Beef Pot Pie

Had to do something with starting to go freezer-burnt stew meat. Alex said "beef pot pie!" so I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com and made it. I followed the recipe almost exactly (except I used 4 potatoes instead of 3), but next time I think I would mix the gravy in with the meat/veggies instead of putting it on top. However, it still turned out fantastic and I will most definitely be doing it again.

1 pound of beef, cubed

1 can (14 oz) beef broth

3 large carrots, diced

3 potatoes, cubed

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/3 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

2 9-inch refrigerator pie crusts

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, brown the pieces of meat on all sides. Pour in some water to almost cover*. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until meat is tender and falls apart easily (about 2-3 hours). Transfer meat to a large mixing bowl. Shred the meat and add salt and pepper to taste.

2. In another saucepan over medium heat,  pour in beef broth** and add carrots and potatoes. Cook until almost done, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. When the carrots and potatoes are done, transfer to the large mixing bowl with the beef, leaving the liquid in the pan. Combine the peas in with the carrots, potatoes and beef.

5. Dissolve the cornstarch with the 1/3 cup of water. Pour into the saucepan of beef broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Line a 9-inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts, following the package instructions. Place the beef mixture into the pie crust. Pour the gravy over top of the mixture, then cover with the other pie crust. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes***. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

*I had to keep replenishing the water over the course of the 2 hours I cooked the beef because it kept evaporating (as water will do).

**Recipe calls for a 14 oz can of beef broth. I only had a 10 oz can. So I used the water that was left over at the end of the beef-cooking to make up the difference.

***My pie crust was not golden brown after only 25 minutes. In my oven at 350F it took 40 minutes. I would say put it in for 25 and then check it and add time accordingly, checking every so often.