Curried Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

Posted on February 26, 2013 by allison

This healthy, low fat soup is delicious and filling, with a nice kick from the cayenne pepper and ginger.

Carrots and sweet potato make for a vibrantly hued soup.

Traditionally, carrots, celery and onions are the basis for any soup, I skip the celery here because I want to highlight the carrots and sweet potato flavors.

Adding spices to the dry ingredients of a soup before you pour in broth, stock or water, enhances the flavors.

This dish comes together quickly, just simmer until the vegetables are soft.

If you enjoy smooth, pureed soups, it’s worth buying an immersion blender. They are not too expensive, easier to clean than a standing blender and work well.

I love to serve this with greek yogurt, a sprinkle of sunflower seeds or pumpkins seeds adds a little texture too.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato,1 large

Carrots, 1 Lb

Butter, 2 Tablespoons (Olive oil works just as well for a vegan version of the soup)

Vegetable Stock 4 cups

Water, 2 cups

Onion, 1 medium

Fresh Ginger, 1 inch piece grated

Lemon Juice, 1 lemon’s worth

Cayenne Pepper, 1/4 teaspoon

Curry Powder, 1 Tablespoon

Salt, 2 teaspoons

Wash and slice the carrots into about 1 inch pieces. You don’t need to peel carrots, especially when you are cooking them, just wash them well. Peel the sweet potato and slice it into the same size pieces as the carrots.

Chop the onion up small. In a large stockpot, melt two tablespoons of butter. Add the onion to the melted butter and cook over medium high heat until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Put the carrots, sweet potato, ginger, lemon juice and spices into the pot. Stir and the vegetables a few times, cooking for an additional five minutes.

Pour in the stock and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes and carrots are fork tender, about 20 minutes.

The last step is to puree the soup, I use a handheld immersion blender but you can also carefully pour the hot soup into a blender or food processor. Be careful to only fill the blender halfway and work in batches, the hot soup will expand once you put the lid on and can cause quite a mess. Puree until it’s creamy and there are no chunks. Pour the soup back into the pot and reheat if necessary.

To serve, garnish with a dollop of greek yogurt or a drizzle of kefir, sour cream or creme fraiche. If you prefer a vegan soup, a swirl of any flavorful nut oil would be delicious. Crack fresh pepper of the soup and enjoy.

Steak Burrito Bowls

Posted on February 14, 2013 by allison

This is a great way to get my burrito fix, without the carbs and processed flour of a giant tortilla.

This spicy rub for the steak is quicker than a marinade, perfect for a last minute weeknight dinner.

The crisp cool romaine is a great texture and balance with the hot beans and rice, which you can make ahead and have in the refrigerator or freezer.

You can switch up the toppings, anything you’d put in a burrito or taco would be great.

Substitute chicken or pork for the steak, or skip it all together for a vegetarian option.

If you miss it, add a shredded tortilla to the bowl.

Ingredients

Skirt, Flank or Hangar Steak, about 1 lb

Romaine Lettuce, 1 head

Avocado, 1

Mexican Rice, 1-2 cups

Mexican Black Beans, 1-2 cups

Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt, about 1 Tbs per serving

Jalapeños, 1 chopped finely for garnish

Cilantro, smal bunch for garnish

Seasoning for the steak:

Chili Powder, 1 tsp

Kosher Salt, 1 tsp

Paprika, 1 tsp

Garlic, 2 minced cloves

Cumin, 1 tsp

Mix the dry spices together and rub over the steak. Marinate the steak in the fridge for 20 minutes or so. Set a cast iron pan over high heat and drizzle with olive oil. When the pan is hot, put the steak in and cook for a few minutes each side, to desired doneness. I’m a fan of medium rare myself, but I try to check with my dinner companions. I’ve often had to put a steak back on the grill or stove for someone. Holly, I’m looking at you.

When the steak is done to your liking, let it rest on a cutting board. In the meantime, heat up the beans and rice, slice the jalapeños & avocados, wash the romaine lettuce and tear it into bite size pieces.

Slice the steak into bite size pieces.

Fill a bowl for each person with a bed of lettuce, a spoonful of rice and a spoonful of beans. Top with a portion of steak.

