If you want to firm up the potatoes and maybe generate a little more crispy crust, you might want to put a smidge of cheese or butter on them and give it a few minutes under the broiler.
I've been buying this for a couple years and it's been consistent overall. I like the flavor of it. I usually add some black pepper and/or hot sauce. Recently I've been microwaving it for about 6 minutes and then putting it in my air fryer for about 25-30 to cut down on the cooking time. I think the potatoes are a lot firmer with my cooking method than what you experienced.
I try to leave it on but usually have to take it off about 10-15 minutes into cooking because the air moving usually peels it off. So far it hasn't burned. Also, most of the time the plastic has already start coming off when I take it out of the box.@@clutchcargo666
I used to get this all the time when it was around $6.00 before the pandemic. If you add cheddar cheese during the last 15 minutes of the cooking process, it takes it up another notch. I can't justify spending $9.00 (what it costs where I live) on this now though.
Shepherd's Pie is so easy and quick to make (particularly if you use instant potatoes), I'm not sure why you'd get one of these frozen meals. It also freezes well, so make your own .
I found a video on RUclips on how to make this, and I have started making it. I've goosed up the spices and now it's perfect. Not hard to make at all, and it's a crowd pleaser.
@@lancerevell5979 At the grocery yesterday, I told the cashier that if things get so expensive that nobody can eat, then the government should give out free suicide pills. She told me that she would take one. I think I would too.
There used to be a Velveeta meal kit for making shepherd's/cottage pie, but I haven't seen it for some years. I like cottage/shepherd's pie a lot better than my husband does, though, so I look for single-serving frozen "shepherd's pie" when I'm at Walmart.
cottage pie is one of my favorite foods to make. i used to use 70/30 beef but in the last few years switched to using ground turkey. it is waaaay more tender and seasoned correctly it is as tasty or even more so than when i used the beef. i also add veg (mixed into the meat) and top the taters with cheese (usually sharp cheddar)
Larry, you wanna know what i think? I think these videos are an invaluable tool to helping kids in highschool health classes learn how to utilize the nutrition label. You go over it in a way that if watched alongside a teachers instruction would make learning fun.
The Walmart brand stuff is usually pretty good. HEY could you review those little $1.00 microwave pizzas?! I love those things! Have you reviewed lasagnas yet?
Wow, how early is this in the US to be uploading a video (I'm in the UK, 5 hours ahead of EST)... That said, the difference between Shepherds and Cottage originally isn't due to the meat used, even though it would make sense. It came down to the topping with Shepherds being potato, Cottage being potato sprinkled with cheese, and Cumberland being potato covered in breadcrumbs... I have no idea why, but it's you find all three, pre-made, for sale in UK supermarkets made with beef.
I think that someone could make a shepherds pie pretty cheaply by getting some ground lamb and potatoes, vegetables etc at Aldi, ( or ground beef if you want a Cottage pie) and you might even be able to make a couple of them that have been potatoes for a decent price. Most Frozen meals are getting expensive for the size! That one doesn’t look as small as some do however. That looks like a larger frozen meal.
You know what I have done with these style of meals for YEARS? I would take the base parts and add in fresh vegetables or things on the side on top of it. That's how you really make these things pop.
Very impressed by the ingredient list. Will give it a try. Perhaps transfer frozen to a proper sized baking dish frozen and covered with foil so a minute or two under the broiler can be done at the end.
At least when you cut it, the rest of the tray didn't slump into the space! Frozen mashed aren't often great. Glad you tried this so We, the People, got a heads up!
I just ate a plate of Great Value Sheppard's Pie for Dinner. It's so much better than I thought it would be. Comes as close to my mom's as you can get in a box. I try and buy a couple when ever I get groceries. I'm always afraid Walmart will discontinue.
You can blend lamb with beef and pork to make it taste like all lamb! Italians do it in their meatballs, and with veal I think. 20/40/40 lamb/beef/pork is one recipe.
