English Cottage Pie

Home sick today fighting off this awful flu / cold / illness, so here is something I made over the weekend.

This is some real comfort food and it's also a Cooking Light recipe, which means you can feel a little less guilty as you enjoy it, knowing that although it tastes really great, it's not that much of an indulgence. I made this on Halloween last year and we really enjoyed it. I decided to make it again over this weekend, but this time share it with you step-by-step.



English Cottage Pie
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Cooking spray
1 ½ cups chopped onion
½ chopped carrot
8 oz. thinly slice cremini or button mushrooms
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
2 tablespoons no salt added tomato paste
1 cup low sodium beef broth
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups mashed potatoes
¾ cups shredded reduced-fat sharp white cheddar cheese, divided (I used orange cheddar)
Paprika (optional)


Preheat oven to 350° and if you have 3 cups leftover mashed potatoes, by all means use them! If you're like me and you don't, them start them before you begin with the rest of this recipe.

Combine flour and butter; stir well and set aside. Chop onion and carrots. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and carrot; sauté 5 minutes. Add mushrooms; sauté for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove vegetables from skillet.

Add beef to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in tomato paste, and cook 3 minutes. Stir in broth and pepper. Return vegetables to pan, and bring to a simmer. Stir in parsley, thyme, and salt. Add flour mixture, and cook for 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly.

Spoon meat mixture into an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly. Combine the potatoes and half of cheese; spread the potato mixture evenly over meat mixture. Top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until bubbly.



Don't forget to let it sit under the broiler for a bit so it gets nice and brown.





You'll love this, I just know you will!

Oh yes, and I am linking up with 33 Shades of Green on this post for Tasty Tuesdays. Pop on over and check out the blog and the other superb recipes!