Add avocado, greek yogurt or sour cream, jalapeño slices and cilantro for garnishes. Drizzle a little hot sauce or salsa and enjoy!

Mexican Rice

Posted on January 31, 2013 by allison

This rice is so much better than the packaged yellow rice you can buy in the store and it barely takes any work. Just toss it in the pot and let it simmer.

Cooking the rice with stock and spices instead of just water makes for great flavor.

Let the rice simmer for a bit, all you have to do is stir once in a while.

When it’s done, add some form of pureed tomatos to the rice, to make it a little saucy. I usually use V8 because I always have that in the house for Bloody Marys, but store bought or homemade enchilada sauce is perfect.

I usually make this rice to go with these rich and flavorful black beans, but you can ramp up the spices a little and just enjoy them solo.

Ingredients

Rice, 2 cups uncooked

Chicken or Vegetable Stock, 2 cups

Water, 2 cups plus a little more if using brown rice

Turmeric, 1 tsp

Paprika, 1 tsp

Chili, 1 tsp

Salt, 1 tsp

Enchilada Sauce, Spicy V8 or Tomato puree 2/3 cup

Jalapeño, 1 or 2 seeded and diced small

Fresh Cilantro, for garnish

Bring the water, stock and dry spices to a boil, add the rice, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook the rice, stirring occasionally, until tender and there is no more liquid left, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour in the enchilada sauce, add the jalapeños, stir and cover. Let sit for a few minutes…and that is all!

Serve with fresh cilantro as a side dish, combine it with Mexican Black Beans for burritos, huevos rancheros, tostadas, nachos, or try my Burrito Bowl...

Chocolate Pots De Crème from Cook’s Illustrated

Posted on January 20, 2013 by allison

I like custardy things and my mother likes chocolate things so while I was home, I attempted to make Chocolate Pots de Crème. My dear old dad has the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, and low and behold the sciencey geniuses over there just happened to have a recipe. And here it is, pretty much in it’s entirety. Their recipe calls for 3/4 cup of half and half but I used skim milk because that’s what we had and it was fine. Still not even entering the realm of low fat, but decadent and rich, verging on fudge-like.

Chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Egg yolks.

Add the cream and you almost have custard.

Gently cook it.

Pour the hot custard over your chocolate.

Whisk together the chocolate and custard.

And you have a velvety, delicious bowl of chocolate.

Add the vanilla.

Get your cousin Emily to do the whisking for you.

My mother had ramekins, but you could use teacups or any small bowls. Chill them until they are set, at least four hours.

Ingredients

Bittersweet Chocolate, 10 ounces chopped fine

Large Egg Yolks, 5

Sugar, 5 tablespoons

Salt, 1/4 teaspoon

Heavy Cream, 1 1/2 cups

Skim Milk, 3/4 cup

Water, 1 tablespoon

Instant Coffee/espresso powder, 1/2 teaspoon

Vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon

Put your chocolate in a mixing bowl, set a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt together in a cold medium sauce pan,until combined. Whisk the cream and milk (or half and half if that’s what you’re using) in with the egg yolks. Set the saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Cook until the mixture is thickened and silky and registers 175 to 180 degrees, 8 to 12 minutes. Don’t let the custard overcook or simmer.

As soon as it registers the right temperature, pour the custard through the strainer over the chocolate. Let it stand for about 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk gently until the chocolate is all mixed in and the mixture is smooth. And pour it into small ramekins or custard cups.

Cook’s Illustrated suggests splitting between eight 5-ounce ramekins. You could use smaller cups, as I said, it’s really rich and a little goes a long way. Let the custards come to room temperature, about 20 to 30 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled for at least 4 hours. They can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to three days.

Eat Me:

With whipped cream or fresh raspberries and powdered sugar. I used up all the cream in the house so we had them plain and they were so rich, I wished we had the extra cream.

CrockPot “Mexican” Black Beans

Posted on January 6, 2013 by allison

Glorious CrockPot, how you changed my life! Thanks Donna, really just a spectacular birthday gift. I’ve slaved over the stove trying to get homemade black beans to taste like the rich saucy, spicy kind you find in Mexican restaurants and until I met CrockPot, it was never quite worth it. I still believe it can be done so don’t lose hope if you’re without a slow cooker, but it’s so much easier this way.

