We are going to deem this the Week of Pie. I don’t mean the math figure. I didn’t plan to go on a pie baking binge. It just somehow happened. I’ll jump right in and tell you how.
Thursday (10/15) – Okay, the pie doesn’t start yet. It took us longer than expected the complete a curbside pickup run, so by the time we got home, I needed to jump online for a zoom book club meeting. I ended up eating chili that my husband brought to my desk. I think he had some too? I am sure he did. But I was once again very happy with my tendency to cook chili purposely for leftovers and freeze them. Who knew you could get too busy to fit in dinner while almost never leaving your house.
Friday (10/16) – Okay, this is where the antics start. I was struggling with what to do for dinner We picked up groceries with a lot of produce, including 2lbs of mushrooms because I wanted to make more of that broth. I don’t remember what I originally had on the menu or why I no longer wanted it. But I ended up making a vegetarian pot pie using about 8oz of the mushrooms, creamer potatoes cut in half, carrots and peas. I had a store bought refrigerated pie crust on hand. It was delicious. I love meat and love chicken pot pie, but this was seriously good. Oh ya, I had taken some chuck out of the freezer a few days prior which was supposed to be Thursday dinner, so I made a Hungarian goulash in the instant post for eating later in the week or freezing.
Saturday (10/17) – I woke up ambivalent about breakfast but it was a kid weekend and you know, they insist on being fed. I scrolled through the Food Network Kitchen app and stumbled on a recipe from Rea Drummond for a broccoli and brie quiche. I was missing several of the ingredients for this, but ended up using her crust recipe and using her filling recipe as inspiration for a broccoli and gruyere quiche. If you’re counting, this is pie number two.
For dinner, I had decided I was going to make a Spanakopita but with kale. Unfortunately, when we’d picked up groceries Friday, I did not notice that I did not get the phyllo dough I ordered. Of course I adventurously decided I could just make it homemade. I enlisted the kid and ultimately the husband to help with rolling it out using the pasta machine. Then I made our pie using a kale, onion and feta combination with some seasonings. This meal was arrived upon because my husband has agreed to retry some foods he has historically hated. Kale is like the top of that list. In the end, we all loved the filling. The pastry did not come out as flaky and delicious as one would like, although it is a bread, so the kid had no issue with it. That’s pie # 3
Sunday (10/18) – Of course the day started with leftover quiche. Keep in mind that when you make a 10in pie plate size quiche, that includes 8 eggs, a cup of milk and 1/2lb of veggies, you will have about 3 days food for 2-3 people. For dinner, we ate some of the goulash I had made on Friday. I won’t brag, but it was really good. The instant pot does an excellent job with dishes like this, and my seasoning was spot on.
Monday (10/19) – We had leftover vegetarian pot pie. We had a bunch of leftovers and everyone had liked it. I reheated it in the oven to keep the flakiness of the top crust. It reheated well. The kid actually ate it and only mildly winced at the fact that it was reheated.
Tuesday (10/20) – I finally made the chicken pot pie I had planned to make on Sunday. I sautéed boneless chicken thighs earlier in the day, so it was easy to mix up the pie filling when we got home. I also used a store bought crust. This was also my easy filling recipe, which includes a combination of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup, as opposed to making a roux. It’s delicious and easy enough for a weeknight if you worked away from home or ever left home. I’m mostly kidding. We do leave home on occasion.
Wednesday (10/21) – I had planned mushroom burgers. However, I conveniently forgot this and put all the mushrooms into making and freezing 19 cups of broth. I toyed with bean burgers and such but nothing was piquing either my or my husband’s interest. Finally, I stumbled onto the idea of burritos. I messed up and ordered huge burrito size tortillas, so at my husband’s request, I made them grilled stuffed burritos. Ours had chorizo, sautéed red bell peppers and red onions, cheddar and black beans. The kiddo’s did not have the chorizo. They were huge but delicious. I was shocked the kid actually ate almost the entire thing, as I could barely finish it.
So it wasn’t all pie all the time, but that was four pies in a week. And I still have a second homemade pie crust in the freezer, because the recipe I used made enough for two pie crusts. Also, I had to order flour, as I am now almost completely out.
Foodie's Delimma 