Thursday

Individual Beef and Veggie Pot Pies

Do you have a favorite stormy weather comfort food?




When the weather turns chilly, damp, rainy or snowy there is nothing I like better than a warming bowl of soup.

Mr. OUaP loves homemade soup as well, but he loves pot pies as much or more.  I gladly oblige him! 




Containers filled and ready for their pastry topping.


I just used my favorite stew recipe, browning the meat chunks (cut a little smaller that I would for stew, and salted & peppered), then added some diced onions and minced garlic allowing them to turn translucent and tender. 

Beef stock (or broth) added to the pot to nearly cover the meat, (a splash of red wine if desired), and some sliced carrots,  and any herbs you would like... I like thyme.  I allowed it to simmer for about 30 minutes (keeping in mind that this beef was tender to begin with, so it didn't need to actually "stew".)

During the last few minutes I stirred in some diced sweet red pepper frozen peas, and frozen pearl onions.  Once all of the ingredients were heated through, I thickened the mixture with a Beurre Manié

  Note: Sauteed mushrooms. or other slightly cooked vegetables of your choice are also delicious additions. 



Bubbling and piping hot from the oven.

 I rolled out pastry, and cut the crust to size of each container, tracing with a sharp knife.   Brushed the bottoms ( the side of the dough that will rest upon the filling)  with a beaten egg.  I like to utilize different sizes and shapes of oven proof containers for these pies...  well ... just because I just like they way they look, not matching each other.



Ready to serve !

I pressed the edges of the dough to the container with the tines of a fork, cut a small cross in each pastry top to allow steam to escape, then brushed the tops with beaten egg.

Then placed them on a baking sheet and baked in a 425* (F) oven for 7 to 10 minutes or so until filling was bubbling and crust was nicely browned.



Ummm!  Soo Good!!

When heated through, and crust is perfectly browned, remove from oven and allow to cool for several minutes before serving.





Of course you can use this same method using all veggies, chicken, shrimp or fish in place of the beef. 





And if there happen to be any left over ~ just cover and refrigerate, when ready to eat either heat them in a 325* oven until hot (loosely cover crust with foil if it begins to brown too quickly before filling is heated through), or zap the little pie in the microwave.  (I prefer the radiant oven, because it retains most of the integrity of the delicious crust.)





If you try these little pies, I hope you love them as Mr. OUaP and I do.

So, what is YOUR favorite cold-weather comfort food?
I would love it if you would please share it with us.




I'm joining my friends at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.  I hope you'll go by and see what's cooking this week. 









26 comments:

  1. Oh Mari, Why do you torture me so? :)

    I love your mini pot pies. I've made chicken pot pie a zillion times, but I've never done beef for some unknown reason. When I'm really pressed for time, I cut my crust dough into rounds and bake them off on a sheet pan. That way I can just top off bowls of filling that I heat on the stove top with freshly baked crust rounds. I prefer to bake them together, but doing it separately like saves a bunch of time on those hectic days.

    :)
    ButterYum
    I love using the Beurre manie trick.

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  2. These are simply gorgeous...I want one right now!

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  3. Your pot pies and photos are amazing! I love pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes when it's blustery out:@)

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  4. When I need comfort, I'm coming to your house.

    My comfort food is usually meat loaf, but it never looks anything like as good as your comfort food. Your photos are outstanding!
    Sam

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  5. little works or art, to pretty eat! well, as long as we are 85 degrees still, come our first rainy day i will be making these or sure~

    so are you adding an agility course for your brood? it is so fun, get will on it now, you will LOVE PLAYING WITH THEM!

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  6. What a beautiful food, it really is art! YOur images make me want to go right into my kitchen and cook! You inspire me.
    Yvonne

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  7. They look beautiful, Mary. Love all the different shapes ramekins.

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  8. I am always a fan of classic chili. Though I like to make mine without any meat or with chicken. I grew up eating with ground beef, but have since lost a tasting for the ground beef in it. I love getting creative with the types of beans i put in.

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  9. The crusts are done just perfectly...mine always brown too much. Love all the different ramekins!

    XO,
    Jane

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  10. These are so cute! I love all of the different sizes and shapes of containers that you used. What a great idea. And they look so good I can almost smell the heavenly aroma. I'm going to try this.

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  11. So adorable they would be great for company. I love to make mine in little ramekins too. I have only tried chicken, but beef looks fantastic.

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  12. These look seriously amazing!!!

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  13. Your photos and food always looks so inviting. My comfort food would probably be chicken and dumplings, not the soft squishy ones, but the ones that sink to your stomach. But, chicken or beef pot pie is right up there also. Today I will make chili as we have a cold front coming in here in Ohio. Maybe even some homemade bread to go with it.

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  14. Picture Perfect Pot Pies! An ideal dinner for our cold rainy weather yesterday with a glass of red wine :-) Love your different ramekins~

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  15. Boy do these look yummy Mari! I love how you mixed up the sizes and shapes of the ramekins.

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  16. i was learning that during my apprenticeship and i still love those little pots.

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  17. Mari...these are perfection!! What lovely photos.

    My Ina book came yesterday afternoon! It is so wonderful!! I already have a couple *to-trys* marked and will be sharing at my blog in the near future! Thank you again for such a wonderful giveaway!

    Blessings!
    Gail

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  18. Lovely Lovely.

    THings I love are
    Grilled cheese & tomato soup
    A thick white soup, like clam chowder and crackers.
    Red Chili w.cornbread

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  19. Cute cute and so tantalizing~ Wonderful Mary..

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  20. They look just perfect. If only I could make a decent pie crust. I will have to buy some pre-made crust to try these.

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  21. I was thinking about a venison stew today and I think it'd be perfect as a pot pie. This sounds so comfy!

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  22. Mari-
    What an amazing example of comfort food.
    You have inspired me to try it!Thank you for your kind comment on my blog.

    Laura
    White Spray Paint

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  23. Hi Mari...such a great idea making these in all different dishes. My question is what type of beef did you use, since you said it was already tender so it did not have to cook long...I love beef pot pies but always found that you had to cook your beef in the crockpot first to get it nice and tender...even using something like short ribs...what's your secret?

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  24. Thank you for your comments friends! I truly appreciate you taking your time to share your thoughts here.

    Hi Sue, At my healthy food market the meat came prepackaged by Emerald Hills, (it's organic) and pre-cut into large chunks. I cut them into smaller pieces and was prepared to actually "stew" the meat as I usually do for stew, chili or pot pies. But to my surprise when I browned off the meat and then cooked in stock for about 20 minutes it was already tender... so I know it was not actually a tougher cut of meat that would benefit from braising or stewing.

    I suspect these were trimmings from a more tender steak cut, thus didn't need to be cooked for long. But in any event it was delish!

    If it was true 'stew' meat, I would definitely simmer it until it was fork tender.

    Thank you for stopping by! xo

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  25. This are beautifully done and I wish I could dig in right now!
    Cheers! Leslie

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  26. Honestly, I don't know why I keep coming back to your blog - it's pure torture!

    :)
    ButterYum

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Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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