ITALIAN SHEPHERD'S PIE

8 Ounces lean ground beef
4 Ounces sweet Italian sausage, cut into pieces
½ Cup onion, chopped
2 Cups zucchini, chopped (or 2 cups yellow squash, chopped)
1 Can (14½ ounces diced tomatoes)
3 Ounces tomato paste
2 Cups mashed potatoes, refrigerated
¾ Cup Italian blend shredded cheese
¼ Teaspoon black pepper
1 Dash ground paprika, or to taste

Preheat oven to 375F. Stir ½ cup of the cheese into the potatoes; set mixture aside. In a large skillet, cook ground beef, sausage, and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir zucchini or yellow summer squash, un-drained tomatoes, tomato paste, and pepper into meat mixture in skillet. Bring to boiling. Divide meat mixture evenly among six 10-ounce casserole dishes. Spoon mashed potato mixture into mounds on top of hot meat mixture in casseroles. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup cheese. If desired, sprinkle with paprika. Cover with plastic wrap; chill for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours. To serve, preheat oven to 375F. Remove plastic wrap; place casseroles in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Cover with foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil. Bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes more. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

TIP: If you don’t have 6 individual 10-ounce casserole dishes handy, use one large casserole dish instead.

Serving size: 1 small casserole dish (about 1/6 of pie)
Calories: 246
Fat: 11 g
Cholesterol: 47 mg
Carbohydrate: 19 g
Protein: 16 g
Sodium: 338 mg

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