Pot Pie Production

Recently I discovered the benefits of pot-pies. Let's say, my life has become consumed with pot pies this week.

1. Pot pies make great food for little ones because the vegetables are cooked and mixed with soft pieces of meat and bread.
2. Pot pies are a great way to use leftover meat, veggies,  rice, and potatoes.
3. Pot pies are a complete meal in one dish-including vegetables, meat, and grain.

Unfortunately, store bought pot-pies, are not very nutritional. They have a hydrogenated fats, white flour crust, processed meats, and often more gravy than vegetables.

With those thoughts in mind, I endeavored to find nutritional pot-pies on the market. The best ones I found were Amy's pot pies-made with a whole wheat crust, lots of organic vegetables, and organic meats. Most generic pot-pies sell for .50-.80 cents a pie, however I could not find Amy’s pot-pies for less than $3.00 a pie. In my home, that is an expensive meal.

So, I decided to make my own. Little did I know what an undertaking I was getting myself in.

I began last Wednesday, and pulled a ten pound turkey out of the freezer to thaw. Saturday morning, I roasted the turkey. Sunday, we enjoyed roasted turkey for dinner.

Monday morning, I deboned and put the bones and cartilage in a pot of simmering water for the day, to make stock. In the meantime, I chopped and cooked an assortment of veggies in very small pieces for little teeth. I mixed the vegetables with the chopped turkey in a large bowl which went back in the fridge overnight until I had the turkey stock completely done.

3 cups finely chopped turkey
1-8oz pkg. finely chopped mushrooms-fried in butter
1-10oz pkg. frozen peas-cooked al dente (cooked, but slightly crisp)
1-12 oz pkg. frozen beans-sliced in half and cooked al dente
1-lb. pkg. carrots finely sliced and cooked al dente
10 celery stalks finely chopped and cooked with 1 T dried onions

I cooked each vegetable separately, because some take longer than others to reach the al dente point and I wanted them to all be at the same place before I mixed them with the gravy.

I added 1T. salt, 3 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 T. sage, 3 Bay leaves, and the celery leaves from the celery I chopped for the pies to the turkey stock.

Tuesday morning, I strained the bones from the turkey broth-giving me about 8 cups of good stock. To that stock I mixed one pint of heavy cream. Then I blended 1/2 c. cornstarch with 2 c. milk and added that to the broth. I simmered the broth until it thickened into gravy. I added pepper to taste.

I then got the largest bowl I owned and combined the gravy, meat, and veggies to one pot.

Then I made the whole wheat pie crust.

3 3/4 c. Whole Wheat flour
1 1/2 t. salt
3 T. What Germ
2 1/2 stick of butter cut into small cubes
3 egg yokes
6 T. ice cold water

After blending the pie crust ingredients, I rolled out crusts for 2 small pies and half a dozen turnovers,  which I stuffed with the turkey gravy and vegetables. 

I froze the remaining turkey mixture until I had more time to make more crusts, then froze wrapped the turnovers in aluminum and put them in an air-tight container. I baked the a pie for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, and Emma and I ate it for lunch.

The pie not only turned out perfectly, but tasted amazing! It was nice to eat something I knew was nutritious and not a budget killer. I think I have enough turkey gravy stuffing for 3 dozen small pies. 

The nice thing is that any vegetable can be added and any meat can be made into gravy and used. Broccoli would have been a nice addition to this pie, but if I did a beef pie, potatoes would be a good combination.