Lightened Up Shephard's Pie

Shephard's Pie reminds me of my grandparents in their 80's. Why? I have absolutely not a clue, but this week it sounded delicious. It's a one pot dish, so clean up was easy, and there were plenty of leftovers for the next day. I have recently started a new job and drive 45 minutes to and from work each day. Therefore, I have to prep dinner each night for the next day. This held up well in the fridge, and just popped it in the oven when I got home for 20 minutes.

Shephard's Pie, Lightened Up


Ingredients:

Potatoes:

• 1-1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, diced
• 3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
• 2 tbsp fat free sour cream
• salt and pepper
• paprika

Filling:

• 1 lb 95% lean ground beef
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 10 oz frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, green beans, baby lima beans)
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup fat free beef broth
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
• salt and pepper

Boil potatoes in water until cooked and soft. Drain and mash with chicken broth, sour cream, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400°.

In a large saute pan brown meat. Season with salt and pepper. When cooked, set aside on a plate. Discard any fat in the pan, add oil, onion and garlic and sauté on medium heat about 2 minutes. Add celery and sauté another 3-4 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Add frozen vegetables, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, chopped meat and mix well.Simmer on low about 5-10 minutes.

Spread the meat mixture on the bottom of a 11x7 glass baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes, using a fork to scrape the top to make ridges and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 minutes or until potatoes turn golden. Remove from oven and let it cool 10-15 minutes before serving.