Taco Pie

I have an affection for pot pies.  Anything baked in a pie crust is appetizing to me.  The other day, walking through the grocery store, I was trying to think of something different that I could make - besides the regular meat pies.  I came up with the idea to make a taco pot pie.  It is really quite delicious.  Be creative and add other things that you would use in a taco.  Here is the basic recipe.

Ingredients:
2 crusted pie crusts (homemade or refrigerated)
1 lb. lean ground beef
½ medium onion, chopped
1 envelope of your favorite taco seasoning
1 small can green chiles, drained
1 small can black beans, drained and rinsed in cold water
1 large tomato, chopped
1 c. taco sauce or salsa
1 c. shredded cheese (I used taco blend)
1 egg (glaze)

Sauté onions in a skillet with 2 T. olive oil.  Cook until tender.  Add ground beef and brown.  Add taco seasoning and stir together to combine.  Allow to cool completely.

In a small strainer, drain the chiles and beans, making sure the beans have been rinsed in cold water.

Roll out the bottom pie crust and place in pie plate, trying to center it so that there is an equal amount of dough around the edges. 

 

 
Add the cooled beef filling.  Top with chiles, beans and tomatoes.  Pour 1 cup of salsa/sauce on top.  Sprinkle with cheese.

 

Place top crust on the pie.  Fold edges of crust inside the pie plate, then crimp.  Cut slits in the top of the pie for venting.  Refrigerate for one hour.

 

 
In a small dish, beat one egg.  Remove pie from refrigerator.  Brush the top and edges with egg.


Preheat oven to 375º.  Place the pie on a foil covered pan, to catch any drips.  Bake for an hour and a half.  Check the crust to see if it is browning.  If crust is not dark, return for up to 30 minutes.


Serve with your favorite condiments (sour cream, guacamole, additional salsa, etc.).

Flowers

Frittata di fiori di zucca

I was lucky enough as a young boy to grow up in a neighborhood of Italian families.  I was the only blond haired Swede within two blocks.  I have wonderful memories of my neighborhood.  One thing that I remember most is playing on the porches of my neighbors on Saturdays and smelling "Sunday gravy" spaghetti sauce cooking on the stoves for hours in preparation for Sunday dinner after mass.  There were neighbors that lived on one side of my home, that I was particularly close to.  They had a grandmother, "nonna", that prepared many traditional dishes that she brought with her when they came from Italy to the United States.  I distinctly remember one time when she sent a dinner to my family for a Sunday meal.  It consisted of spaghetti and meatballs with homemade sauce and the most delicious side dish that I ever tasted, which were these batter-dipped zucchini flowers in the shape of a small pancake.  They were fried in olive oil and they were delicious.  Although I have the original family recipe for this, I am using my adaptation from memory of what this tasted like.  This could be used as an appetizer, but most often, when I make it, I use it as a side to either pasta or, in today's presentation, eggplant parmesan.  This is the time of year when zucchini and blossoms are readily available.  Please try this - it is different, it is delicious and I think it will be one of your family favorites.

Note: In this demonstration, I will be showing three different examples of how this recipe can be made.  This can be done using whole blossoms, blossoms cut into strips or grated zucchini with blossoms cut into strips.

Ingredients:

2 c. Bisquick
½ c.  grated Romano cheese
½ t. dried basil
½ t. dried oregano
¼ t. garlic powder
milk (enough to make a thin batter)
6 - 8 zucchini blossoms
1 small zucchini, grated (optional)
olive oil
spaghetti or marinara sauce

 

Remove stem and stamen from each blossom.  Rinse each blossom under running water, to remove any pollen.  Allow to dry on a paper towel.

 

 

In a mixing bowl, add Bisquick, Romano cheese, garlic powder (or one clove of fresh garlic, minced), basil, oregano, enough milk for a thin batter, grated zucchini or flowers (or both).

 

 
Dip the flower(s) or zucchini into the batter.  Fry until golden brown on both sides.  Drain on a paper towel and keep warm in an oven until ready to serve. 

 

 
Continue frying additional flowers/zucchini until golden brown on both sides.

Drizzle with marinara sauce and serve with your favorite meal.  In this demonstration, they were served as a side with eggplant parmesan.