Muffin Tin Mini Beef Pies

Okay, a pie and a muffin all at once… that is a double yummy right?  I made these little Beef Pies when I was making the Calico Pie that I posted a few days ago.  This is the same recipe made in a Muffin Tin this time.  I love the Muffin Tin meals, because they make wonderful "Grab and Go Meals".  The self contained servings work wonderful in packed lunches and picnics; Luke and I enjoyed these in the car on Sunday.  They were easy to grab and pack, and easy to eat on the run.

First step, prepare enough pie dough for two double crusts pies.

You can use a puff pastry, or a favorite pie crust recipe.  Here's the link to my favorite pie crust recipe.

  Cut out circles with a drinking glass or biscuit cutter. 

 Place each circle into a muffin tin.  Shape and set to the side.

Peel and dice potatoes, beets, carrots and onions.  Mince garlic and parsley and slice and chop mushrooms.  

Place together in a large skillet along with ground beef.

Saute until vegetables are beginning to get tender, and meat is cooked (I use a lean grass fed beef, so there is very little fat that cooks off of this beef.  If you want to precook the beef, and drain the fat off before adding the vegetables, you could do it that way as well.)

Add flour.

Stir until evenly blended.

Pour in Beef broth and stir until well combined.

Stir and cook until a thickened gravy is achieved, then remove from heat.

Add peas and mix together.  Spoon  into the little pie shells.  

Place a pie shell topping over the top, and bake at 375 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Calico Pie

Ingredients:
2 double crust pie crusts, or the equivalent Puff Pastry sheets.
2 lbs ground beef
3 potatoes peeled and diced
2 carrots peeled and diced
1 small beet, peeled and diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, smashed and diced
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh peas.
4 tablespoons flour
3 cups beef broth
salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Prepare vegetables and set aside as follows:
2. Peel and dice potatoes, carrots, beet and onion.
3. Mince garlic and parsley
4. Chop mushrooms
5. Measure peas.
6. Put ground beef, and all the herbs, and vegetables into the skillet, and brown on medium high heat.
7. Dust and mix flour into vegetables.
8.  Slowly stir and add beef broth.
9. Mix gently and cook until broth has thickened into a gravy.
10. Pour into a prepared Pie shell.
11. Place top crust over filling and pinch sides together
12. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes 
13. It might be necessary to cover the crust with foil.  I cook this for about 15 minute, and then place a foil cover over it to keep the edges from becoming too dark.  You can remove the foil the last 5 or ten minutes as well, and allow it to crisp up a little.
14. Cool about 10 minutes and serve. 
15. Makes 1 dozen muffin tin pies.

Enjoy!

March Madness Muffin Mania Marathon Month

March is one of those months that languishes between winter and spring, and always, to my way of thinking, leaves a person looking for some way to take away the dreary winter doldrums. Last year for March I decided to make a fun challenge for myself and came up with "March Madness Muffin Mania Marathon Month" I think the "March Madness" part came from Eddie watching basketball…he always loves March Madness Basketball….so I thought March Madness muffins because of my own love of the "Muffin"… (that makes sense right?)…. I was making a bunch for the freezer, and decided to post as many as I could, which became the "challenge"… thus… "Mania" and Marathon"… well okay, to have to explain some things, sometimes just dries up all the humor of it ...what can I say… except its good to stir things up now and then… make something ordinary into a little fun… So, I am going to do the "March Muffin Mania Marathon" again, because it was fun last year, and got my ideas rolling for new recipes.  So, if you notice a lot of muffin recipes going by on your sidebar or email this month… you'll know why. Also, I want to share some of your favorite muffin recipes this time around, as well.  I have in mind some yummy ones that I have seen on some of your blogs, and have mentioned to a few of you that I would like to feature them this month: If any of you have muffin recipes that you would like to share, comment or send an e-mail, and I will feature/and or link your muffin recipes.  The muffins can be sweet, or savory, breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, snack or dessert… what ever you like.   See you all soon.  Also, you can find all the muffin recipes in my "Home Cooking" Tab under "Muffin Mania"

Calico Pie

There isn't really such thing as Calico Pie, (Until now… at least I don't think) but I got it into my head to call this pie "Calico Pie", because of the color and variety of the chopped veggies in it. For some reason that makes me think of Calico. Actually there is a children's "Nonsense Rhyme" called "Calico Pie" by Edward Lear, if that counts. 

