Barbara's Lentil Shepherd's pie - quick version

Ingredients: 

2 Tbsp Olive Oil 
1 kg frozen lentils 
300g mixed frozen vegetables 
1 stalk fresh celery chopped or frozen 
1 large onion. chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes 
1 clove garlic, crushed 
4 large button mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder 
1 heaped tsp vegetable bouillon (choose brands without MSG) 
1 Tbsp low salt soy sauce 
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
 salt and pepper to taste  
3 cups hot water 

1/2 Goat's Halloumi grated or any other cheese like low fat cheddar 
Instant mashed potatoes - packet which offers 8 portions  

Method: 

In a large pot add the olive oil, chopped onions and garlic. Saute onions and garlic over medium fire until transparent. Add the celery and button mushrooms. Cook for a further two minutes. 

Then add the frozen lentils, vegetable mix,  canned tomatoes, turmeric powder, vegetable bouillon, low salt soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce. Stir well.

Add hot water and stir again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 20 minutes until lentils and vegetables are cooked and the liquid has mostly evaporated. 

Spoon lentil mixture in a large pyrex glass dish. 

Prepare instant mashed potatoes according to the packet instructions. I avoid using milk and just add water and a knob of butter. Spoon the mashed potatoes over the lentil mixture. 

Grate your cheese of choice and sprinkle on top of the mashed potatoes. 

Bake in the oven for about 40 - 60 minutes  at 180C or until golden on top. 

Enjoy ! 

Nutritional Tip: My motto is "How can I make this more nutritious ?" ... so instead of button mushrooms, I added 4 x shiitake mushrooms finely chopped and 1 strip wakame seaweed crushed into tiny pieces and of course some turmeric ! 

I know some of you mummies might be hesitant about using frozen foods, yet I see them as the next healthiest step to using fresh foods. I may add that with some frozen vegetables the nutrient content may be higher than fresh foods depending how long they have been sitting on the shelf !