SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH SWEET POTATO AND MEATLESS OR REAL GROUND CHICKEN

I have posted before about using ground meat for more than just making hamburgers.  I bought some lean ground chicken for supper and decided to make a different version of Shepherd's pie.  I found a recipe on the Canadian Living website and made a a number of modifications.  The recipe turned out to quite good and I would definitely make this again.  In making this recipe, I used ground chicken but you can also use ground turkey.  If you wanted to make this recipe vegetarian you could substitute the ground chicken with cooked grains or meatless ground soy products.

Ground chicken and vegetables cooking in the frying pan.

The meat and vegetable mixture in the baking dish. 

Sweet potatoes spread over the top.

I shredded old cheddar cheese over the top of the sweet potatoes.

Hot out of the oven.

Ready to eat!

Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potato and Ground Chicken

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb ground chicken or turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup niblets corn

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 tsp thyme or herbes de Provence

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1/4 cup flour

1 1/4- cups chicken stock

2 large sweet potatoes

2 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Peel and boil sweet potatoes until tender. In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute onion and minced garlic for about 3-5 minutes.  Add the ground chicken or turkey and cook for 5 minutes before adding the carrots, corn and celery. Cook until the meat is browned.

Stir in poultry seasoning, thyme or herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. Add flour and cook for one minute. Add stock and simmer until thickened to a gravy.

Pour into a baking dish. When the sweet potatoes are done.  Mash them with butter. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes over the meat mixture. Top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 350ºF  for 30 minutes.

Adapted from www.Canadianliving.com