Leftover shepherd's pie

Dinner tonight ended up being a strange concoction that I could never repeat, even if I tried. It must have been a hit because the entire 15x10 baking dish pan was empty.

Yesterday while I was picking up carrots and apples I noticed that Walmart had 10 lb bags of potatoes for $1.67 each. Never one to turn down a deal, I grabbed three bags. I see a lot of potatoes in our future.

Back to dinner. A quick glance in the refrigerator turned up around 3 cups of Italian Vegetable Soup and 5-6 cups of chicken/bean/rice soup. I mixed them, added 1 cup dry lentils and a bay leaf and brought it all to a boil. After the liquid had all simmered out and the lentils were cooked I added a few handfuls of frozen green beans, poured it into a sprayed 10x15 baking dish and topped with mashed potatoes. Marty tossed it into the oven as I was leaving for my Weight Watchers meeting. When I got home I topped it with some shredded cheddar cheese and started on dessert.

Whenever I make something that I think may not go over well I add something fun that I know they will like. It usually makes them more open to trying things. In fact, it seems like the only time we have dessert is when I am trying to bribe them!

Dessert was a super healthy apple crisp. Ethan sliced and cored 5 apples and tossed them with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. Christian mixed 2 cups gluten free oatmeal with cinnamon and nutmeg, 5 T brown sugar and 4 T. oil. Mixed and tossed on top of the apples in a sprayed 8x8" baking pan. We baked it for 20 minutes at 325.

The dessert was not a traditional apple crisp, but that didn't stop the boys from asking for extra crust. :o)