Beef Pot Pies

The following recipe will make approximately 4 individual pot pies.

Stock:

2 lbs chuck steak

1 tsp sage

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

To start your pot pie, you first need beef stock and beef. I used chuck steak this time, but I've also used stew meat and roast. Put your meat in pot with salt, pepper, sage, bay leaf and enough water to cover the meat. I usually fill the pot until the water is an inch and a half from the top. Cover and cook at 350 for a few hours or until you remember you put something in the oven. Remove meat and shred, being certain to trim any fat. Strain the stock. Set aside.

Filling:

stock

beef

half a bag of frozen peas, fresh would be even better

4-5 carrots, diced

3-4 potatoes, peeled and diced

2-3 chopped celery stalks

salt and pepper to taste

a few tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

Throw everything into a pot and bring to a boil. When potatoes are tender, thicken the filling. You don't want to thicken it too much or your pot pies will be dry.

Pie Crust:

2 3/4 C all purpose flour

2/3 C lard or butter or a little of both

no more than six Tbsp cold water

Mix your flour and lard or butter until they resemble crumbs. The more fat you add, the flakier your crust. This will produce a very flaky crust so if that's not to your liking, don't add as much lard. Once you have a crumbly mixture start adding a tablespoon of water at a time until the dough is just wet and can be formed into a ball.

You will want to roll out eight crusts or at least try to get four and then use scraps to cover the pot pies. Put the pie crusts in the pans, add the filling, top with more crust and bake at 375 for 45 min or until the top and edges are light brown. These freeze very well and make great lunches or dinners when you want some comfort food.