Shepherd's Pie - Lighter Version

I like to cook low-fat versions of different recipes and Ellie Krieger from the Cooking Channel has a healthy recipe for Shepherd's Pie. Traditionally this is a comfort food dish with lots of calories but in her recipe she uses 90% lean ground beef and I found a lean ground beef that is 93% lean or you can use ground chicken or turkey breast if you don't eat red meat. If you substitute chicken or turkey breast, you would need to use chicken broth for the liquid instead of beef broth.
The bottom layer of the pie has quite a few vegetables like onions, carrots, mushrooms, and peas that add nutrition to the recipe. The top of the pie is suppose to be all mashed potatoes but to lower the calories, half potatoes and half cauliflower was used, and no one will never Know!

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef (93% lean)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, diced
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold or creamery potatoes
1 small head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into florets
2/3 cup 1 percent low fat milk
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

First Salt and pepper the meat and in a large nonstick skillet cook the meat over medium heat, until brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate. Drain any fat remaining in the skillet.

Heat the oil in the same skillet over a medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook, covered, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Raise the heat to moderately-high. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook, uncovered, until the mushrooms are soft and their liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes longer. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Return the meat to the pan. Stir in the broth, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and bring to a simmer being sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the peas. Pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish (about 11 by 9 inches).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Scrub the potatoes and cut into 2 inch pieces. In a large pot cover the potatoes with water about 2 inches above the potatoes. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook until the vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes longer. Drain the vegetables and put back into the pot and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Heat the milk, butter, 1/2 teaspoons of salt and a pinch of pepper and stir into the potato mixture.

Spread the potato mixture on top of the meat and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Enjoy!