Ah, another Friday recipe day. The thing I loved about this recipe is that you can make it & have more for the next day or the next few days. Easy to reheat or pack in a container to take to work with you. If you want to bring down the fat grams, use extra lean ground chicken rather than just the lean stuff. Hopefully all of you out there know there is quite a bit of difference from lean to extra lean. I use extra lean for both my ground chicken & turkey. Also, feel free to change it up to meet your own taste buds.

Chicken Shepherd’s Pie

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 to 6 yams (depending on size)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow or white onion, chopped
• 1½ lb lean ground chicken
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel yams and cut into small pieces. Bring to a boil on stovetop and let simmer 20 minutes or until soft. Mash with a hand mixer or hand masher and set aside.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in frying pan. Add onion and sauté about 3 minutes. Add ground chicken and garlic. Once chicken is almost cooked through, add mushrooms, carrots, celery and sauté until the chicken is fully cooked. In a deep baking dish, layer the chicken mixture on the bottom, cover with a thin layer of mashed yams, then another layer of chicken and top with the remaining yams. Bake for about 20 minutes, then broil for 5 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

“Goes great with a green salad topped with lemon juice and flaxseed oil,” says Oxygen reader Karoline. “It tastes great the next day too, so make enough that you have lunch for the next day or so!”

NUTRIENTS PER SERVING:
Calories: 390, Total Fats: 13 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Trans Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 75 mg, Sodium: 75 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 48 g, Dietary Fiber: 8 g, Sugars: 16 g, Protein: 22 g, Iron: 2 mg
 

Also, if you did not see the story on the 10 riskiest foods in America, you must check this out because us healthy folks eat most of them if not all of them! The article says: "A new CSPI report finds that the top 10 riskiest foods regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration accounted for nearly 40 percent of all foodborne outbreaks in the U.S. between 1990 and 2006, spawning nearly 50,000 illnesses with symptoms ranging from stomach cramps and diarrhea to kidney failure and death. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers tracked more than 1,500 separate, definable outbreaks involving not only high-risk foods like meat and dairy, but staples of a healthy diet, such as fruits and vegetables. These outbreaks are only the tip of the iceberg of foodborne illness. For every case of salmonella poisoning reported, for instance, the CDC estimates that another 38 cases go unreported."

The 10 are: leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries. You can read the full article at the link above & a description of each of the ten & the findings.

Always interested to know if you have any cool recipes to share. I will do a guest post if you want to share something great for all of us! Also, what are your thoughts on the risky foods article. Scares the crap out of me! Yes, I will still eat but I will still clean the foods I can clean as best possible & makes me more aware of what I am buying.