 10 mins.  Stir in one tin baked beans and simmer for a further 5 mins.  Put meat mixture into a deep ovenproof dish and add rustic mash to the top and sprinkle some grated cheese on top.  Bake in the oven for about one hour.

 I always double up the ingredients and bake two large ones and a couple of small ones for Mr P to take to work - they freeze really well.

Serve up with vegetables for a lovely winter warmer meal - the weather must be getting cold enough for American Pie here as Mr P has been dropping lots of hints about the lack of American Pie for the last couple of days LOL!!!