Last night's dinner SHEPHERDS PIE

I'd like to also add to my blog things that I come across that other PKD patients may be interested in. This is a trial that a doctor in Britain is using to make donated kidneys healthier and to avoid the need for so many anti-rejection meds. Which is a good thing.

Breakthrough in kidney transplant 'could cut waiting list'

I love shepherd's pie and this is a quick and easy recipe for making it. It's based on a Weight Watcher's recipe with my own twist.

The Weight Watchers recipe uses instant potato flakes on the top as we normally would on Shepherd's Pie.  I was told once by a dietician that instant potato flakes are better than regular potatoes so I suppose depending on your kidney function you could use those. But I took a cue from the dietician on the Canadian Kidney Foundation dietician's page and I use phyllo dough instead.

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2c chopped onion
1/2c each sliced baby carrots and frozen peas
3/4c low-sodium beef broth
1 tsp Thyme
1 c prepared instant potato flakes OR 4 oz frozen phyllo dough, thawed and cut into 1/4" slices
dash of paprika (optional) good if you choose to use potatoes

Preheat oven to 350F

In a 10" non stick skillet cook beef over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up meat, 3-4 minutes , until no longer pink.

Add onion, cook, stirring constantly, until onion is softened, 2-3 minutes

Add carrots and peas; continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes

Add broth; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes

Transfer mixture into a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Top mixture with your choice of prepared potato flakes, spreading and fluffing with a fork, sprinkle with the dash of paprika; or arrange phyllo dough around the edges.

Bake until heated through, 15-20 minutes.

Serve with 1 tbsp ketchup on the side for dipping fork.

Makes 5 portions.

Obviously, from the photo, you can see that I ripped the phyllo dough rather than cutting it but that's okay.

Because I'm on my own and like variety I like to divide things like this into portions and freeze. It also gives me a few days of meals I don't have to cook. The easiest way to divide is to allow it to cool in the fridge to make it more "solid". When it's first baked it's quite difficult to divide.