Cheesy Italian Shepherd's Pie

This is a simple recipe that can be made in about 30 minutes. A lot of the prep work could be done ahead of time too!

Cheesy Italian Sheperd's Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (I used ground turkey)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded mozzarella or provolone
12 oz cooked whole wheat rotini (or pasta of your choice)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While cooking pasta to box's directions, heat up olive oil over medium heat and brown ground meat, takes about 10 minutes.

2. Add in veggies and cook for 5 minutes. Add in tomato paste, 1/2 cup chicken stock, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. 

3. While turkey and veggies are cooking, place butter in medium sauce pot until melted. Add flour and cook for about 1 minutes, constantly stirring and not letting it burn. Stir in milk and rest of chicken stock, bring to a simmer and cook til thickened. Remove from head and stir in cheese. 

4. Cover the bottom of a greased baking dish with the turkey and veggie mixture. 

5. Mix cheese sauce with pasta and pour over top of turkey and veggie mixture. Top with parmesan. 

6. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese starts to brown. Enjoy!