Upside Down Shepherd’s Pie

In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day I wanted to make something a little bit Irish. Since we have little one at home, husband and I were not up to going out for green beers this year. We did split a bottle of Guinness with dinner.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks. While the recipes found in it are low cal, don’t be fooled! These recipes are very yummy. I happened to have everything listed below in my kitchen (except for the evaporated milk, I subbed in regular milk) so even though I hadn’t been to the grocery store in over two weeks I was able to pull this together.

Some of the more “fussy” parts of this recipe I completely omitted. Since I used ground turkey I didn’t need to drain the meat or wipe the pan with paper towels. I don’t use a steamer basket for my potatoes, I boil them like I would any other time I make mashed potatoes. And while an electric mixer does make lovely potatoes, I like lumps of potatoes in my mashed potatoes – it reminds me that I’m eating the real thing. I use my trusty old potato masher and in about the same time it takes to use and electric mixer I have great mashed potatoes.

1 ½ lb baking potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes

Vegetable oil spray

1 lb. lean ground beef (ground turkey)

1 cup onion, chopped

½ cup water

2 tsp. very low sodium beef bouillon cubes

1 T. chili powder

¼ tsp. cayenne (optional)

½ cup fat free evaporated milk

¼ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. salt

¾ cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Set a steamer basket in a small amount of simmering water in a medium sauce pan. Put the potatoes in the basket. Cook, covered for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Return the potatoes to the empty pan.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Remove the heat and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray. Cook the beef for three minutes or until no longer pink. Pour into a colander and rinse under hot water to remove excess fat. Drain well. Wipe the skillet with paper towels.

Reduce heat to medium. Cook the onion for 3-4 minutes, or until translucent. Increase the heat to medium high. Add the water, bouillon, chili powder, cayenne and ground beef. Cook for 2-5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Using an electric mixer, beat the potatoes on low for 1 minute. Add the milk, garlic powder and salt. Beat until smooth. Spread in a 12x18x2 in baking dish. Spoon the meat mixture over the potatoes. Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and let stand for 3 minutes to let cheese melt slightly.

American Heart Association Low Cal Cookbook