Soak the beans overnight, cover with a few inches of water over them. Then in the morning, before you go to work, toss everything into the slow cooker. That’s pretty much it. Seriously.

There is minimal prep, just roughly chop the garlic and onion.

The pork can be left in whole pieces.

Measure out your spices and pour the stock and water in, cover it and leave it on low all day.

Around lunch time, it starts to be bubbly.

After work (8 to 10 hours later depending on your work ethic and commute), use tongs to pull the pork out. Pay particular attention to the bones, that’s the point really, to get the bones out. Leave as much of the meat in the beans as you like.

Full disclosure: I used pork necks and some of the bones were pretty tiny…Clinton found one in his bowl o’ beans. Oops. Maybe a different part of the pig would be wiser. Let me know if you find a good one.

The sauce may look a little thin while the beans are still in the heated slow cooker, but it will thicken up as soon it cools of just a little bit. Give it a good stir and scoop them out into a serving dish, or straight to your plate! That’s it, they are ready.

Ingredients

Black Beans, 10 ounces dry, soaked in water overnight

Onion, 1 medium

Garlic, 8 Cloves

Chicken Stock, 2 cups

Bone In Pork, about 1 pound

Cumin, 1 Tablespoon

Paprika, 1 Tablespoon

Chili,1 Tablespoon

Water, 2 cups

These beans are flavorful, rich and delicious. I recommend serving them as a side dish with Mexican Rice (I’ll post that recipe soon, I swear) and a garnish of fresh cilantro. Matt eats them with rice for lunch. We also use them in burritos, quesadillas, huevos rancheros, taco salads and oh I just thought about tostadas. I need to make tostadas.

Bloody Mary

Posted on December 31, 2012 by allison

In honor of the upcoming year end celebrations and one of my High Holy Days (or actually maybe low & unholy is more appropriate) I’m going to tell you today about one of my favorite things, the Bloody Mary. On the first morning of the new year as we nurse our hangovers, it is my firm belief that we should all have access to a delicious, delectable, spicy and salty Bloody Mary. Some call it the Hair of the Dog, as a child I once referred to the vodka-free version my dad would make for me as a “Bloody Virgin.” My mother simply calls them “Bloodies” as in “Allisonny, will you make me a Bloody?” Whatever it’s called, I want one.

I take my Bloody Marys pretty seriously. I’ve made this vegetable cocktail in travel versions to take on trains, picnics, camping…This year I discovered the trick is to freeze some of the mix into ice cubes to keep them chilled but not watered down.

I have a Bloody Mary bar at my Thanksgiving every year and if I invite you over for brunch, it’s pretty much guaranteed to include the tomato concoction. You can make it ahead of time and set everything out so guests can help themselves, while you’re busy fixing a magnificent meal.

You can make them anyway you want, really. Always taste as you go, adding more spices and sauces as needed. After watching me make a few Bloody Marys, Nadja determined that my trick is to use all the condiments I can find in my fridge. Perhaps no two batches turn out the same, but they are always delicious.

Bloody Marys are an art and not a science, so you don’t need to be exact and you can add and substitute to your heart’s desire. These are some of the classic ingredients I generally start with.

That ball jar in the photo has my parent’s homemade, canned vegetable juice in it, which we mix with the store bought V8. V8 is great just by itself too if you don’t have canners in the family. Slice the lemon & lime in half, squeeze half of each into your mixing bowl or pitcher. Add just a little pickle juice, no more than a 1/4 cup to start, a few dashes of Worcestershire and Tabasco…probably 2 teaspoons each to start. And a sprinkle of celery salt, plus a quart of V8 or tomato juice.

Crack some black pepper into the batch and taste.

Add spices and adjust until it’s nice and spicy and get your glasses and garnishes ready. I like to mix a little celery salt, chili powder and kosher salt together to make a salty rim.

Salt the rims of some pint glasses by running a lemon wedge around the glass and turning them over in a plate of the salt mixture.

Add a few shots of vodka and ice to each glass.

