A Yummy Dinner

In case you haven't heard, Mike is on a mission to lose some significant weight. And it's working. And I am very proud of him. I don't know if it was the "big" birthday, the big wedding, or what motivation triggered him, but a few months ago, it's like a switch went off, and he's completely changed his diet.

(I haven't).

He eats a lot of quinoa, veggies, some protein, Cheerios with banana...and really, not a whole lot else. AND he has almost completely cut processed sugar and desserts out of his diet.

(I haven't).

So when I cook (not often lately), I try to make something that the whole family can enjoy, knowing that he has become very very choosy about what goes into his body (not me!).

For instance, he almost wouldn't eat my whole wheat veggie mini pizzas the other day because the sauce had too much sugar. Say what?

Anyway, last night I made something delicious that I'd like to share with you. I give you...

Turleybenson's Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie (Mike-approved!)
(adapted from various shepherd's pie recipes and what I had in my fridge)

You start with whatever heap of veggies you can find in your house. Here's how I did it:

Potatoes (these are kind of key)
Large handful of green beans
Canned tomatoes
1 Small Onion
Garlic
Carrots, chopped
Mushrooms
Yellow squash
1 T olive oil

In this scenario, the yellow squash will be playing the role of "meat" formerly played by ground beef. You could also use eggplant or zucchini or any meaty vegetable.

And here's what I did:

Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in the olive oil until they are softened.

Add the can of diced tomatoes (or if you have fresh, that will work too--about 14 oz).

Add all the other veggies, all chopped, and let simmer about 10-15 minutes. If it is too liquidy (it wasn't last night) add a little bit of corn starch.

***ALERT: Here's where my improv skills really kick in.***
Add about 1 T of curry powder to the veggie mixture and stir thoroughly. YUM!

In the meantime, make your mashed potatoes. I only added 1 T butter, 1 T sour cream, and 3/4 cup rice milk to mine. Not too bad for you, in my opinion.

Layer veggie mixture in 9 x 13 pan, then potatoes on top. I added a bit of feta cheese to the top also.

Broil for about 7 minutes, until top is just starting to brown.

Dish up, serve, have your mind blown.