Leftover Venison Meat Pies

So, I’ve been a bit off the ball when it comes to these Improv Challenges.

 

You see, I really enjoy doing them. Makes me think outside of the box a little bit when I am coming up with recipes.

This can backfire  bit for me though. Like last month when the ingredients were heart shaped foods and flours. Problem was I use flour daily. I bake constantly and flour is not a challenge for me.  So I over thought it, and ended up panicking, and then the improv day came and went and I never managed to get anything posted.  I so could have rocked that challenge, but alas, I did not.

So for this month’s challenge of peas and carrots, I copped out a bit by using frozen peas and carrots, but still am sharing with  you an awesome recipe that I make all the time.  The recipe came about when we ended up with tons of leftovers from an enormous venison roast we cooked up for dinner.

Because venison (especially left over venison) can be a bit gamey, I make a beef gravy to go into it.  Of course if you don’t like, or don’t have access to venison, beef will work  just fine as well. These also freeze amazingly, so if you have time, a double batch will give you lots to stow away in the freezer for a quick and easy meal.

Leftover Venison Meat Pies

makes about 8 pies. 

• Pastry ( store-bought or homemade) for a double crust pie
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock , divided
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3/4 cup left over venison roast, diced
• 3/4 cup frozen peas and carrots ( I used frozen mixed veggies)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ( optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Roll out your pastry to about an 1/8 in (2-3mm).  Cut out 8 5 in ( 12 cm) circles, re-rolling out as needed. Because I didn’t have a round cutter that big, so I used a bowl and the tip of a knife to cut out my circles.  Gently fold them into the cups of a muffin pan and set aside. With the remaining pastry, cut out 8 2 in (5cm) circles and set aside.
3. In a deep pan or dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent.
4. Pour in 1 cup of the beef broth and bring to a boil. Meanwhile whisk the flour in the remaining 1/2 cup of broth. Add to the boiling stock, and stir constantly, until slightly thickened.
5. Add the meat, veggies, and cheese if using, and cook until warm.
6. Divide the mixture between the eight prepared shells. Top with the rounds, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.

Don’t forget to click the link to check out the other great Peas and Carrots recipes!

– Mel

Buttertarts

I am a fairly avid reader.

 

And by reader I mean if my nose isn’t stuck in a cook book or a food magazine, it’s stuck in a trashy romance that I am more than likely going to whip through in a matter of hours. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy other types of books, but I also enjoy trash.

Give me all the vampire, werewolves, witches, curses, otherworld fantasy romances you’ve got. I’ll be in my happy place.

Having said that, I will admit I am a very unobservant book chooser. More often then not, I browse the romance section of the book store ( or lets face it the bargain section) and if the cover appeals to me, I’ll pick it up. 9 times out of 10 I’ll read the back cover, to make sure I haven’t read it, then home it goes.

This is where I usually discover, that it is part 6 of some absurdly long series, and I have no idea what is going on. ( Fortunately, there are some series which haven’t been too bad, the Dark Hunter series I read very badly out of order, as well as many Nora Roberts series that I have gotten second hand).  This causes some very frustrated attempts to read, and then I finally break down and go on the hunt for the other books in the series.

Does anyone else do this, or is this just a uniquely Mel thing?

Regardless of any incurred frustration, I have stumbled on some amazing series this way. Or amazing in the fact if you enjoy trashy novels like I do! 😀

Honestly, I think I’m even worse when it comes to cook books. I see them on sale or cheap and I am compelled to buy them. Recipe overload. And then when push comes to shove, I turn to my most favourite cook books ( which I have often bought at full price) or a family recipe that is neatly stashed away in my recipe box.

Like these butter tarts. I’ve probably flagged a similar recipe in more than one cook book, but when Mr. Ginge begs me to make them, I turn to the hand written card I copied from my Mom’s recipes.

Go figure.

Butter Tarts

makes 12 buttertarts

• pastry for a 10 inch double crust pie
• 1 cup of add- ins of choice ( I used walnuts, white chocolate chips and chocolate chips, but really you could use whatever you fancy. Or none. They are infinitely customizable)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup golden corn syrup
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. On a floured surface, roll out your pastry to 1/8 of an inch and cut 12 5 in circles. I don’t have a cutter that big so I use a clean tupperware dish.  Set each round into an ungreased muffin pan, gently folding the edges so that the pastry fits right down into the cup. 
3. Sprinkle your choice of add ins evenly over the bottom of the pastry. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, cornsyrup, brown sugar, melted butter and salt. Pour into the prepared shells, so that they are each about 3/4 of the way full.
5. Bake in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until the filling has set. Let them cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and cool completely. ( make sure to do this, other wise any overflowed filling can set and make it hard to get the tarts out. Then you have a mess. A big one.)

