A crafty dish by Argyle Catering to help empty the fridge.

Created in the U.K. between the 18th and 19th centuries, shepherd’s pie (also dubbed cottage pie) was a byproduct of folks’ attempts to make use of their leftovers and avoid wasting both food and money. Utilizing what was around them, farmers and shepherds would repurpose their unused meat into a dish after making a weekend lamb roast. For the crust, potatoes were easy, affordable, and they were even seen as a symbol of the sheep’s wool. Today, this frugal, yet classic, meal has evolved with the times and allowed modern eaters to leverage their own leftovers — whatever they may be.

Shepherd’s pie is a blank canvas. You can add anything you want

Chef Colby

Putting his own delectable touch on the dish, Argyle Catering Sous Chef Colby Davis fills his shepherd’s pie with the mashed potatoes, baby carrots, corn, green beans, and grilled deboned pork chops he has left over in the fridge. After dicing the pork chops, Colby makes a gravy with a bit of beef stock, flour, and oil. Adding in the diced vegetables and then transferring into a baking dish, the shepherd’s pie is then topped with mashed potato piping before being transferred to the oven for roughly 30 minutes.