Shepard's Pie Take 2

I love these types of dishes- the pies or quiches.  So does M.  The thing is, they are kind of a bit of trouble to make the crust and the dish all in one night, but I had lots of time that night, so I was able to pull this dish off.  Actually, it was fairly simple as far as pies go, and really good, too.  What made me really happy was that I actually found a use for the bag of TVP sitting in my pantry that has been in  there forever and a day, which has got to be one of my pet peeves.  And so this pie was born.  The really funny thing, though, while I was making the crust I was thinking about how I had developed such a foolproof recipe for a pie crust.  Then, when I went to serve the finished dish, I had such a hard time getting the crust to detach itself from the pan.  The I realised that I had forgotten to spray the pie plate with Pam.  Stupid me.  But this still turned out really good, and I still love that pie crust more than any I have ever tasted.  I ended up filling six more ramkins along with the pie plate, and I'm rather grateful for that, because they are something good I can take to lunch.  A really filling and warming dish, to say the least.

Shepherd’s Pie with Mashed Potato Topping

Serves 8 plus extra ramkins

Adapted from I Eat Food

1 large or 2 small onions, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup water
1 tbsp Better Than Bullion Vegetarian Beef Flavouring
14 oz tomato sauce
2 tbsp bbq sauce
2 ½ cups cooked pinto beans
1 ¼ cup frozen peas
3 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1 cup water
1 cup TVP
1 oatmeal sesame pie crust
3-4 cups mashed potatoes (Yukon gold + Silk + garlic powder)
parmesan cheese, to serve
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add a bit of water, and then toss in the onions and carrots. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme, water, bullion, tomato, bbq sauce, beans, peas, and corn starch, and cook for a couple minutes. Add in the TVP, and simmer for 5-7 more minutes, until the TVP has pretty much soaked up the better part of the liquid.
Preheat the oven to 375.

Remove the veggies from heat, and pour in the pie crust. Any extra filling can go in ramekins. Top with potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are browned and the filling is bubbly. The ramekins might need less time.

Serve topped with pepper and parmesan.