Barbecue Pork Shepherd's Pie

Monday night, I made the most delicious shepherd's pie from the leftover Crock Pot Ribs. I must emphasize that the idea for this dish is not original with me; my daughter Carrie devised this and shared the idea. I tweaked it a little and we were so pleased with the result!

BARBECUE PORK SHEPHERD'S PIE

Leftover crockpot ribs
Barbecue sauce (see below)
1 can whole kernel corn, drained, or 2 cups cooked mixed vegetables, or any amount of any leftover or cooked vegetable you like.
7 to 8 medium red potatoes, quartered, not peeled
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 Tblsp. butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded cheddar (a few tablespoons) to sprinkle on top

Remove the meat from the cooked leftover ribs and cut or pull into bite-sized pieces. Place in a casserole or baking dish -- I used a 13x9" glass baking dish, but the size will depend upon the amount of pork you have. I think I had 5 or 6 cups. Add barbecue sauce to moisten -- use leftover sauce from crockpot ribs and then additional sauce as needed. (I had run out of BBQ sauce and so made up 1 cup using the recipe that follows.)

Meanwhile, you can be cooking the quartered red potatoes for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain them. Add the sour cream, milk, butter, and salt and pepper. Mash by hand using a potato masher.

Microwave the meat and sauce mixture for several minutes or until hot. (Alternatively, you could simply heat them in a saucepan or skillet and then transfer to the baking dish, but I prefer to save a step or two [and a dirty dish] by using the microwave.) Spread the corn over the top and heat for another minute or so. Keep mixture warm while preparing mashed potatoes. Spread the mashed potatoes over the corn and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Bake the casserole at 350º until heated through and bubbly around edges. Cheese will be melted and the potatoes golden brown. I think I baked this for about a half hour.

* As I mentioned, I made up a cup of my own barbecue sauce to use for this recipe.

BARBECUE SAUCE
1 cup ketchup
2 Tblsp. brown sugar
1 Tblsp. instant minced onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce (optional)
Several dashes Tabasco sauce
1 Tblsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Oh, and if you prefer, you could surely use leftover mashed potatoes, or prepare a couple packets of instant mashed potatoes, to top the shepherd's pie.

Hope your family enjoys this as much as we did!