Add your Bloody Mary mix and stir, add any garnishes and cheers!

Bloody Marys

I have altered my parent’s recipe over the years, but the staple ingredients always remain the same.

Basic Bloody Mary Ingredients:

Vegetable Juice (V8)

Tabasco (or Frank’s Hot Sauce)

Worcestershire

Pickle Juice

Lemon/Lime Juice

Celery Salt

Vodka

Ice

Some additions & substitutions I’ve come to love:

Mustard or Horseradish

Olive Juice, Pepperoncini Juice, Pickled Jalapeno juice can each substitute for the pickle juice.

Sriracha, Cholula and any hot sauce your favor, I like to mix and match

Minced Garlic

Cracked Black Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Soy Sauce, beef bullion or Guinness can take the place of the Worcestershire

Chili Garlic Paste

Old Bay’s Seasoning Salt

Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

Chili powder

Yuzu juice

Garnishes are half the fun:

Green olives and a lemon or lime wedge, a stalk of celery and anything pickled, such as pickles, dilly beans, Brussels sprouts, asparagus or pepperoncini…set them out for people to choose.

Garnishes very by region certainly, sometimes you’ll see a carrot stick and in Wisconsin it’s not at all unusual to find a meat stick and a chunk of cheese as a garnish. I once had a slice of deep fried bacon served with my Bloody in Philadelphia, and a lobster claw or piece of shrimp in seafood restaurants is fairly common. It’s a bit of a shock to see a piece of cold fish in your cocktail, but the drink isn’t all that different from the sauce you’d get with a shrimp cocktail. The point is, here is a cocktail that most people are familiar with but you can do so much to make it your own. And it’s like three servings of vegetables….

I’ll leave you with this last little anecdote. When I first moved to New York, I found I didn’t like the Bloody Marys that much, anywhere I went. There was always something a little off about them, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then while my mother was visiting, we ordered Bloody Marys and my mother asked for a beer “chaser” which is almost always served with Bloody Marys in Wisconsin: it’s a small glass of beer on the side. We don’t even have to ask for them in good ol’ Wisco. I’d noticed they didn’t serve them in New York but hadn’t really thought about it. The bartender said “no problem” and made the best Bloody Mary I had tasted to date in NYC. I asked him what was different. He said when my mom asked for a chaser, he guessed we were from Wisconsin and made them without the horseradish, as that’s an East Coast thing. I’ve come to like horseradish in them now, but I love that story of how asking for the chaser gave us away.

So tell me how you like your Bloody Mary.

Happy New Year!

Brussels Sprouts with Blue Cheese & Pancetta

Posted on December 23, 2012 by allison

You may have noticed if you’ve been following my little blog here (please follow my blog!) that I like to add pancetta to anything green, but nothing so much as brussels sprouts. The combination of sprouts, pancetta and blue cheese is down right decadent, good for a boozey brunch or side dish for an over the top dinner.

I chose a strong blue cheese, to really stand out in all its sharp and moldy goodness against the fatty pancetta and sweet honey.

If you cook the brussels just until tender they’ll hold their crunch to balance out the gooey cheese and honey.

The pancetta adds a little crunch too, cook it until it is crispy.

Pancetta and brussels sprouts, a match made in heaven.

Blue cheese and honey, oh my.

I transferred them to another bowl to serve but next time I think I’ll just put the cast iron pan on a trivet and let people help themselves from the table.

Ingredients

Brussels Sprouts, 1lb quartered

Blue Cheese, 2.5oz

Pancetta, 1/4lb diced small

Honey, 1 TBS

Make Me:

1. Start by cutting the pancetta into small cubes, cook the pancetta on medium high heat in a large frying pan until crispy. While the pancetta is cooking, wash and quarter the brussels sprouts.

Turn the burner off and remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon to a few layers of paper towel or a brown paper bag to drain. Using a spoon and tilting the frying pan on its side, ladle as much of the hot pancetta grease out of the pan. Don’t pour the hot grease directly into the garbage, put it in a plastic container to cool and congeal. Discard it later.

2. Use a paper towel to wipe out a excess grease if you think there is still too much in the pan, but leave enough to cook the brussels sprouts, About two tablespoons. Turn the heat on to medium high again and transfer the sprouts to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown on the outside and soften.

