Portobello Pot Pie? Don’t Mind if I Do.

About to hit the oven!

Y’all know I hate to waste food, especially because feeding a household of five on organic local foods is a beast gnawing on my wallet.  So, last night, I was determined to get rid of the portobello mushrooms I had sitting in waaay back of the fridge.  I was going to stuff them at one point, but the moment passed.

Those bad boys had exactly 1 day before total ruin, so I grabbed them, chopped them up, and immediately had no clue what else to do.  At that very moment, I lifted my head and saw my little ramekins in the cupboard.  EUREKA! They’re the perfect size for little pot pies; however, I’d never eaten a mushroom pot pie let alone attempt to make one.

Still, it sounded yummy, so armed with my mushrooms, I recalled my chicken and dumplings recipe from the recesses of my mind, decided to replace all things chicken with portobellos, and started chopping away.  Even better, I had 2 packages of pre-made pie crusts in the freezer — remnants from the holidays.  I knew those suckas would come in handy at some point.  That point was today (or yesterday, or whatever).

PORTOBELLO POT PIES

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Onions, chopped
• 1 cup Celery, chopped
• 1 cup Carrots, chopped
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 Portobello Mushroom, chopped
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 and 1/2 cups Stock (mushroom, chicken, or whatever you have)
• 3 tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp Thyme
• 2 tsp Rosemary
• 1 tbsp Butter (or vegan buttery spread)
• 1 package pre-made Pie Crusts (2)
• Sea Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a skilled, warm butter.  Add onions, garlic, celery and carrots.  Saute until onions are clear.

3. Add stock, rosemary and thyme.  Then stir in cream of mushroom soup.  Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to a simmer.

4. Place flour in a cup and stir with a few tablespoons of water.  Spoon some of the liquid from the pot into the cup of flour and water.  Stir to temper, then pour into the pot.

5. Stir in mushrooms and let simmer on low heat.

6. Line the inside of your ramekins with pie crust.  Place all ramekins on a baking sheet and place in the over for about 7-10 minutes.  This helps the crust to cook without getting mushy.

7. Take the ramekins out of the oven.  Spoon in the mushroom filling, then cover the top with another piece of pie crust.  Poke a few holes in the middle of each pie, brush with a little bit of olive oil, then place them back in the oven to cook for 25 minutes.

8. When the crusts are brown, the pot pies are ready.  Take them out of the oven, serve and enjoy!

I tried to get pics of the inside, but they weren't as pretty.

For a first time experiment, these turned out AMAZING!  Even Kai, my finicky one, demolished one and asked for another.  No one missed the chicken, and everyone felt full despite the small ramekin portions.  Because pot pies can be packed with calories, portion control is key.

Please keep in mind this recipe is vegetarian, but certainly not vegan.  Although I used vegan butter and vegan chicken stock, I worked with pre-made pie crusts, and there ain’t nothing vegan about those (click HERE to learn how to make Vegan Pie Crust).  I also used cream of mushroom soup, which has plenty of dairy (click here to learn how to make Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup).  Still, I used what I had, which is of utmost importance to me considering my disdain for waste and my unwillingness to make a trip to the grocery.  Additionally, I didn’t have to feed Michael, so keeping it vegan wasn’t a concern for me.  If it is for you, just use the substitutes above.

These portobello pot pies were so good, they tamped down my urge to throw up while watching the ‘publican debates on CNN. How’s that for the healing power of food?