This pie is really nothing more than a beef and potato pie with a few extra veggies added; its loaded with ground beef, potatoes, gravy, mushrooms, beets, onions, peas and carrots, and let me tell ya, its delicious. I made it for my son, Luke, this week, to satisfy his hunger after a back packing trip that he took. Beef, potatoes, pie crust….mmmmmm such happiness.

I used a store-bought puff pastry for this pie, because I happened to have one on hand, but you can use puff pastry or any kind of pie crust.  I ended up making some muffin sized pies with the left over meat and potato mixture, and used my favorite pie crust recipe when I made those. They also came out delicious.

Peel and dice potatoes, beets, carrots and onions.  Mince garlic and parsley and slice and chop mushrooms.  

Place together in a large skillet along with ground beef.

Saute until vegetables are beginning to get tender, and meat is cooked (I use a lean grass fed beef, so there is very little fat that cooks off of this beef.  If you want to precook the beef, and drain the fat off before adding the vegetables, you could do it that way as well.)

Add flour.

Stir until evenly blended.

Pour in Beef broth and stir until well combined.

Stir and cook until a thickened gravy is achieved, then remove from heat.

Add peas and mix together.

Pour into a pie shell.  

Place a pie shell topping over the top, and bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy.  It really is delicious.

Calico Pie

Ingredients:
2 double crust pie crusts, or the equivalent Puff Pastry sheets.
2 lbs ground beef
3 potatoes peeled and diced
2 carrots peeled and diced
1 small beet, peeled and diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, smashed and diced
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh peas.
4 tablespoons flour
3 cups beef broth
salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Prepare vegetables and set aside as follows:
2. Peel and dice potatoes, carrots, beet and onion.
3. Mince garlic and parsley
4. Chop mushrooms
5. Measure peas.
6. Put ground beef, and all the herbs, and vegetables into the skillet, and brown on medium high heat.
7. Dust and mix flour into vegetables.
8.  Slowly stir and add beef broth.
9. Mix gently and cook until broth has thickened into a gravy.
10. Pour into a prepared Pie shell.
11. Place top crust over filling and pinch sides together
12. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes 
13. It might be necessary to cover the crust with foil.  I cook this for about 15 minute, and then place a foil cover over it to keep the edges from becoming too dark.  You can remove the foil the last 5 or ten minutes as well, and allow it to crisp up a little.
14. Cool about 10 minutes and serve. 
15. This recipe makes two pies, or one nice sized pie, and 6 muffin sized pies.
16. Enjoy!!!

Coming Soon: March Madness Muffin Mania Marathon Month.  Stay Tuned!

Persimmon Jam

Every Saturday, Marie and Elizabeth and I go to the Farmer's Market/Flea Market and sell Jamberry Nail Wraps.  It is a fun day for us as we work this booth together and get caught up on everything we want to talk about.  We look forward to Saturdays and justify our fun with the fact that we are conducting business :).    While we are there, we all like to get our fruits, vegetables and eggs, which are abundant, beautiful and local.  Last Saturday in my purchase load, I got a basket of Persimmons.

I had never had them before and wanted to give them a try. In Colorado, we didn't always get a lot of fruits and vegetables that are common in other States. The Persimmons, remind me of a cross between a plum and a Mango in flavor. I brought them home for Steve and Luke and I and we ate several of them peeled and sliced.  Yum.  The rest I decided to make into a jam.  I looked up several recipes and liked the simplicity of this one, which I am sharing with you.  Here is the link to the original recipe that I used…. I did make some little changes, such as using lime juice instead of lemon, because it is what I had on hand, and the lime flavor sounded good to me; I also increased the amount of the lime juice, because I wanted a  little more lime flavor in it.  I  left out the honey, that she called for because I wanted to try it without the honey, at least the first time I tried it.  

Wash Peel and Dice 2 pounds of Persimmons.

Place in a medium sized stock pan and add sugar; stir thoroughly.

Cook on medium heat and simmer until fruit is soft and tender.

Add lime juice.

Stir and mash until well combined, or use a handheld mixer and mix well together.

Pour into 2 sterilized 1/2 pint jars, and store in refrigerator.