From Mom’s recipe archive. 

Last time I made these, Mr Ginge left me one. He took the rest.

– Mel

 

Peanut Butter Nutella Pocket Pies

I am a bit absent minded.

Absent minded in the fact that I lose things. Constantly. I can’t tell you how many times I have lost my glasses, and Mr Ginge has been the one to find them. Like on top of the microwave, or tucked into my bookshelf, or in the garbage. The worst part about losing things, is that I never  intend  on losing them. My every intention is to put them away in a safe place so that I will be able to find them easily when I am looking for them again. The problem always seems to be when I do try and find these things again. When I’m actually looking for something, I can ( and have!) turned the house upside down looking for it.  Last week is was a passbook. This week it was apples in my freezer.

You see, I know they are in there. Along side the rest of the frozen fruit. Except of course when I wanted it. Then it has mysteriously disappeared or hidden underneath some frozen french fries. I really didn’t feel like tearing apart the freezer, so the mini apples pies I had planned to make, went on the back burner. I’ll find them when I’m not looking for them any more.

Fortunately for me, this is when inspiration stuck. While hunting for a snack, both the peanut butter and the nutella jumped out at me, and I knew then exactly what I was going to do with the bit of pastry. If you are looking for  a quick and easy ( and tasty!) snack, these are definitely it.

Peanut Butter Nutella Pocket Pies

makes  about 8 pies

• pastry for 9″ pie,  homemade or store bought
• 8 tsp smooth peanut butter
• 8 tsp Nutella
• milk for brushing
• sugar, optional

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheet with some parchment ( they tend to leak a bit).
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8 in/ 3 mm thick. With a 4 in cutter, cut out your circles. Gather the scraps and roll out again.
3. In the middle of each of the rounds, drop 1 tsp each of Nutella and peanut butter. Fold the rounds in half and press the edges together with a fork. Place them a couple inches apart on your prepared baking sheet.
4. Prick the tops with a fork to allow the steam to escape. Brush lightly with milk, then sprinkle the tops with sugar if desired.
5. Bake in your preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. I checked mine after 15, then let them bake for another few minutes.
6. Let cool a few minutes on the pan, then enjoy!

– Mel

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I linked this recipe up to The Weekend Potluck and Strut Your Stuff Saturdays. Click the link for more great recipes!

Gran’s Cheese Sticks

When it comes to Gran’s recipes, often what I have to go on is a memory of what she used to make. Often they come up in the strangest times.

I was talking to Mom about some meat pies that I had made for Mr. Ginge, when she recalled these sticks that her mom used to make.

Gran was well known for her pies. Come the holidays she would always make a huge assortment; lemon meringue, raisin, blueberry, apple, peach, cherry, you name it it was probably there. One of my fondest memories was that as long as you ate your supper, you basically could go back indefinitely for pieces of pie. I’d wolf down my supper then rush back into the kitchen and then into the laundry  room ( she had acres of counter space in there. She made LOTS of pies) and choose my slice of pie. Usually blueberry or lemon, sometimes chocolate or raisin ( I was a weird kid).

Mom remembers her cheese sticks more than the pie. It was a treat that her whole family would look forward to. Since Gran would make so many pies at once, she was often left with some pastry.  She would gather it all up and roll it up with some cheddar cheese then bake it for a bit.  When the kitchen smelled of baking cheese, they would be pulled out. Grandpa would take his share, and Mom and her brothers would be allowed two sticks each.  Mom also remembers fighting over them, particularly if someone ended up with an end piece versus a middle piece.

Since I had some left over crust from making meat pies, I decided to make them for her. Her reaction?

“It feels weird to be able to eat more than just two!”

Gran’s Cheese Sticks

• 1 9″ unbaked pie crust
• 1 c sharp cheddar cheese ( like old or extra old)
• pinch of salt.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly dust a sheet pan with flour. 
2. On a floured surface, roll out your dough to about 1/8″/3mm thick.
3. Sprinkle the top with the shredded cheese, then fold the dough in half, then half again.
4. Roll the dough out again to an 1/8″/ 3mm, then transfer to a baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with salt then cut into strips. 
5. Bake for about 10 minutes. The dough will only be very lightly brown and slightly puffy.
6. Let cool a little bit on the pan, then enjoy!

Sashi cats think they look tasty too!

-Mel