A Delicious Recipe for a Low Fat Shepherd's Pie from a Shepherd

Here I am, a shepherd(ess) raising lambs, and my husband won't partake of their meat. No mammals. So, here is my recipe for Shepherd's Pie, but made with ground chicken or turkey. (I prefer ground chicken.) The classic version that is made with ground lamb has more fat than this version, but feel free to make it with ground beef or lamb, a mixture of those, or ostrich, or whatever ground meat you like.


(Next time I make it, I'll add pictures. But, here is the recipe anyway.)


2 lbs potatoes (We prefer gold, but whatever kind of potatoes is fine. But no skins is best for this dish.)
1/2 cup milk (We tend to have low fat on hand.)
2-3 Tbsp. of cream cheese (I tend to use the reduce fat version.)
1 lb ground meat of choice 
2 large onions
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1/2 cup dry cooking sherry to caramelize the onions. (Dry white wine works, too.)
1 1/2-2 tsp fresh thyme (or about a heaping 1/2 tsp of dried.)
1 package frozen petite peas (thawed) (I end of microwaving them to defrost.)
1 package frozen corn (Once tried a package of grilled frozen corn from Trader Joe's. Like it this way, too)


1. Cut potatoes into quarters for making the mashed potatoes. Cover the pieces with cold water and heat to boiling, uncovered. Simmer about 18 minutes or until tender.  (The potatoes can cook while getting the other items ready and cooking.) Once you have drained them well, return to them to the sauce pot and add the milk, cream cheese, and about 1/4 tsp salt and fresh ground pepper.  *Mash those tatties until smooth.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, finely chop the onions, celery, and carrots.
3. Brown the meat with about 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Remove the meat with a spoon, slotted preferably, leaving all the juices in the pan.  This adds to the flavor of the onions.
4. Oh, yes, remember to preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
5. In the skillet that you browned the meat in, on medium high, add the onions, carrots, and celery, and once again add 1/4 tsp salt and the same of ground pepper. Cook about 7-8 minutes. Then add the sherry or whatever wine you are using. Cook another couple of minutes to reduce the liquid by half.  Stir in the thyme, and add back the ground meat that was previously cooked in this skillet.
6. (If you have cooking spray, you might want to use it on the dish before you start assembling the pie. It still works if you don't spray.)
In a casserole dish, spread half of the mashed tatties (potatoes) evenly along the bottom. The next layer will be your seasoned meat mixture. Then layer on the thawed peas and corn. Spoon on the last bit of mashers that remain, evenly over the top covering all the filling.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until you see the top is turning golden brown.


* I learned a fun Scottish (Cape Breton, actually) hard shoe dance called Mashin' Tatties. Had to make a reference here.