3. Cut or crumble the blue cheese into smaller pieces. The brussels sprouts take about 15 to 20 minutes to cook. I usually taste test one to determine doneness. The outside layers are soft but the sprout is still firm.

4. Turn the heat off and drizzle your honey of the sprouts, stir to incorporate. Flatten the brussels sprouts out across the pan and spread your blue cheese across the top. Don’t stir the blue cheese in yet, the hot pan will liquify it too quickly. Just cover the pan if you have a lid big enough, or use a piece of tinfoil and let sit for 5 minutes. The cheese will melt in nicely and they’ll be ready to enjoy. If you made these ahead of time, you can pop them in the oven on broil for a few minutes before serving. Make sure you used an oven safe pan.

This one will turn just about anyone into a brussels sprouts fan.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Posted on December 8, 2012 by allison

I know it might seem a little late in the season, but I’m just not tired of pumpkin flavored things yet at all. They’re delicious! I don’t mean pumpkin flavored lattes from Starbucks. I’m talking about hearty, savory, pumpkiny breads, soups, raviolis….and pancakes. These delicious pancakes are full of nutrients and hearty enough for a big brunch or even dinner. The pumpkin balances out the whole wheaty-ness in case that’s normally a turn off for you.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour, 1 1/2 cups

All Purpose Flour, 1 cup

Eggs, 2 large

Baking Powder, 1 TBS

Melted Butter, 4 TBS

Milk, 1 1/2 cups

Pumpkin Puree, 1 cup

Sugar, 3 TBS

Salt, 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon, 1 tsp

Nutmeg, 1/2 tsp

Ginger, 1/2 tsp

Butter for frying the pancakes

Make Me:

Mix your pumpkin spices together in a large mixing bowl. You could also use a pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice if you want-those usually have allspice as well. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of allspice if you have it, but I’m fresh out and I didn’t miss it.

Add the flour, mix well and set aside. Beat the eggs, milk, pumpkin puree and melted butter in a mixing bowl.

Fold the pumpkin mix into the dry ingredients.

Stir just until incorporated. A little lumpy is good.

Allow the batter to sit for at least a half an hour. The baking powder works some kind of magic that leads to crazy fluffy cakes. See how thick these are?

Melt a pat of butter in a large frying pan. Be careful not to let the butter burn by keeping the heat at a pretty good medium, adjusting when necessary. Hot enough so the batter sizzles a little when it hits the pan.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into the hot pan and allow to cook for a minute or two. This batter is thick so it’s not really good for pouring like other pancake recipes, I use a spoon and drop a few dollops to make a general circle shape.

When edges start to brown a little, let them cook another minute before flipping. These are not quite ready. Since these are so thick they take a little longer than you might expect.

Flip once, gently. Don’t press the pancake down with your spatula, you’ll take away the fluffiness.

Cook on the other side for a few minutes, just a tad longer than you might think. You can use a spatula to peak under and make sure it’s not burning. Add a little more butter for frying as needed and fry up a short stack. Or a tall one. If you want to do the whole batch at once, turn your oven to warm and keep the fresh cooked pancakes on an oven safe plate in the oven until you’re ready to serve them. Don’t cover them, that will make them soggy.

Eat Me

Serve hot with butter and maple syrup. Matt likes to top his with a fried egg and I must say it’s quite the treat.

Consider the Beet-Dinner for 1 + Lunch

Posted on November 30, 2012 by allison

I was never very fond of beets or at least I thought I didn’t like them but Matt LOVES them. I thought they were weirdly strong flavored and tasted like metal. But Matt persisted in singing their praises and one day, I realized that they are absolutely amazing.

Their sturdy texture and rich, earthy taste fills out a pot of roasted vegetables or balances out a salad with tangy goat cheese. I’ve boiled and roasted beets since I came around but I’ve always failed to get around to using the greens before they go bad. Last night, Matt made last minute plans and I had two bunches of newly bought beets and no one to make dinner for but myself. So I turned to beets and their greens. If I boiled the beets, I’d have delicious salad makings and I could use the greens for a solo dinner. I also had a little bit of diced bacon from a spaghetti carbonara incident and in my experience, bacon with greens is always a good idea.

