Shepherd's Pie a la Moussaka

I while back I was in the mood for some moussaka. Then I thought to myself, why not make the meat mixture for moussaka but make it into a shepherd's pie instead. I started googling and came upon another foodie who had the same idea! I was psyched to discover that this foodie was a chef... did this mean that I thought like a Fusion chef?
Probably not, but I like to think so, so don't burst my bubble!

Seeing as I had never made moussaka, I based my recipe on his, altering it to make it more 'hips & thighs' friendly , or 'gut' friendly or 'heart' friendly... or whatever part of your body you are trying to make peace with!

Here is my version of Chef John's Shepherd's Pie "Moussaka".

We all enjoyed this recipe, I toned my down when it came to spices so that my little critics would eat it... and yeah, mama is a sissy who can't handle the heat! You can handle the heat, then go check out Chef John's spice mix and use it instead of mine. (keep in mind that I halved the recipe).
Ingredients
(4 servings)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 lb ground turkey

SPICE MIX
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp greek seasoning

2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 eggplant (350 gr), peeled and diced

1 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tbsp light margarine
1/4 cup fat free milk
1/4 cup fresh parmesan, shredded

Directions
1- In a large pan, heat olive oil.
2- Saute onions until soft.
3 - Add turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
4 - Add spice mix and garlic.
5- Turn heat to medium low.
6 - Add tomato paste and diced eggplant, and mix.
7 - Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8- In a pot, boil some water and add potatoes.
9- drain potatoes and mash with milk, margarine and parmesan cheese.
8- Remove cover from meat near the end to let liquid evaporate a little.
9- Fill a casserole with meat mixture and top with mashed potatoes.
10- Bake in a preheated oven (medium-high heat) for approx. 20 minutes or until top is golden.

Nutritional Data
1 serving
9 WW points
413 calories
15.8 g fat
83.9 mg chol
40 g carbs
6.6 g fiber
4.3 g sugars
29.8 g protein

Chicken Curry Risotto

I love Indian and I love risotto... so I combined both to create this Indian inspired Risotto. I didn't use Arborio rice, so its not truly risotto, but the unrinsed Jasmine rice combined with coconut created nice creamy rice either way. I really liked how it turned out and so did my 3 critics. The little critics picked out the onions, they were chopped too big... next time I will dice them so they blend in with the rice more!


Ingredients
(serves 5)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 tsp mild curry paste
1 1/2 tsp tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 1/2 cup Jasmine rice (do not rinse)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 cup light Coconut milk ***

Directions

- In a deep pan, heat olive oil and add onions.
- Cook onions for 5 minutes until softened, add curry paste and ginger-garlic paste. Cook for another minute, then add chicken.
- Cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes, until all sides are white.
- Add rice, cook for another minute, stirring continuously.
- Add 1 cup chicken broth and garam masala, lower heat to low.
- Cook rice on low heat adding broth 1 cup at a time until it evaporates.
- Add coconut milk and cook until the rice is soft (or al dente) and the liquid has been absorbed. Make sure chicken has cooked through.

* If you are out of broth but rice and chicken are not quite ready, you can add water.

** Recipe should be ready in a total of about 20-25 minutes.

*** Here is a brand of coconut milk available in North America (60% less fat then regular coconut milk) perfect for this recipe!

Nutritional Data
1 serving

with light coconut milk
9 WW points
421 cal
8.7 g fat
53.7 mg Cholesterol
49.7 g carbs
1.3 g fiber
32.2 g protein

with regular coconut milk
11 WW points
479 cal
15.6 g fat
53.7 mg cholesterol
49.8 g carbs
1.3 g fiber
32.6 g protein