The best way to make a shepherd's pie is to make beef stew with stewing beef chunks, in a pressure cooker like an instant pot. Make mashed potatoes in a pot. Put it together at serving time with some cheese melted on top. It's by far the best shepherd's pie you'll ever have. It's 10x better than using ground meat.
The Lovely Bride makes a Cottage Pie that puts the "Big Names" like Walmart, and most certainly Mr. Ramsay, to shame. To be fair, TLB uses fresh ingredients not flash frozen. Splash on a few drops of Texas Pete and it heavenly to say the least.
Sup Larry, great review, my daughter makes this every Wednesday for husband and daughter, a salad, visiting my granddaughter I had a bite, wasn't awful and even had an odd flavor makes want to try🤷, she knows how to make a better cottage pie but both work, as you said it's convenient, and she reads labels, a little more potato flakes and might not be soupy lol, tyvm tc 🍔🥩🥘
Great Value is pretty good and there others however Walmart had a Chili Cornbread thing i used to love but they discontinued it a couple of years ago. You can find small Maria Callender ones that come close but they're too small.
I bought 2 when they were $5.98 about a year ago. It took 4 tries to get it to the right temperature. The microwave cook time was way off. It was still cold in the middle.
Anything dense in the microwave you'll need to poke holes through it to heat it thoroughly otherwise the waves just bounce off the top. It's actually an easy way to tell if a restaurant microwaved your meal. Hot on outside, cold in the middle means microwave.
I would be interested in whether or not these freezer meals that require an hour in the oven are time savers, or even money savers. Could you do a comparison where you put the frozen meal in the oven and make the same meal from scratch to see what the difference is in time and money?
Not sure we could make this from scratch for 9 bucks given the price of ground beef and the rest of the ingredients. Even if you buy in bulk and freeze in equivalent sized batches. Our current inflation is making it hard to meal plan on a budget.
It’s not an ingredient I’d have expected! I think that nowadays if one wants to avoid certain ingredients in processed food, and especially if one has any food allergies, reading the list of ingredients carefully is essential! Not that it’s a guarantee: I’m allergic to poppy seeds, and I’m not certain that in a few Indian dishes that include them they wouldn’t be listed as something less specific like “spices.” (Indian food that uses poppy seeds tends to use the light-colored ones, not the dark ones found on bagels and rolls: less recognizable.)
I really hate when people whine about what you call Shepherd's pie based on the meat. The name you call it is based on where you're from. I've always called it Shepherd's Pie and always will. Cause it doesn't matter. The naming is colloquial.
@@Salfordian Oh I've pointed out many a time how those things over there are not a shepherd's pie, but the fact it was already acknowleged in the vid seemed like a moot point to comment about it again, I was just surprised at how few ingredients there were than there usually are... :P
So, now the question is. Challenge yourself to make homemade Shepard's/Cottage pie and see if turns out better. I think would be a great end to a series, where you try and make it better.
Thank you for showing me that nasty stuff at the end. I will keep making it myself with ground beef from a reputable, local, independent grocer. They have 80/20 ground beef every couple of months at $3.49/lb in 5-7lb bags. It is always tasty and "clean" of any bits like the stuff you showed.
The grisel is why I haven't eaten a pie for years. That chewy bouncy squeaky nasty bite is the oral equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard... if anyone still remembers chalkboards these days.
Walmart brand and Aldis are pretty much the only big chains we go to now because they are so much cheaper for the same quality and have great store-brands. Kroger has awful store-branded stuff, 9/10 times we buy a kroger sauce it tastes disgusting.
I would not pay 7 dollars for this though, when i could make a big serving for everyone with leftovers for less money. i can easily get ground beef reduced while still fresh, so this dish is very cheap to make
I looked online and my local Wally World doesn't have them!? However, they do have Marie Callender's, Gordon Ramsey and (would you believe) several different brands of package mixes for Shepherd's Pie (you add the veg, meat, water and potatoes). Not sure about the potatoes, they might be in the pkg. 😂🤣
Larry, it did not look to bad , being Irish We eat a lot of taters , but I do not like them watery , but I would these anyway , the only tater I do not like are rotten ones & if folks have ever hoed one out of their garden or had one in a store bag you know why
Lidl has a shepherd's (cottage) pie going on sale tomorrow (10/18) for $5.99. If you have a Lidl near you, maybe you couldn't review it as well. BTW, "mashed water" 🤣🤣🤣! Frozen mashed taters are always a fail.