Persimmon Jam

Ingredients:

2 lbs  Persimmons 

1 cup Organic unbleached Sugar

2 Tablepsoons lime juice (or the juice of 1/2 of a medium sized lime)

Instructions:

1.  Peel and dice the Persimmons.
2.  Place the diced Persimmons into a saucepan and add the sugar. 
3.  Cook on medium low until the Persimmons are soft enough to mash. 
4.  Mash the fruit with a masher, or use a handheld blender, to blend and mash.
5. Add the lime juice and stir until it is well incorporated.  
6. Cook a little longer if needed. The jam should be thick.
7. Remove from heat and pour into 2 sterilized half pint jars.
8. You can seal in the jars if you like, however this batch is so small, I just refrigerated it without sealing the lids.

Note:  Hachiya Persimmons remain tart and chalky until they are extremely ripe, which you will notice even in the Jam making, so make sure they are nicely ripe.  Fuyu Persimmons are sweeter and can be eaten while still firm.  The Hachiya are acorn-shaped and the Fuyu  are the squat, round bottomed tomato-shaped… the ones I am using are the Fuyu.

As February Finishes

February has come and gone in a blink.  In reality, it seems as if we just finished Christmas, yet two months have gone by.  Mark the days my friends, for they fly by quickly, and we may miss the things that God is doing in our very midst.  I am resting in His presence through the dark and wintery season and I  know that before long spring will be here; Lets not miss the things He is doing while we transition from winter's stillness into the spring time awakening. Drink in and store up the peace and the fellowship you have with Him.

Steve left today. He has been here some, and in Colorado some, finishing up a job, and finalizing other things.  I don't like him to go, and miss him when he is away.  I am thankful for his love and friendship through all of our years together.  We were able to get quite a few things done while he was here this time, and can mark a few more lines through our list of what needs doing. We consider ourselves still in transition; it seems that so many things "need doing" in that "transition stage".  My girls are coming over tonight.  We are going to try to work on some "bloggy" things together; it will be a little "girls night out" for us.  I look forward to their company, it is always a comfort and blessing to me.

I got a wonderful package in the mail last week from a sweet blogging friend "Nikki" I was the winner of her "giveaway"…. and what a delightful blessing it was. To me it was all things February: candle, bath and body goodies, chocolates, and a beautiful pair of  hot pads made by her daughter Salinn.  The hot pads were adorable, made of denim and calico heart material.  I treasure them and look forward to browsing Salinn's shop.  Check out Nikki's blog and Salinn's Etsy Shop.  Nikki's blog is about family life from the perspective of a large and growing family.  It is sweet and cozy blog that I enjoy reading regularly.  Thanks Nikki and Salinn for the wonderful goodies.  I love how they smell, look and taste, and I am already having fun enjoying every item.

 Have a lovely week everyone enjoy the rest of February; its almost over.

A Winter Visit

We've been in North Carolina last week and this week, visiting Nathan and Himilce and our 3 precious North Carolina grandchildren.  It was a first time that we have driven to see them since they lived in Arizona.  How nice it is to think we can hop in the car and be at their home in 7 hours.  We are loving the feeling of saturating our hearts with "our portion".  Children and Grandchildren truly are a reward. 

We got a bit of a Winter blast that we didn't expect.  In fact, we didn't even bring Winter gear of any kind…. I guess we thought we had left Colorado weather behind.  "We are in the "South" now after all"; "there's no such thing as Winter Weather here right?"  Well I guess we found out differently; never the less, we made "do" in the cozy warmth of Nathan and Himilce's home.  

There was enough snow to play in and build a snow man, so the boys went out first to give it a try.

Little Elyse watches the boys playing in the snow from the kitchen window.

"Can I go out and play too? Grammy?"

Don't you love this snow man that the boys made?

It was icy as well as snowy; which made for more sledding power (more than was needed).  Asher took a little ride down the street unexpectedly, just barely missing the fire hydrant, and ending up in the neighbors bushes.. haha.  But they had lots of fun.

"Now what is this strange object?", you might ask.  Can you guess?  This is "baby art".    Elyse couldn't resist putting little fingers into this pear.  

Our visit came too quickly to an end; we said good by and headed home.

On our drive home, we stopped in Savannah, Georgia, and had a fun mini tour of the old part of town, along with dinner.  It was beautiful.  We decided we need to go back and spend a couple of days there when it warms up in the Spring.

It has been very cold here in Florida since we got home.  I think we have had record lows.  But Sunday, it will be in the 70's….  I don't mind that at all.  I always love going away, and coming home.  Have a great week everyone, and I hope you all are staying warm.

Blessings,

Pam