Happy Secret Recipe Club Day to all!
If my last post got you excited for fall, this post will get you excited for winter. I admit, shepherd’s pie is totally a cozy comfort food by the fire kind of meal, but I promise– this one is good any time of year!
Members of the Secret Recipe Club are assigned a blog each month. Who has who is a secret until reveal day (today!). The mission is to choose a recipe from the assigned blog, make it, and share it!
This month for Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned the blog Fried Ice and Donut Holes, written by Melissa who is a teacher by day and cook-baker-blogger by night. Melissa shares all different types of recipes. A couple that caught my eye right off the bat were her S’mores Scones and her Winter Squash Carbonara with Pancetta and Sage (I just harvested a butternut squash from my garden, so this may be in my future!).
When I saw Buffalo Chicken Shepherd’s Pie on Melissa’s blog I knew I had to make it. I don’t care if it’s 100 degrees out, it’s buffalo chicken… and shepherd’s pie… combined! That kind of amazing just cannot be postponed to winter. I had to make it ASAP!
Melissa is from Buffalo, NY and therefore skeptical of “buffalo” flavored things (which we all know are one of my favorite’s!), but even she admits that this recipe knocked it out of the park.
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 4 celery ribs, diced
- 4 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ cup buffalo sauce (such as Frank's)
- 4 cups mashed potatoes
- 6 ounces blue cheese crumbles, divided
- Chives, chopped, to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground chicken and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Drain the meat and transfer to a bowl.
- Return the pan to the heat and add another 1 tbsp oil. Add the celery, carrots and onion and saute until softening, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes, paprika and cooked chicken to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Add the stock, tomato paste and hot sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Pour the chicken mixture into a 9-inch pie pan.
- Stir half the blue cheese into the mashed potatoes. Top the chicken mixture with mashed potatoes, then sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
- Bake 30 minutes until potatoes are golden. Remove from over and sprinkle fresh chives over top. Serve hot!
The shepherd’s pie was awesome! Comfort food in the summer is definitely OK in my book… especially if it involves buffalo chicken!
That does sound amazing. Who cares if it’s still summer!! I love the new look on your blog!
Thanks, Karen!!
Totally awesome. Shepherd’s pie is a bit of a regular in our house, but I never would have thought to make it with chicken. I am definitely stealing this idea.
That’ll do for me Jess now we have some cooler weather on the way! What a GREAT comfort dish and such clever spicing too! Karen
What a unique way to have the buffalo chicken flavor profile!
I love shepherd’s pie! And I also love buffalo chicken. I used to have a recipe saved for buffalo chicken shepherd’s pie, but don’t know what happened to it. So I am super excited you posted this – pinned to save 🙂 Happy Reveal Day!
It really is a good one– hope you try it!!
Who doesn’t love comfort food any time of the year?! Shepard’s Pie is so homey, but I love how this version spiced it up. I’ve never thought of making it with chicken before, I’ll definitely have to keep this in mind for future reference.
This looks amazing! I love buffalo chicken, and serving it this way sounds awesome!
Awesome recipe for you assignment this month!
Now guess who had your blog? 😉
I hope you will like the recipe I picked, it was outstanding!!!!
Happy Reveal Day!
Yayyy! You picked a good one!
Shepherds pie definitely reminds me of winter, Jess! I absolutely love the flavors in here. Definitely jazzes up a boring ‘ole dish. Love this!
I love love love shepherd’s pie! My family won’t eat it which is ok. Because I’d eat an entire plate of this all by myself! 🙂
What a fun twist on Shepherd’s Pie! Great pick this month!! 🙂
I’m so glad you liked the shepherd’s pie! I agree with you 100%, comfort food in the summer is perfectly acceptable in my book! You should definitely try the scones and the carbonara, too. Both are things that stick out in my mind as being favorites! 😉
Thanks for the inspiration! This was seriously one of the best meals we’ve had in a while!!
Well that looks delicious!! Great Choice for SRC.
Ooh, this sounds SO intriguing! I love shepherd’s pie and I love buffalo chicken, so I’ve gotta try out this combination! Fantastic choice for the SRC. =)
What an awesome idea! We love shepherd’s pie… and buffalo chicken. I can only imagine the magic that happens when you put the two together!
Traditional Sheperd’s Pie kind of grosses me out but I am loving this buffalo chicken version. Great pick!
It just so happens that I’m a sucker for both buffalo chicken and shepherds pie! Putting them together is just a genius idea! This looks like such a great dinner idea!
Wow what an awesome twist on shepherds pie!
I am completely speechless as I salivate over your delicious dish! It looks amazing. Completely deliciously amazing! FABULOUS, fabulous pick for SRC! 🙂
such a fun twist!
What a clever combination! I love everything about it!
Thanks for sharing…
Kathi
YUM! I made shepherds pie for the first time last year….LOVED It! This looks yummy and takes it to a different level with a different twist. might need to try it.
I cannot remember the last time that I ate a shepherds pie! Thanks for reminding me how awesome shepherds pie is.. I definitely need to recreate this recipe soon.
I could eat Shepherd’s Pie all year long, no matter the season. Great SRC pick!
Such a comforting homey dish and perfect for upcoming winter! Great SRC pick.
This shepherds pie looks amazing! I love comfort food no matter what the season 🙂 Pinning!
This is such a creative recipe! I love Buffalo Chicken and Shepherd’s Pie but never would have thought of combining the two. Yumm!
It is definitely fall here in Canada and this looks like the perfect food for this weather. Looks delicious, and a fun twist on shepherd’s pie 🙂
Jess this is so fun! I have never made a shepherds pie! I love this flavor variation!