Shepard's Pie And A Pie Crust to Go With

For a while now I have been craving some sort of quiche-thing, something that is baked in a pie crust.  This old recipe that I have made once before popped into my head, and I decided to give it a go.  M was rather hesitant when I said I was making it, because she did not remember having liked it.   I plowed ahead, anyway, ignoring her...

And I am so glad I did!  As I was making it, I skimped on cooking in several steps because I got home so late that day, and it still turned out to be so much better than I remember.  And I think this new way that I made it is so much easier than I remember, too.  I really do think the key ingredient is the soy sauce- after it bakes and thickens, the sauce becomes so rich and delectible. 

The crust I used was hommade, too, and is something that I created from a whole jumble of different recipes.  And no butter what so ever!  It tastes so good- the sesame seeds add a really unique jolt to it, and I would use this with any recipe like this pie. 

If you have leftover filling, like I did, you can just stick it in a ramkin and bake it alongside the pie.  The filling still tastes so good it will blow your sock off, and warm you right up with its soy saucey and veggie goodness.

Sheppard’s Pie

Adapted from Allrecipes

Serves 6-8

• 1 of my pie crusts, or a store bought

• 3 small red potatoes, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped large

• 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms, or 1 cup king oyster mushrooms

• 1 cup water

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2 portobello mushrooms, chopped

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 2 large or several small stalks celery, chopped

• 2 carrots, cubed

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the potatoes until tender-firm, about 13 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 on convection.

In a separate frying pan coated with nonstick spray, heat a couple tablespoons of water over high heat. Add the onion and oyster/shiitake mushrooms, and sauté for two minutes. Add the carrots and celery, and cook until almost tender. Add the portobellos, and cook until those are tender.

Add the water and corn starch to the frying pan, and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until it has reduced quite a bit. Add the seasonings, soy sauce, and cooked potatoes, and stir.

Pour this mixture into the pie crust, and bake for 25 minutes or so, until the sauce has reduced and is bubbling. It will smell amazing!

Easy Sesame Oatmeal Pie Crust

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup applesauce, maybe more

Preheat the oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl, adding more applesauce to hold it all together- it should be pretty moist.  Press into a pie baking dish, and bake for 12-14 minutes, until it smells nice, is slightly browned, and is firm.  Fill with delicious stuff.