For those who, like me, won't shop at Walmart's Trader Joe's has a great Shepherd's Pie that also is actually a cottage pie. It is a 1 lb. package that has 2 generous servings, and they include microwave cooking instructions as well as directions for conventional oven. Cost is a little higher. I usually add cheese and lots of black pepper.
If you want to firm up the potatoes and maybe generate a little more crispy crust, you might want to put a smidge of cheese or butter on them and give it a few minutes under the broiler.
Yeah! I like adding butter on top of shepherd's and cottage pie to crisp up the potatoes when baking.
Great idea
Doh! Posted my comment before seeing yours. Agreed.
The 400 degree max part scared me away from the broiler.
Make sure to put it into glass before cooking if you plan on doing that
It's refreshing to see a frozen food item that isn't heavily processed. I'd put this into it's own category: food that's frozen.
I saw those at Walmart but I did not buy one because I wasn’t sure if it would be good or not . Thank you for another awesome review.
An early morning video and I'm awake for it? Happy Friday 13th!
I've been buying this for a couple years and it's been consistent overall. I like the flavor of it. I usually add some black pepper and/or hot sauce. Recently I've been microwaving it for about 6 minutes and then putting it in my air fryer for about 25-30 to cut down on the cooking time. I think the potatoes are a lot firmer with my cooking method than what you experienced.
How do you put the plastic container in the air fryer?😊
I try to leave it on but usually have to take it off about 10-15 minutes into cooking because the air moving usually peels it off. So far it hasn't burned. Also, most of the time the plastic has already start coming off when I take it out of the box.@@clutchcargo666
@@clutchcargo666it’s a paperboard container :)
I used to get this all the time when it was around $6.00 before the pandemic. If you add cheddar cheese during the last 15 minutes of the cooking process, it takes it up another notch. I can't justify spending $9.00 (what it costs where I live) on this now though.
Wow that ingredient list is surprisingly great. Just normal stuff, not a bunch of weird preservatives. Impressed over here.
Yeah, that kind of blew me away too. Most frozen meals have a long list of crap.
Got this on my try list because of that.
Shepherd's Pie is so easy and quick to make (particularly if you use instant potatoes), I'm not sure why you'd get one of these frozen meals. It also freezes well, so make your own .
I found a video on RUclips on how to make this, and I have started making it. I've goosed up the spices and now it's perfect. Not hard to make at all, and it's a crowd pleaser.
A couple of years ago this sold for $5.99, so I suppose I should be happy that it's not $11.98 these days.
It's 10.49 at my local Walmart, on sale. Normally 12.00
@@agingerbeard What state? It's $7.99 in TN.
Crazy how everything is so expensive
Anything with meat and cheese has gotten crazy stupid high in price.
@@lancerevell5979 At the grocery yesterday, I told the cashier that if things get so expensive that nobody can eat, then the government should give out free suicide pills. She told me that she would take one. I think I would too.
There used to be a Velveeta meal kit for making shepherd's/cottage pie, but I haven't seen it for some years. I like cottage/shepherd's pie a lot better than my husband does, though, so I look for single-serving frozen "shepherd's pie" when I'm at Walmart.
I recognized those paws! Good to see. I have had some of these Great Value meals including breakfast bowls and they are all pretty decent!
cottage pie is one of my favorite foods to make. i used to use 70/30 beef but in the last few years switched to using ground turkey. it is waaaay more tender and seasoned correctly it is as tasty or even more so than when i used the beef. i also add veg (mixed into the meat) and top the taters with cheese (usually sharp cheddar)
It's not a cottage pie with turkey...
