My Sister Patti’s Stroganoff Pie. Yum.

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1953: My sister Patti and I. I was 6, she was 10.

My Good Sister’s Stroganoff Shepherd’s Pie

Almost everything I know about how to cook came from one of four sources:  my mother, my sister Patti, my Indonesian Cookbook, Pearl Buck’s Cookbook or my Australian friend Dierdre, who taught me how to make an authentic East Indian Curry.  But the recipe that follows continues to be my favorite, and one of the easiest. It is my sister Patti’s recipe for shepherd’s pie, with a few alterations for my own taste. Patti, any contradictions may be noted in the comments section!

My Good Sister’s Stroganoff Shepherd’s Pie

6 white or red potatoes
milk, butter, salt or garlic salt and pepper to taste.
2 lbs. hamburger
1 large chopped white onion
1 cup coarsely grated raw carrots
1 finely diced green pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream

*Clean and cut up potatoes and boil until tender in lightly salted water.  No need to peel potatoes.
*Brown hamburger, green pepper and onion in skillet, chopping up the hamburger into loose meat.
*Add grated carrots for the last 5 minutes or so.
*When meat is completely browned and green pepper is tender, stir in the soup and sour cream.
*When thoroughly mixed and all ingredients are hot, place in a large cake pan.
*Mash potatoes, adding butter and salt or garlic salt and pepper to taste.
*Spread potatoes over the meat mixture and place in 250-300 degree Fahrenheit oven for 1/2 hour or until ready to serve, covering with aluminum foil and lowering oven if more time is necessary before serving.
*If you wish, you can place daubs of butter and/or grated cheddar cheese over top of potatoes and sprinkle with paprika to garnish.

(Patti’s recipe did not include carrots, green pepper, garlic or cheese.)

All amounts are arbitrary.  I never use set amounts, so I’m guessing–as is usual in most oft-repeated recipes. Vary the amount of ingredients to your taste.  The pieces hold together a bit better if it is allowed to cool slightly before serving.

I always think of my sister when I serve this dish, and those two years when I was still in college and she moved back to a house just a few blocks from my dorm. I remember many home-cooked meals and that she made the best Vodka Collins that I’ve ever had.  Hers was the only place I could drink in college without being carded!  Ha.  I thank her for all the comforts of family and home provided during those years and afterwards when I came back from Africa and she again gave me a home base for a year until I got settled on my own.

For. MVB Sister prompt

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About lifelessons

My blog, which started out to be about overcoming grief, quickly grew into a blog about celebrating life. I post daily: poems, photographs, essays or stories. I've lived in countries all around the globe but have finally come to rest in Mexico, where I've lived since 2001. My books may be found on Amazon in Kindle and print format, my art in local Ajijic galleries. Hope to see you at my blog.

41 thoughts on “My Sister Patti’s Stroganoff Pie. Yum.”

  3. SAM VOELKER's avatarSAM VOELKER

    Your mention of Shepherds Pie brings back memories, though it was a bit different from Patty’s recipe. And it was served both in an unusual manner and atmosphere, though it was in your part of the woods (or rather grass prairies).

    I can not remember the town anymore, it may have been Green River Wyoming, but there was this old Chuck Wagon parked on the edge of town, and the owner actually had tables on the ground and cooked a “Shepherds pie” in an iron skillet over an iron stove wood fire out of the back of that chuck-wagon. A stopping off place for great food that was “real food”, after a day of work. Sorry but NO canned soup. He had “mirepoix” as it’s base.

    That was the land of “sheep herding” and the very large ranchers hired herders who originated from the Basque Region of France/Spain. They lived alone for endless months in those uniquely beautiful little wagons out in the middle of nowhere. All summer with only a dog or two to keep them company herding the sheep from water hole to water hole. Very few any even spoke much English but rather a dialect that was neither Spanish nor French, but came close to my Creole. From them came some unique food dishes and this was one of them.

    So back to the subject, though I may think of that as Stroganoff, and we called it Shepherd’s pie, actually it was made with mutton and I think that they called it “Tarte Piperade”.

    You had a choice between that and “Marmitako” which I was not as fond of. I am not much on cooked tomatoes nor canned tuna. And as usual cornbread or biscuits. So we may not even be talking about exactly of the same thing, but you and Patty brought back memories of those outside places up there, which were of a different nature and a great memories I will not forget.

    There was one other thing I remember about the Basque sheep herders. To fill their lonely time, while watching the sheep graze, and which the dogs kept together faithfully, they stacked beautiful but meaningless rock cairns which at times caused us problems finding the real thing in surveys.

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    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      You always have a story even more interesting than the original, Sam. Where is that story you were going to send me to send to the Ojo? They are starved for material. It is fine as it is. They have a proofreader and I’ll scan it once as well. Tell me which one it was. Do you remember?

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      1. SAM VOELKER's avatarSAM VOELKER

        I think that we play off of each other on stories because our minds and past run parallel, but you always outdo me on the poetry. And that china dog book has me going with several more memories. Judy, a confession, my bathroom is almost the same distance as my back porch but I like to go on the steps to pee at night; to check the stars and whether it is going to rain the next day and it saves me two gallons of flushing with rain water etc, Tami goes with me and runs out into the yard for similar reasons, that’s my excuse and I am going to stick to it~! Men do strange things~!

