I haven’t really made a “real” Shepherd’s Pie before. So I scanned some recipes online and found this one on the food network site…Danny Boome’s Shepherd’s Pie Recipe. It sounded good to me and had great reviews! I made some tweeks to it to make it a little healthier. I substituted lean turkey for beef, used milk instead of cream, and used reduced fat cheese. I also switched up the veggies a bit. The final result….delish!

Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup corn
1 small onion
3/4 cup peas
1 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chicken stock
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, recipe follows

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
2 pounds potatoes, peeled, quartered (about 2 large potatoes)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup grated reduced fat cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions for the Potatoes…
Fill a large saucepan with cold water and a tablespoon of salt. Add potatoes to the water and bring to a boil. Let potatoes cook until soft about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are at a desired density, drain the potatoes and place them back into the saucepan for mashing. Add butter and cream and begin to mash potatoes into a semi smooth consistency. Once at desired texture add cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Directions for the rest…
Preheat oven at 400 degrees F. Add butter and oil to a large skillet on medium heat. Saute onions, corn, and garlic until tender for about 7 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Once the vegetables have softened and start to brown a little add the tomato paste and mix evenly. Add the turkey, cook fully, about 10 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and stock. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook and simmer for another 10 minutes. Mix in peas. Transfer mixture to an 9 x 13 oven-proof baking dish and spread evenly. Place potato on top of ground beef mixture and spread out evenly, once the top surface has been covered, rake through with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. Place the dish into the preheated oven and cook until browned about 20 minutes. Spoon out the shepherd’s pie and serve (serves 6).