Down-Home Cooking: Mini Beef Pot Pies — A Little Taste of Home

This week I’ve been remember when my parents would make Homemade Chicken Pot Pies for dinner. For our family Pot pies have always been part of my family’s dinner table especially when it was just Suzzane and I because not only were they cheap but filling.

I can still remember being a child and seeing those little pot pies in the tin pans. We would have them for dinner many, many times. And even though you might look at a pot pie and think, How is that little thing ever going to fill me up? — somehow, it does.

To this day, my brother and I still eat pot pies for lunch quite often. Sometimes Charlie will eat them with us. As for David he will never eat them because they have Peas in them. The fun part of having Pot Pies for dinner, was everybody in my family had their favorite.

Most of my family preferred chicken pot pies. My mom and I, however, were always the beef people. Beef has always been my favorite and always will be. Don’t get me wrong. I eat chicken pot pies. I eat turkey pot pies.

I’ve even made countless chicken pot pies over the years. But there has always been something about a beef pot pie that makes me think of home. How about you. Do you eat Pot Pies? Do you have a favorite?

Even my father in law preferred Beef Pot Pies which my mother in law wouldn’t eat because she had to many as a child to eat them now. Which is crazy because when your living on a budget you reach for a Pot Pie.

I have a feeling my parents made a beef pot pie one time when I was growing up, but if they did, I don’t remember how they made it. I don’t remember the ingredients, the crust, or anything else about it. I just remember that I loved beef.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about beef pot pies more and more. And I started wondering something. Do mini beef pot pies even exist? Well, this is where Google came in handy this week.

I started researching, and sure enough, I discovered that people really do make mini beef pot pies. There are recipes for making individual pot pies in muffin tins, and as soon as I saw them, I knew I wanted to give them a try.

Because now I’m thinking about lunch.

Instead of my brother and me running to Walmart or Kroger and buying a pot pie that may or may not have the right amount of filling, I started thinking, Why don’t I just make our own?

And there’s another very important requirement. I want a top and a bottom crust. I’m just going to say it. If I’m eating a pot pie, I want crust on the bottom AND crust on top. I don’t want a bowl of filling with a piece of pastry sitting on top. Give me the whole pot pie!

Even though I know all that dough isn’t good for me this is one time I’m going to be bad. Which is why this is one of the things I’m excited about with these mini beef pot pies. I can make them ahead, freeze them, and have them ready for lunch throughout the month.

That sounds a whole lot better to me than making a last-minute trip to the grocery store because we’re hungry and don’t know what we’re going to eat. Would you like to join us for dinner?

When I think about pot pies, I immediately think about those traditional little pies I grew up eating. But pot pies have changed quite a bit over the years. These days, you can find all kinds of creative versions.

There are breakfast pot pies, broccoli pot pies, vegetable pot pies, and combinations I probably wouldn’t have imagined when I was a kid. And honestly, I’m curious about them. I don’t know that I’m ready to give up my traditional beef pot pie, but I might be willing to try some of the newer versions.

After all, that’s part of the fun of cooking. Sometimes you discover a new favorite while trying something completely different. For me, though, this first little experiment needed to be beef.

Fort me there is something really appealing about making individual pot pies. Instead of making one large pot pie and cutting it into portions, everybody gets their own little pot pie and no, one is double dipping which can happen with more than just dips.

And for my brother and me, that’s especially convenient because we can have them for lunch. I also love the idea of making a batch and freezing them so we have something ready when we need an easy meal.

The filling is hearty, the vegetables make it feel like a complete meal, and that golden crust brings everything together. Most importantly, these little pot pies remind me of the food I grew up eating: simple, comforting, filling food that didn’t have to be fancy to be good. That’s what I love about Down-Home Cooking.

And Yes, I Want Both Crusts! I know this may be a controversial pot-pie opinion, but I’m standing by it. A pot pie needs a bottom crust. What do you think. Top crust, bottom crust or both? If you ask my sister she is like me and says both as for my brother he just says if its food he’s eating it just like Mikey.

Maybe that’s because the pot pies I remember growing up came in those little tin pans. Maybe it’s because I love the crust just as much as the filling. Or maybe it’s simply because that’s how I think a pot pie should be.

Either way, if I’m making my own, I’m putting crust on the bottom and crust on top. And that’s exactly what we’re doing with these mini beef pot pies. Now I want to hear from you. Are you a beef, chicken, or turkey pot-pie person? Or is there another kind of pot pie that you love?

And what about all these newer versions? Do you eat breakfast pot pies, broccoli pot pies, or some of the other creative varieties that are showing up these days? Or are you strictly traditional like my brother and me?

And then we have to settle the crust question. Do you want a top AND bottom crust like I do, or are you perfectly happy with just the topping? And finally, when you’re standing in the freezer aisle, which one are you reaching for? Banquet or Marie Callender’s? Why?

Tell me your favorite pot pie in the comments. I would love to know whether I’m the only one who thinks that a proper pot pie needs both a top and a bottom crust!

Down-Home Mini Beef Pot Pies Recipe

These mini beef pot pies are made in a muffin tin, giving you individual little pies with a flaky crust on the bottom and top and a hearty beef and vegetable filling in the middle. Don’t they sound yummy?

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1 packet brown gravy mix
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 package refrigerated pie crusts (2 crusts)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Brown the ground beef and chopped onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain any excess grease.
3. Add the mixed vegetables, brown gravy mix, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper.
4. Stir everything together and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gravy has thickened.
5. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the filling to cool for a few minutes.
6. Unroll the refrigerated pie crusts. Using a round cutter or glass slightly larger than the muffin cups, cut out 12 circles for the bottoms. Use a smaller cutter or glass to cut 12 circles for the tops.
7. Gently press the larger circles into the muffin cups.
8. Spoon the beef filling evenly into each crust. Be careful not to overfill them.
9. Place the smaller crust circles over the filling. Pinch or crimp the edges to seal each little pie.
10. Cut a small slit in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape.
11. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Lightly brush the tops of the pies with the egg wash.
12. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the crusts are golden brown.
13. Let the mini pot pies rest for about 5 minutes before carefully removing them from the muffin tin.

Down-Home Tip

If you have leftover roast beef, chop or shred it and use it in place of the ground beef. It’s another great way to turn leftovers into a completely different meal. And if you’re making these specifically for the freezer, let the cooked pot pies cool completely before packaging them for storage.

I can’t wait to make these and see if they live up to the beef pot pies I remember from growing up. Sometimes the best recipes begin with a memory and a question: “I wonder if I can make that.”

Printable Recipe: The printable recipe is below so you can save it for your kitchen or print it for later.

As much as I like this recipe I think we need to add extra Potato’s and just add canned Vegetables instead of Frozen Vegetables because as much as I love Carrots my brother doesn’t like them.

I’m also not to sure of the Brown Gravy and Worchester Sauce which makes finding recipes fun because I can try the original recipe the first time and the next time we make it we can change things up to make it our own recipe.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates