Easy Entertaining- Green Meadows Sheppard's Pie 2-4-6

So your tired of eating alone, and you can't always make it to the Masjid (mosque) for Iftar (meal after breaking the fast). Invite a friend or 2 over, maybe couple who lives close by. One of the beautiful things about Ramadan is sharing a meal with your fellow believers. Who said this has to be relegated to the weekend. With easy entertaining ideas, enjoying Iftar with company can be done any day of the week.. weekend or work evening. One of the easiest ways of making a mid week group Iftar is to use ramekins. The portions are already pre-determined in a neat little package, and they are SUPER cute. Serve with a salad and you've got a great meal!

Now i got the idea for this particular recipe from not wanting to dirty another pot to make vegetables, lol. I was in one of my meat and potato moods, and decided to make Sheppard's pie.. its meat, its potato its DIVINE! Only thing missing is vegetables, so why not add it in to the potato mash. Broccoli mashes well (and i already had it in my freezer), so i said why NOT, lets try it.. and i gotta tell you, it came out delish! hence the name: Green Meadows Sheppard's Pie, i know i'm corny :-)

Green Meadows Sheppard's Pie

• ½ lb Ground Turkey, seasoned well
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• I small onion, chopped small
• ½ Yellow or Red Sweet (bell) pepper, chopped small
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp Thyme
• ½ tsp Rosemary
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp Ketchup
• 1 tsp pepper sauce*
• 1 tsp Paprika
• Salt /Pepper
• 1tbsp Golden Ray Butter (Trinidad Butter)

Potato & Broccoli Mash

• 4 medium/large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 C frozen broccoli
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• ¼ C low fat milk
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• ½ C Sharp cheddar cheese; separated

Breadcrumbs

4-6 Ramekins

Preheat oven to 400⁰F.

1. In large non stick skillet, coat the bottom of the skillet with Olive Oil. Add the Trinidad butter, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme and rosemary. Turn the heat on medium high.
2. When the garlic starts to dance (sizzle around the edges) add the onion and sweet pepper, salt the vegetables. Sauté until the onion are translucent and soft.
3. Add the seasoned ground turkey to the skillet, cook for 1 min before adding the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup , pepper sauce and paprika. Continue to cook the ground turkey until fully browned and all the juices have dried out.

1. Place the potato cubes and smashed garlic cloves in a pot and cover with water. Salt the water and put the pot on the stove over high heat.
2. When the potatoes are half way done, add the broccoli to the boiling water.
3. When the potatoes and broccoli are tender, drain off the water, and add the butter, milk, cream cheese and about half of the cheddar cheese.
4. Mash together with large fork or potato masher until you reach a smooth consistency ( a few lumps are fine).

Arrange your 4-6 ramekins on a baking sheet. Evenly distribute your cooked meat in the bottom of the ramekins and top with generous helping of the potato & broccoli mash. Top each individual pie with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs and the rest of the cheddar cheese.

Bake for 10-15 min.

Serve on small plates with a salad.. and enjoy!

How do you make having people over for Iftar easy on you??

Happy Eating…. Ramadan Mubarak