As Promised and Requested - a Recipe

Dear Julio, my donkey basketball buddy, this is for you mostly. Several folks have asked me for the shepherd's pie recipe I've been using, so I figured it was time to cough it up. Taken from www.weightwatchers.com (a great resource - even if you don't do meetings it's worth the $13.95 a month for all of the online tools):

Classic Shepherd's Pie (see afterwards for my notes)

Ingredients

2 large potato(es), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup(s) fat-free sour cream
1 tbsp reduced-calorie margarine
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup(s) onion(s), chopped
2 medium carrot(s), diced
2 medium stalk(s) celery, diced
1 pound(s) uncooked ground turkey breast
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp rosemary, fresh, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cup(s) canned chicken broth, or beef broth

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.

Transfer turkey mixture to a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon, make decorative swirls over the top. Bake until potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

6 servings, at 5 pts per reasonably generous serving

My notes:

I often use ground lamb instead - lean, grassfed (or occasionally the leanest ground beef). Add some chicken stock to the mashed potatoes -otherwise they're too hard to spread and it makes a mess. If you don't have a DEEP DISH pie pan make sure to put a cookie sheet lined with foil under the pie to catch any spillover. I often add mushrooms, and/or a handful of frozen green peas. Reduce the amount of broth by 1/4 to 1/2 cup - the full amount is WAY too much. Spray your skillet with n/s spray if using stainless steel. Cut the potatoes smaller than the 2" - they'll cook faster. It usually takes longer than the 3 mins to thicken, IMO. I dice my veggies small 'cuz I don't like big honking mouthfuls of veggies. They cook faster and better that way, too.

Signed,

Your friend Jorge