From Fitness Food comes this lower-fat version of an old favorite. Ground beef, vegetables, and herbs are baked in a casserole with a mashed potato “crust”. Delicious!

Chris says:

We should have invited Damon over for this; he loves Shepherd’s Pie.

Lisa says:

You’re right, we should have! This is good, I like that you can taste all the herbs and spices.

Chris says:

Awesome job; this is one of my favorite meals that you’ve made. And you can definitely taste that rosemary — hooray for the only plant we seem to be able to keep alive!

Lisa says:

I’m happy that we’re not cutting the recipes in half anymore… I can’t wait to have this for dinner tomorrow night.

Chris says:

Assuming it lasts that long. Most of the time we cut recipes in half so I don’t eat 17 servings in one sitting!

Shepherd’s Pie
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2 lb 4 oz russet potatoes
6 large cloves garlic, peeled
4 tbsp skim milk
oil spray
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 lb 10 oz ground beef
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp chopped thyme
2 tsp chopped rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups beef stock
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
pinch ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the potatoes into chunks and cook in a large sauce pan of boiling water with the whole garlic cloves for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain well and return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and garlic until smooth. Stir in the milk and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Meanwhile, lightly spray a large nonstick pan with the oil and heat over medium. Add the onion, crushed garlic, celery, and carrot and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Remove from pan.
Add the ground beef and cook over high heat until well browned, breaking up any lumps with the back of a spoon. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Return the vegetables to the pan with the tomato paste, herbs, bay leaf, stock, sauce, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened.
Pour the beef mixture into a 2 liter ovenproof dish. Spoon the potatoes over the top, smoothing the surface, then fluff with a fork. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden and crusty. You may want to finish the last few minutes under the broiler.

6 Servings.