        From reading the book, I think that I would have really liked both your mom and your dad, and I see where you got a lot of your drive and wander lust from. Could that China Dog been a present from a past “friend”~? About the same time that hail storm ruined your Olds I got a new Olds with paint all over it in Montana. I had left it at the Motel I rented while I flew on up to Lake LaRonge Canada by float plane to go fishing. When I got back it had white paint all over my beautiful new little deep maroon Olds F-85~! They had painted the Motel and parts of my car with spray paint.

        I think that I sent you a note about a week back of a posting to El Ojo, I will check and see if I failed to hit “Send”. I just found reference to that note in my delete file. You had asked that I edit it. It is posted on my blog as THE FIG TREE WAR. I remember you making the statement that you must have tall walls in Mexico (which I did know too)

        THE ALGERIAN FIG WAR

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          1. Unknown's avatarSam

            I may have found where I sent it to you and you replied that I needed to clean it up. I will try to either do that or find another, the one I sent was about my fig tree war and I had the background to it which I felt it needed so something shorter may be better. I will look today. Yesterday was my son’s birthday (53) and I am taking him to lunch today.
            SAM

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          1. SAM VOELKER's avatarSAM VOELKER

            The car was new and the dealership actually buffed out the paint, it was in warranty so the motel was not in trouble.

            Did I tell you about the new little Chivy club coupe I drove all over Mexico and each time I parked the street kids would use harsh polish on it. I even put a sign in the window that I would pay them to watch it but would not pay to get it polished….. They polished right through the paint on the hood and trunk. It was fire engine red but they polished down to the base coat which was gray~!

            That took a new paint job on the hood and trunk, a new car and that time I accused Chevrolet of a bad factory paint job which they covered. I left it with my “little sister” (18) at the time when I went on a job in Venezuela and she ran the wheels off it by the next time I came home on vacation. I bet those kids down there still do that~!

            Oh I have your book: Prairie Moths: (Memories of a Farmer’s Daughter) and have sent copies to a couple of friends.
            SAM

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  4. Patti's avatarPatti

    I have since learned that since this is made with beef, this is cottage pie rather than shepherd’s pie, which is made with mutton or lamb. Your version is much better than mine ever was.
    Just to be picky, count your Sources again. I think there are five!

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    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      Yes, Derrick has already pointed that out to me, but I believe the shepherds got sick of mutton and created this version with beef for a change of menu. It will always be shepherd’s pie to me. Didn’t you get it from Mrs. Craven? Terry’s mom’s boss?

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    1. Martha Kennedy's avatarMartha Kennedy

      My favorite Shepherd’s Pie is ground beef, red pasta sauce, green peppers, onions, a bit of garlic, topped with mashed potatoes into which parsley and parmesan cheese have been mixed. 😀

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    2. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      Do you want it, Martha? It is a wonderful read and I think it would have much significance for you. If you promise to cook some of the recipes, I’ll send it to you. You will see that it has been much-used.You need to send me your mailing address to my email. Do you have it?

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      1. Martha Kennedy's avatarMartha Kennedy

        Judy it would mean a lot to me. Yes. I think I do have your email address. I love Pearl Buck. I feel as if somewhere along the line we were friends. She opened up such a world to me after I got home from China. I truly love her. Visiting her house in PA was just … wow. Seeing the Chinese garden she’d designed that she could see from her desk? Her Chinese carpets worn with time, feet and faded with sunlight? And now mine is. Yes!!!! ❤

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  6. Marilyn Armstrong's avatarMarilyn Armstrong

    I wrote a long comment and it is gone. This keeps happening intermittently and usually, I just give up. But I wanted to thank you for the recipe. Can’t use the carrots (Owen’s allergic), can substitute other sweet bell pepper (NOT green) … This doesn’t use any of our forbidden stuff. I’m finding it like walking over eggs to try to find recipes that hasn’t something in it that someone can’t or won’t eat.

    The picture of you and Patti is beautiful. What gorgeous girls you were — and still are!

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    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      Marilyn, I had forgotten that I ever put carrots in it and the green peppers were my addition as well. Neither is needed. I made this without either to take to a friend’s house and they loved it. Real comfort food. I, too, found that I couldn’t make comments on three of your posts.. WP has changed something. If you can’t comment, try clicking on the name of the blog again. That is how I finally was able to like and comment on one of them. I wish they’d leave things alone!!!

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  8. anntonyjandc's avataranntonyjandc

    Most darling old photo! You and Patti. Two of my favorite people. You’ve got mischief in your eyes. I don’t like to cook. I skimmed the recipe and while it seems doable, I don’t want to do it.

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    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      I traveled around the coast of Africa in 1967.. Dakar, Capetown, Johannesburg, Kenya. Then Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania in ’73 and ended up living in Ethiopia for 1 1/2 years. Left in ’74.

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