From the sound of your voice, it sounds like your rockin it today! Thanks for another great video my friend 👍
Larry, you wanna know what i think? I think these videos are an invaluable tool to helping kids in highschool health classes learn how to utilize the nutrition label. You go over it in a way that if watched alongside a teachers instruction would make learning fun.
That ingredient list is unbelievably impressive. Mind blowing🤯
The Walmart brand stuff is usually pretty good. HEY could you review those little $1.00 microwave pizzas?! I love those things!
Have you reviewed lasagnas yet?
Wow, how early is this in the US to be uploading a video (I'm in the UK, 5 hours ahead of EST)...
That said, the difference between Shepherds and Cottage originally isn't due to the meat used, even though it would make sense. It came down to the topping with Shepherds being potato, Cottage being potato sprinkled with cheese, and Cumberland being potato covered in breadcrumbs...
I have no idea why, but it's you find all three, pre-made, for sale in UK supermarkets made with beef.
Thinking this vid came out way to early, I look for Wolfe pit in evening in UK late evening. EST many hours 5? Behind.
It would have been 7:30am East coast time when he uploaded this and yeah that's kinda early for him. He must have had something to do today.
Thank you for addressing the difference between the Shepard's pie and the cottage pie. Kudos.
Larry I love how you say " YOU, THE PEOPLE."
Looks good! I love a good cottage pie!
Great job, as usual.
Good morning, Larry!! Thank u!!
I think that someone could make a shepherds pie pretty cheaply by getting some ground lamb and potatoes, vegetables etc at Aldi, ( or ground beef if you want a Cottage pie) and you might even be able to make a couple of them that have been potatoes for a decent price. Most Frozen meals are getting expensive for the size! That one doesn’t look as small as some do however. That looks like a larger frozen meal.
You know what I have done with these style of meals for YEARS?
I would take the base parts and add in fresh vegetables or things on the side on top of it.
That's how you really make these things pop.
Very impressed by the ingredient list.
Will give it a try. Perhaps transfer frozen to a proper sized baking dish frozen and covered with foil so a minute or two under the broiler can be done at the end.
I Love the new lettering! Annnddd woah slow down, I couldn’t listen that fast. Graphics are great too😊
Good review, thanks for sharing, God bless !
More great value entree reviews please!
At least when you cut it, the rest of the tray didn't slump into the space! Frozen mashed aren't often great. Glad you tried this so We, the People, got a heads up!
awesome an early morning coffee time Wolfepit vid
The gristle is an absolute deal breaker for me. No way will I ever buy it now.
Thanks for the heads up.
I just ate a plate of Great Value Sheppard's Pie for Dinner. It's so much better than I thought it would be. Comes as close to my mom's as you can get in a box. I try and buy a couple when ever I get groceries. I'm always afraid Walmart will discontinue.
You can blend lamb with beef and pork to make it taste like all lamb! Italians do it in their meatballs, and with veal I think. 20/40/40 lamb/beef/pork is one recipe.
181g per serving....are those servings for 5 year olds?
The best way to make a shepherd's pie is to make beef stew with stewing beef chunks, in a pressure cooker like an instant pot. Make mashed potatoes in a pot. Put it together at serving time with some cheese melted on top. It's by far the best shepherd's pie you'll ever have. It's 10x better than using ground meat.
The Lovely Bride makes a Cottage Pie that puts the "Big Names" like Walmart, and most certainly Mr. Ramsay, to shame. To be fair, TLB uses fresh ingredients not flash frozen. Splash on a few drops of Texas Pete and it heavenly to say the least.
Sup Larry, great review, my daughter makes this every Wednesday for husband and daughter, a salad, visiting my granddaughter I had a bite, wasn't awful and even had an odd flavor makes want to try🤷, she knows how to make a better cottage pie but both work, as you said it's convenient, and she reads labels, a little more potato flakes and might not be soupy lol, tyvm tc 🍔🥩🥘
try the aldi version, its excellent
Wal-mart has a beef packing plant in Olathe Kansas to supply all their stores.
Mashed water... LoL I really like your descriptions
Certified Gold!!!!!