I trimmed the healthier leaves off the beets and washed them thoroughly and set them aside for a moment. I sliced the thick red stems from the beets and peeled the beets with a vegetable peeler. This is my favorite part because their inside is so unbelievably pretty!!! They will stain your fingers but it comes off with soap and water….mostly.

I set the beets in a pot full of water over high heat.

While I waited for them to boil, I cooked the diced up bacon pieces in a medium sized pan.

I took the clean greens and rolled them loosely into a cylinder shape and sliced them up.

The bacon created more grease then I needed so I removed the pan from the heat after the bacon was cooked and scooped out the extra bacon fat with a spoon. Then I added the greens to the pan with the remaining bacon and fat.

I put the pan back over medium heat and sautéed the greens in the bacon grease (or deliciousness as I like to call it) and mixed the crispy bacon bits in. I cooked them for just a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the greens were wilted.

A little lemon juice and some coarse salt sprinkled over the dish and voila: Dinner for One!

Admittedly a light dinner-I’d like to try this next time with a poached egg on top. In the meantime, my beets had boiled up nice and tender-it was easy to pierce them with a fork but they were still sturdy. I ran them under cold water until they were chilled enough to handle. And I sliced them.

Then I filled a tupperware with arugula and romaine lettuce, a few forkfuls of goat cheese and a handful of walnuts and topped it with the boiled beets.

The perfect dinner for one, because you get lunch for the next day too. And I had extra boiled beets left over for Matt so I should probably get bonus points.

Turkey Pot Pie with Whole Wheat Cheddar Crust

Posted on November 25, 2012 by allison

I’m not tired of comfort food or pie crust just yet, so I decided to make a pot pie with our left over turkey. Since I’ve been overdosing on rich food lately, I cut the béchamel sauce down to only one cup and added some stock. The filling is definitely not dry but you can see it isn’t overflowing into the pan either. It’s a matter of preference, how creamy you want to make it. You could double the béchamel sauce and skip the stock for a super creamy version. Or skip the béchamel sauce all together, make a roux (flour and butter just like for the béchamel) and just use more stock but the last time I tried that, Matt rebelled. Pot Pies are supposed to be creamy! So here it is. I’ve included a recipe for whole wheat cheddar pie crust, but store bought crust or puff pastry works well too. I happened to have these vegetables around, but you can mix and match. I think broccoli would be pretty great in here and I’ve even substituted plenty of mushrooms for the turkey to make a delicious vegetarian version.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Cheddar Pie Crust

Whole Wheat Flour 3/4 cup

White flour, 1/3 cup

Sharp Cheddar, 3/4 cup shredded

Unsalted Butter, 8 Tbs

2 1/2 Tbs ice water

1 Tbs cider vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

You can make the pie crust up to two days ahead. The full recipe and directions are here: Whole Wheat Cheddar Pie Crust

Béchamel Sauce:

Unsalted Butter, 2 Tbs

Whole Wheat Flour, 2 Tbs

Milk, 1 cup ( I happened to have 1%, any will do-even skim)

The full recipe and instructions for the sauce are here: Béchamel Sauce

Filling:

Carrots, 2 chopped

onion, 1 diced

Peas, 1 10oz box frozen

Stock, 1/2 cup

Leftover turkey, about 2 cups shredded

Olive Oil, 1 Tbs

Salt & Pepper, to taste

About 1 large chicken breast would be just fine for this as well, just cook it through first.

Make Me:

Make the béchamel sauce first and set aside. You can start the pie crust and then make the filling while the crust is chilling in the fridge.

When you are ready for the filling, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the carrots and onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion becomes translucent.

Add the frozen peas and stir until they are thawed and mixed in well.

And the shredded turkey…

Use a spatula to add the béchamel sauce, pour in the 1/2 cup of stock and mix well.

Scoop the filling into your pie crust.

Top the pie with the rest of the crust and seal the sides.

You could brush the pie with some egg yolk, melted butter or sprinkle a little cheese on top here if you want to get fancy. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the crust turns golden brown.

Eat me:

With some fresh cracked black pepper.