Leftover Pie Crust?

My task for Thanksgiving was to bake two pies: one apple, one pumpkin. I made two pie crust recipes, but ended up with 1/2 of a pie crust recipe leftover. Not enough for a double crusted pie, but I really wanted to use it because the crust was really good. But, what to do? A quiche? Maybe. A sweet potato pie? Sounds good, but I really didn't want more sweet pie. I wanted a savory pie. So, I decided to make a meat pie. I searched around on the Google for inspiration and adapted a recipe from here.

Here's the filling:



I used individual pie plates because I didn't have enough crust for a full pie. If you have these, it makes for really convenient personal sized servings. I shredded cheddar cheese and put it in the bottom of each pie:



Then I added the filling and put the top crust on:



I was so anxious to eat this pie that I cut into it before I realized I'd forgotten to get a photo. So I don't have an FO photo so to speak. If you're interested in making this, I'll provide a recipe that assumed you have enough pie crust for a double crusted pie. The opportunities for variation are endless. It can be made vegetarian, or you can use leftover turkey with sweet potatoes, you can use lamb and change the seasonings to have a greek or indian flair, you can give it a Mexican flavor, too.

Proper English Meat Pies (serves 4)

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 t salt
2/3 cup solid vegetable shortening, frozen, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
6 T ice water
2 t apple cider vinegar

Filling:

2 T canola oil, separated
2 T butter, separated
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup beer (if you don't have beer, use all beef broth)
salt and pepper to taste
4 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese


Make crust:

Blend flour and salt in processor. Add shortening and butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to bowl. Mix 6 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl; pour over flour mixture. Stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into 2 balls; flatten each into disk. Wrap each in plastic and chill 30 minutes. After chilling, divide into 8 separate discs if making individual pies.

Roll out lower crust(s) and place in pie plate(s). Put in refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef in 1T each oil and butter. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Add the other 1 T oil and butter to pan and saute onions, carrots, and potatoes until just tender. Return beef to pan and add italian seasoning, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Add flour and cook another 1 minute. Add beef broth and beer. Cook until sauce is thickened into a gravy consistency. Add parsley. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Sprinkle cheddar cheese into each pie plate. Spoon filling on top. Roll out top crust(s) and place on top of filling in pie plate. Cut a 2 slits in top of pie to vent.

Cook pie at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and cook for an additional 25 minutes for individual pies and 45 minutes for full pie. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then serve.