I was recently contemplating what to make to bring to a friend’s house for a pot luck dinner. I had my trusty pound of grass-fed organic ground beef thawing, but I wanted to make something different, yet affordable and able to serve at least six people. I found a great recipe for a dish called Mexican Shepherd’s Pie that I tweaked a little and added my own flare to it.

1. I added refried beans in substitution of 1 pound of ground beef in order to add flavor, as well as some added fiber and reduction in fat.
2. I used my own spices, herbs, and seasonings to make a fresher, non-chemical meat mixture. Keeping fresh herbs and spices on hand really makes a difference in taste! There is no comparison to fresh vs boxed/packaged products. In other words, don’t use premixed taco seasoning, but come up with your own blend of seasonings that taste great and are void of chemicals!
3. I made the corn bread from scratch using a healthier corn meal compared to using a boxed corn bread mix.
4. I made my own fresh salsa from fresh ingredients that I had on hand. If you have never made fresh salsa, you are in for a treat! Not only is a great way to eat more vegetables, but it is SO tasty! Adding some fruit such as mango, pineapple, or peach to your salsa gives it that sweet-savory-salty combination that is out of this world!

I wanted to share this recipe with you because it was just delicious, as well as healthy, satisfying, and reasonably priced. It is a great dish to make for a group of people – who doesn’t like Mexican food? The recipe is easily cut in half for smaller size groups or for 2-4 people.