Week 1: Chicken Shepherd's Pie

The Recipe
1lb chicken breast, cubed
salt, pepper
Butter
250g mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2tbsp flour
3/4 cup half-and-half or milk
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 bell peppers
Mashed potatoes
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Breadcrumbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 175C.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Melt some butter in a pan and cook chicken until done. Transfer chicken to an ovenproof dish and set aside.
In the same pan melt more butter and saute the mushrooms until soft. Transfer to the dish. Add a bit more butter and cook the garlic until fragrant but not yet brown. Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute. Pour in both fluids, whisking until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add bell pepper and leave to simmer for 2 minutes. Transfer to dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and/or breadcrumbs if you want to.

Bake for 45 minutes.

The Verdict
I'd accidentally added too much broth to the mashed potatoes so the texture was off. I have to remember that it has to be rather stiff for something like this. Otherwise I mostly liked it. The sauce was a bit bland, so I need to play around with the spices a bit (i.e. ADD some that aren't just salt and pepper), but the basic idea was good and an easy way to use up left-over mashed potatoes.