"Turkey Dinner" Shepherd's Pie

Its dinner date night! Hooray! Kara and I set up an arrangement where the Mom that hosts the dinner date makes dinner for the girls for that night. The mom attending brings a reheatable dinner that can go in the fridge or freezer for later in the week. Last week Kara brought Neko some of the red pepper pasta and yogurt bars that she made. Neko loved them both and it was SO nice to have a healthy, homemade meal in the fridge to just pull out, heat up and serve!

Tonight is my turn to bring a meal so last night after much thought I conjured up a twist on a shepherd's pie made with sweet potatoes, ground turkey and green beans (instead of mashed potatoes, green beans and ground beef). Shepherd's pie usually also has some gravy so I attempted to make a little gravy in the ground turkey pan. It worked out pretty good actually.

I served the "pie" (which really I baked in a casserole dish) to Neko fresh out of the oven for lunch and she totally loved it. I made a separate bigger one for dinner for my husband and I and then in a disposable foil mini-loaf pan I made an individual one to bring to Abby which Kara can heat up in the oven later in the week.

"Turkey Dinner" Shepherd's Pie

4 medium sweet potatoes
2 tbsp butter (I used smart balance 50/50)
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp Chinese five spice
3c. fresh green beans, ends cut, washed
1 pound ground turkey (I used the 94% fat free version)
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
½ tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp corn starch
¼ c. turkey stock
1/8c. milk

Peel, rinse and quarter the sweet potatoes. Put in a medium sized pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until tender (about 20 minutes).

While the potatoes are cooking steam the green beans in a vegetable steamer until just tender (about 5 minutes). Allow beans to cool slightly and cut into bite sized pieces.

Add the oil to a large skillet and over med-high heat brown the ground turkey. Season the turkey with the sage and rosemary. Add the salt and pepper to taste. When the turkey is cooked stir in the corn starch, turkey stock and milk.

When the sweet potatoes are cooked, remove from heat and drain. Add the butter, egg, Chinese five spice and some salt to taste. Mash all ingredients together with a potato masher.

In a baking dish layer components as follows: ground turkey/gravy mixture, green beans and finally the sweet potatoes on top. I piped the sweet potatoes on top using a Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator because I was feeling fancy.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-35 minutes or until the sweet potatoes on top start to brown slightly. Serve.