Shepherd's Pie (serves 6-8) (Cook time: About 6-8 hours on low or 3-5 on high)

Ingredients:
1) 2 slices of high-quality white bread, torn into quarters. (I just use the honey wheat bread we use for sandwiches)
2) 1/4 cup whole milk
3) 2 points of lean ground beef
4) Salt and pepper
5) 1/4 cup vegetable oil
6) 10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and halved if small or quartered if large (we do not like mushrooms, so we did not add them)
7) 2 onions, minced
8) 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (we just used pre-cut frozen carrots; defrost them before you use them)
9) 3 tablespoons tomato paste
10) 3 garlic cloves, minced (check out the previous recipe for tips on cutting up garlic)
11) 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried (we used dried thyme)
12) 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
13) 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
14) 1/4 cup heavy cream
15) 1 tablespoon soy sauce
16) 1 cup frozen peas
17) 3 cups mashed potatoes (look below recipe for tip on making mashed potatoes)

Directions:

1) Mash bread and milk into paste in large bowl using fork. Mix in ground beef, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper using hands.

2) Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add beef mixture, 1 pound at a time, and cook while breaking up any large pieces with wooden spoon until no longer pink, about 3 minutes per pound; transfer to slow cooker.

3) Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms, onions, carrots, tomato paste, garlic, and thyme and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps; transfer to slow cooker.

4) Stir heavy cream and soy sauce into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 6-8 hours on low or 3-5 hours on high.

5) Let beef filling settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Stir in peas and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mashed potatoes over beef filling and smooth into even layer using spatula. Cover and cook on high until potatoes are heated through, 20-30 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

6) Serve and Enjoy!

Tips: Mashed Potatoes

*Cover 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (we did about 4 medium size potatoes), peeled, sliced 3/4 inch thick, and rinsed well, with water in large saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer and cook until tender, 18-20 minutes. Drain potatoes, wipe pot dry, then return potatoes to pot. Mash potatoes thoroughly with potato masher. Fold in 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter and 3/4 cup hot half-and-half (we used milk because we did not have half-and-half on hand, slowly add the milk incase you don't need all 3/4 cups). Add additional hot half-and-half as needed until potatoes have a loose but not soupy texture. Season with salt and pepper to ease. Makes 3 cups.

From: America's Test Kitchen, Slow Cooker Revolution