1,000 Days of Chaos: It's Whats For Dinner

In a previous post I said that I had been trying out new recipes to stop our "Chicken, Rice & Vegetables" rut. Thus far I have tried 9 new recipes, only two of which we've dubbed repeatable, and none really worth sharing. But it has been fun trying new stuff and even my husband has noted how nice it is to have something new for dinner {{smart man}}.

Tonight started the second round of new recipes I've picked out of my little recipe box. I made Steak and Vegetable Pie. Chosen because the picture looked tasty. The recipe isn't to complicated but it did take awhile to prepare.

The recipe as it reads on the card:
Ingredients:
1 - 9" pie pan
Flaky Pastry recipe ((as follows))
1lb. round steak cubed
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 - 4oz. can mushroom slices
Beef broth
1 - med. potato, peeled, and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 - med. carrots peeled and sliced
1 - sm. onion, minced
1 egg, beaten with tbsp water, optional

Flaky Pastry:
In bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cut in 1/4 cup shortening until small particles are formed. Mixing with fork, gradually stir in 5 tbsp of cold water or enough to hold particles together. Shape into ball. Wrap in plastic. Chill.

Preperation:
1.) Mix flour, salt and pepper. Put n plastic bag with cubed steak. Shake to cover meat. Remove meat. Reserve flour.

2.) Heat large skillet or dutch overn with a little butter. Add meat. Brown Meat. Stirring frquently. Stir in reserve flour.

3.) Drain mushroom liquid into measuring cup. Add broth to measure 1 cup. Add to meat. Bring to boil.

4.) Cover. Simmer, stirring frequently, for one hour or until meat is tender. (Add broth of beef becomes dry.)

5.) Turn into 9inch pie plate. Distribute vegetables evenly over meat. Add 1/2 cup broth.

6.) Roll 2/3 of pastry in circle 1/2" larger than pie plate. Put on top of filling. Cut Steam vents. Brush with beaten egg.

7.) Bake at 400* for 35 to 40 minutes until brown.

*Tip:Roll out remaining pastry and cut into decorative shapes. Arrange on pie prior to baking*

What I did differently:
I'm not a fan of cooked mushrooms, much less canned ones, so I just used beef broth in the pan and then cut up fresh mushrooms and placed them in the pan with the other vegetables. Also, we are a garlic loving family and this recipe calls for none. So I sliced up a couple cloves of fresh garlic and added them to the vegetables as well. After I brushed the egg on the crust I salted it with coarse sea salt.

How it turned out:
YUMMMMMMMMYY!! {{And SOOOO pretty too!!}}

What I suggest you change:
I cooked the pie for 45 minutes until the crust was pretty. Unfortunately, the vegetables didn't cook as well as the crust and our potatoes were less than done. In the future when I cook this I will add the vegetable to the pan with the meat for the last 15 minutes or so while its on the stove top. Also, I will add garlic powder and salt to the beaten egg to give the crust more flavor.