Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie is a dish that is traditionally made with leftovers, which begs the question: Who the heck ever has LEFTOVER mashed potatoes? Certainly not me. Anyway, this is how I make shepherd's pie, and I think it's pretty darn tastey:

Ingredients (for the potato part)

3 or 4 largish baking potatoes (peeled and chopped)
3 to 4 T butter or margarine
3 to 4 T cottage cheese
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Ingredients (for the meat part)

About a handful of each of your favourite veggies (diced) (I used carrots, onions, celery, and red pepper)
Oil for frying
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1/2 lb ground beef
Liberal application of your favourite barbecue sauce.

Optional topping: shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Bring water to boil and cook potatoes until tender
3. While the potatoes are cooking, fry up all the veggies in the order of hardest veggies first. So, carrots first, red pepper last. Add the garlic.
4. When the carrots are tender but firm, add the ground beef to the veggies. Apply liberal amounts of barbecue sauce to flavour the beef. Cook until beef is no longer pink. (Once the pink is gone you can taste it to make sure you added enough barbecue sauce).
5. Drain the potatoes and mash them with the butter and cottage cheese and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. All the above ingredients should be just enough to fit into a 2 L casserole dish. Put the beef and veggie mixture on the bottom, then spread the mashed potatoes on top.
7. Add some shredded cheese to the top if you like.
8. Cook in preheated oven for 30 minutes.