Have you tried the Great Value Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes from Walmart?
I like lamb in mine. GOD BLESS
Next time try scraping the mashed potatoes with a fork after the cover comes off. The texture will crisp up better
Great Value is pretty good and there others however Walmart had a Chili Cornbread thing i used to love but they discontinued it a couple of years ago. You can find small Maria Callender ones that come close but they're too small.
most of the walmart branded frozen meals are fairly good...
Most every Walmart-branded food is as good as the highly advertised brands. There are a few exceptions, but not many.
I bought 2 when they were $5.98 about a year ago. It took 4 tries to get it to the right temperature. The microwave cook time was way off. It was still cold in the middle.
Anything dense in the microwave you'll need to poke holes through it to heat it thoroughly otherwise the waves just bounce off the top. It's actually an easy way to tell if a restaurant microwaved your meal. Hot on outside, cold in the middle means microwave.
Yep, the old saying that microwave "cooks from the inside" is dead wrong.
Your content has spiked up. TY.
Have you tried the viola meals yet? I personally love them
Some Great Value is really good, some is just generic. Still a great deal most of the time. The Ice crème sandwiches are amazing.
if you like your taters a touch more crispy then you should try using the broil setting the last few minutes to get the top hot you like it.
As an Englishman you cannot have a Beef Shepherds Pie! If it's beef it's Cottage Pie.
On god I was just at Walmart to buy this after watching his Gordan Ramsey video. I love these videos.
I would be interested in whether or not these freezer meals that require an hour in the oven are time savers, or even money savers. Could you do a comparison where you put the frozen meal in the oven and make the same meal from scratch to see what the difference is in time and money?
I think they are more of a "hands on" time saver, not an overall "start to finish" time saver.
Not sure we could make this from scratch for 9 bucks given the price of ground beef and the rest of the ingredients. Even if you buy in bulk and freeze in equivalent sized batches.
Our current inflation is making it hard to meal plan on a budget.
@@zonacrsYeah, inflation has made a whole lot of things so much more expensive. :\
Looks good, just put a couple in my cart. 👍
in the future, i'd season the top and add cheese before going back in for that second bake. can never have too much cheese. XD
I had some last night and it was delicious!
Check out the Aldi’s SP
Love all the unique items aldis has to offer!😊
I have had these and liked them. They have really jumped in price though.
Gets some really really BAD reviews on the Walmart website. Thanks for this review!
You should do a series on Michelina's budget frozen foods!!!
Quick review They suck
Having cooked this meal several times, it's way better if you vent it more during cooking
I just made Shepard's pie last night for dinner! It was half lamb half beef
Wouldn't that be a Shepage pie? 😂
@@GorgeousRoddyChrome lmfao pretty much and a subbed the potatoes with butternut squash
@@ramelchilds7416
That sounds really good 👍
allergic to oranges.
The dried orange pulp, would have been a real surprise, If I had bought it....who expects that?
It’s not an ingredient I’d have expected! I think that nowadays if one wants to avoid certain ingredients in processed food, and especially if one has any food allergies, reading the list of ingredients carefully is essential!
Not that it’s a guarantee: I’m allergic to poppy seeds, and I’m not certain that in a few Indian dishes that include them they wouldn’t be listed as something less specific like “spices.” (Indian food that uses poppy seeds tends to use the light-colored ones, not the dark ones found on bagels and rolls: less recognizable.)
I really hate when people whine about what you call Shepherd's pie based on the meat. The name you call it is based on where you're from. I've always called it Shepherd's Pie and always will. Cause it doesn't matter. The naming is colloquial.
Would it be possible for you to review single-serve frozen "shepherd's pie"? I know I've seen 1 or 2 varieties at my local Walmart.
Great 7 rating for this meal. ( Although , to me, ( 1 person! ) it did not look like 5 servings. Thank you Larry & family ! :)
Wow!
