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About three years ago I made this amazing Skinny Shepherd's Pie, to give a tip of the hat to my Irish heritage around St. Patricks' Day. Since then, I've changed a lot and so have my cooking skills. The recipe is still fantastic, but there's always room for improvement and change too! This time around I decided to make a few more smart swaps.

One of my favorite things to do lately has been to swap cauliflower mash for mashed potatoes whenever possible. Don't get me wrong, I love potatoes but cauliflower has significantly less calories than potatoes. So naturally, a cauliflower mash will definitely give you more bang for your buck if you’re looking to cut down on your calorie intake.

That's not the only change I made to this oldie-but-goodie. I also decided to go with a lean ground turkey this time around rather than the lean ground beef. That's more of a personal preference of mine, to cut the amount of red meat I eat down to once a week at most. Plus, the ground turkey has less saturated fat than the ground beef and isn't all too different taste wise when it comes to this particular recipe.

Do you want to know a secret? Adding some hominy to your cauliflower mash gives it more of that 'potato' texture and full mouth feel that you might expect from actual mashed potatoes. But, fret not! If you aren't a hominy fan, feel free to substitute in more cauliflower in it's place!

Turkey & Cauliflower Mash Shepherd's Pie
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 6 • Size: About 1 1/2 Cup • Calories: 280.9 • Fat: 4.9 g • Saturated Fat: 2 • Carb: 30.7 g • Fiber: 6.2 g • Protein: 28.5 g • Sugar: 6.9 g • Sodium: 423.9 mg

Ingredients:
Potatoes:
4 C. Cauliflower, Fresh or Frozen
3 C. White Hominy (Canned or frozen will work.)
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
6 Oz. Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt
1/2 C. Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar, Divided
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Filling:
1 Lb. Extra Lean Ground Turkey
1/2 Medium Onion, Chopped
2 Tbsp. All-Purpose White Flour
4 C. Mixed Veggies, Frozen
3/4 C. Sodium Free Beef Broth
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 Tsp. Dried Rosemary
1 Tsp. Dried Thyme
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and lightly spray the inside of a 13x9 baking dish or large oven safe skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Place the 4 C. cauliflower and 2 cans of hominy into a large stock pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil.

Allow to cook until the vegetables are tender; about 10 minutes.

Drain the hominy and cauliflower and place in a large mixing bowl with the 6 Oz. greek yogurt and 1/4 c. of the cheese.

Beat together until textured to your liking.

I keep mine a bit chunky because that's how I like my mashed potatoes to be.

Season with salt & pepper to taste, and set aside.

Brown the 1 Lb. turkey and the 1/2 of a chopped onion together in a large skillet.

Once the meat is browned, add in the 2 Tbsp. four and stir to combine and coat the turkey.

Cook for another minute or two before adding in the 4 C. mixed vegetables, 3/4 C. broth, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste, 1 Tsp. Rosemary and 1 Tsp. Thyme.

Allow the mixture to cook for about 10 minutes until the broth has cooked down and the vegetables are warm and tender.

Transfer to turkey and vegetable mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Or keep it where it is if using a large oven safe skillet.

Spread the cauliflower mash evenly mixture over the turkey layer and place the dish into the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes.

Carefully remove from the oven and top with the remaining 1/4 c. of cheese.

Cover with foil and place back into the oven and back for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Enjoy!

SmartMade wants to hear from you as they create new meals inspired by you. If you like this smart swap and would like to see a similar meal in your freezer aisle, please pin this post to your Pinterest board. The recipe with the most love from YOU will be used as inspiration in a future meal!