Potato Pie for Lent or Anytime ~~ Inspired by Kevin Dundon and The Big Freeze of 2014

Picture this:  it was the middle of Lent.  I need to make a meatless meal but did not want to have fish, grilled cheese, eggs, waffles, french toast, etc.  It was one of those days where green salads wouldn't cut it.  Too cold and not cozy if you know what I mean.

As it was still in the bitter cold range on the other side of my front door, I did not want to venture out in the, "Is the car lock frozen?" day.  Grocery store parking lots were for the most part, unplowed.  And driving amongst the pot holes on the roads is less fun than driving bumper cars at the amusement park. Meaning, not fun at all.

I said there must be something in the house to cook which will be hot, hearty, and taste good, too.   To have a think and procrastinate, I had a sit down on the couch with my tea and turned on the tv. Flipping channels as we do, I had a glimpse of some potatoes, cream, and puff pastry.  The program was nearly over, but I got the jist of it and caught the chef's name.  A few days later I searched online and found his recipe at RTE Food.

I was inspired to make it because this was so easy to prepare and cook.  It didn't take a lot of prep time, no boiling of the potatoes ahead and premade pastry made it faster to assemble.  I had unused puff pastry in the freezer from Christmastime and wanted to make something out of it as I was sick of seeing it every time I opened the freezer door.  I also had some mixed shredded cheeses waiting to be used.

On my next shopping trip I bought the Yukon Gold potatoes, a small container of Whipping Cream, a bag of fresh whole Carrots, and a small package of fresh Asparagus Spears.  I figured the potatoes on their own wouldn't be quite hearty enough so the roasted veg would be good sides.

If you look at Kevin's recipe on the newspaper site above, it's easy to follow.  I changed it of course, as I didn't have fresh herbs, I used dried and I added a handful of cheese to the potato cream mixture before it went into the oven.  If I remember correctly, he suggested adding cheese- and I did!

Because the recipe used only half of the cream, the following week I made the potato cream combo again, but added thawed cooked small shrimp and thawed frozen mixed veg.  I didn't bake it in the oven, or add cheese, but served it as a meal without a pastry crust.

I imagine you could add any cooked and cut up meat or poultry and veg to the potatoes and it would be pretty tasty.  A basic potato, cream, and herb combo that was easy to make and versatile, too.  Thanks, Kevin.