That ingredients list was surprisingly short, given they're usually something that'd take longer than a visit to the throne to read in full... :P
And not what you get in a traditional Shepard's pie never mind the different meat
@@Salfordian Oh I've pointed out many a time how those things over there are not a shepherd's pie, but the fact it was already acknowleged in the vid seemed like a moot point to comment about it again, I was just surprised at how few ingredients there were than there usually are... :P
Believe it or not my local Walmart does not stock it. They sell an 11.5 ounce Marie Callender shepherds pie for $2.98.
I can make it better from scratch just as fast. It`s much better for you and costs less.
I was thinking the same thing ❤
So, now the question is. Challenge yourself to make homemade Shepard's/Cottage pie and see if turns out better. I think would be a great end to a series, where you try and make it better.
That is not a Cottage Pie. If it doesn't have Worcester Sauce or Henderson's Relish, it's just an American Pie. From a concerned Englishman.
So is the dried orange pulp to provide fiber? Does it provide any flavor or color?
Meet slurry thing
Yum
55 minutes in a 400° oven? What!! You'll spent $10 electricity to reheat a $4 frozen meal 😂
The clue is in the name. A shepherd is a sheep herder! (Great video as ever though, sir!)
I can understand a different meat but sweetcorn, carrots, no I mean its simple enough to make
When I make this my potatoes get mixed with butter and eggs as well as seasonings. Good that .this had simple foods
If it’s beef it’s a cottage pie, shepherd’s pie is lamb. Shepherd’s don’t herd cattle!
looks wise I see nothing to complain about
I wonder if a short broil would help the potatoes?
I was thinking the same thing.
I just got one of these last night. I felt like it tasted like a canned beef stew. Not a huge fan myself.
Thank you for showing me that nasty stuff at the end. I will keep making it myself with ground beef from a reputable, local, independent grocer. They have 80/20 ground beef every couple of months at $3.49/lb in 5-7lb bags. It is always tasty and "clean" of any bits like the stuff you showed.
Looks pretty small for that price but then again everything is through the roof
The grisel is why I haven't eaten a pie for years. That chewy bouncy squeaky nasty bite is the oral equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard... if anyone still remembers chalkboards these days.
Walmart brand and Aldis are pretty much the only big chains we go to now because they are so much cheaper for the same quality and have great store-brands. Kroger has awful store-branded stuff, 9/10 times we buy a kroger sauce it tastes disgusting.
You know if it's beef it's a cottage pie right? A shepard's pie contains lamb's mince.
that is a surprisingly healthy microwave dinner.
I would not pay 7 dollars for this though, when i could make a big serving for everyone with leftovers for less money. i can easily get ground beef reduced while still fresh, so this dish is very cheap to make
As a Minnesota man I like my potatoes to be tater tots lol
*”First…” This word is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Stingy.*
*Sorry about that.*
*:\*
Shepards pie made with ground turkey or chicken😮😮 Well that's just fowl😂😂😂😂😂
Yuck
The gristle would've done me in.
This video is funny for me because i am making "Shepherds Pie" for dinner tonight its been a while everyone is looking forward to it !!
I looked online and my local Wally World doesn't have them!? However, they do have Marie Callender's, Gordon Ramsey and (would you believe) several different brands of package mixes for Shepherd's Pie (you add the veg, meat, water and potatoes). Not sure about the potatoes, they might be in the pkg. 😂🤣
Larry, it did not look to bad , being Irish We eat a lot of taters , but I do not like them watery , but I would these anyway , the only tater I do not like are rotten ones & if folks have ever hoed one out of their garden or had one in a store bag you know why
Lidl has a shepherd's (cottage) pie going on sale tomorrow (10/18) for $5.99. If you have a Lidl near you, maybe you couldn't review it as well. BTW, "mashed water" 🤣🤣🤣! Frozen mashed taters are always a fail.
Love cream of wheat😅❤❤
For those who, like me, won't shop at Walmart's Trader Joe's has a great Shepherd's Pie that also is actually a cottage pie. It is a 1 lb. package that has 2 generous servings, and they include microwave cooking instructions as well as directions for conventional oven. Cost is a little higher. I usually add cheese and lots of black pepper.