When I was on my own years ago, I really didn’t cook for myself. It was too much effort. I’d get my cooking fix by having little parties for my friends. Needless to say when I moved in with my husband and had the instant family, I loved being able to cook full meals and share food. Just one of the many reasons I don’t miss the single life.
One dish I would occasionally make for myself would be mini meat pies. They lend well to leftovers so in one go I would have several meals ready. I haven’t made them for years, forgotten about them to be honest. These aren’t the traditional English meat pies with the hot water crust, though that is on my list to try soon. We’ve been watching the Great British Bake Off and we’re hooked.
I make up pastry equal to a 9 inch pie plate. Which would be 1 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of butter, pinch of salt, and cold water. I’ve started using butter instead of shortening as the flavour is much better. Cover and set aside while you make up the filling. If the room is warm put the pastry in the fridge.
Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and start browning about a pound of ground beef. Chop up half a red onion, a few cloves of garlic, and a couple of mushrooms. Add those to the skillet.
Chop up some fresh oregano and add that along with about 1/2 – 3/4 cup or so of crushed tomatoes. The trick here is not to let it get watery or too saucy. Also add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.
Let this simmer while you roll out the pastry and fill a tin with large muffin holes. I had to free hand this as I didn’t have a cutter or glass with a large enough aperture to give me a neat circle. So we got a bit rustic! Use a slotted spoon to fill the pastry to prevent it from getting too wet. Sprinkle a generous amount of shredded Italian cheeses. Bake at 400F/200C for 20 minutes.
I don’t know why it took me years to make this again. But I won’t wait long to do it again as it is great for lunches as well. And with tax season starting soon I’ll have to keep my energy up!
Love these. They would make great appetizers for the holidays.
Yes! You can use smaller size muffin tins for easy pass arounds. 😊
I love your rustic pies! Am a huge pie fan but don’t make then often enough 🙁
Thank you! Yeah I don’t make them often enough either. I think my hips thank me.
This is so British of you! Adorable.
Thank you!
Very good looking little pie indeed….very impressed.
Thank you so much! Don’t know why I waited years to make it again. Silly really.
These would be great to keep in the freezer for those days when you’re hungry but have no time to fix something. Pop a couple in the oven/microwave, get yourself ready, and you can eat as you head out the door. They’re so much better for you than getting a bag o’ food at some drive-thru.
Absolutely! Trying to remember the last time I went through a drive through. There is so much junk in that food I can’t really stomach it anymore.
I love little recipes like this! I sometimes stuff wonton wrappers in mini muffin tins and fill them with leftovers, but these would be so much more substantial! Fun post!
Love the idea of using wonton wrappers for leftovers. Fab.