Scottish Meat Pies

These are traditional meat pies that are often served with a deeper well in the top used for placing mashed potatoes, peas, or gravy.

Pastry Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8 oz. lard
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Filling Ingredients

1 lb lamb shoulder (or 1 lb chuck roast beef)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cloves of garlic, minced


For the pastry, place the lard in a saucepan with 10 oz of water and bring to a boil until the lard melts. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl and pour in the liquid. Stir with a wooden spoon until cool enough to handle, then knead until smooth. Cover and leave in a warm place until firmed up some.

Cut your meat into large chunks and place in a food processor with the standard "s" blade. Add two tablespoons of flour, seasonings and garlic, and pulse until mixture is well shredded and everything is incorporated.

Roll out crust to 1/8" - 1/4" thickness. Use a (3 1/2" - 4") biscuit cutter as a pie mold. Place the biscuit cutter on the crust. Using a knife, cut a circle about 1-2 inches larger than the biscuit cutter. Lift out this large circle and tuck it into the biscuit cutter, pressing the extra crust up the sides. Slip the biscuit cutter off of the crust and you have a little crust "pot" to hold the meat filling. Cut a crust lid for your little pies using the biscuit cutter.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If you have a baking stone you'd like to use (nice, but not necessary), place it in the oven while it heats up.

Add 1/4 cup of meat filling to the crust "pot." Place the crust lid on top and gently press down onto the filling, crimping the sides together. You may have a small well on top, where the crust edge comes up higher than the pie itself, about 1/8". The pie crust will puff slightly while baking. Cut two vent slits in top of crust with a sharp knife.

Brush tops and sides of pies lightly with beaten egg. Place directly on baking stone, or on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and juices bubble through the vents. (Note: we forgot to brush with egg, so the picture shows pies not as golden as they would be otherwise.)

Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 7-10, depending on how thick you roll the crust/how much filling you use.

These are great with mashed potatoes (or turnips) and steamed broccoli. My husband likes to dip his bites of pie into Lea & Perrins thick Worcestershire sauce.

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken and Broccoli

This basic recipe is from a fellow homeschooling mom, and it is super-easy to double or triple. I added a few touches, and it is just as good as any take-out Chinese food.

Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
1 cup brown sugar, packed tightly
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 C. lemon-lime soda
1 cup of Basmati rice, cooked
1 (12 oz) bag of frozen broccoli florets (I used a self-steaming bag)
1 tablespoon of arrowroot starch
1/2 cup of toasted, sliced almonds

Place cut-up chicken into crock pot, and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix next four ingredients together, stirring to incorporate sugar (break up any hard pieces). Pour over chicken. Next, pour over the soda (it will slightly fizz).

Cook over low heat for 4-8 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink.

About 20-30 minutes before serving, cook Basmati rice. Then, 5 minutes before serving, steam the broccoli florets until done to desired tenderness. (I like mine to be slightly firm.)

With a slotted spoon, remove chicken from crockpot and place in a large serving bowl. Carefully pour Balsamic mixture into a medium saucepan or skillet. Mix arrowroot starch with enough water to dissolve it, then add to the mixture. Cook at medium high heat, whisking until the sauce thickens slightly.

Gently toss chicken and broccoli together in bowl. Pour over sauce and stir to coat.

If using toasted almonds for a garnish, place them in a dry skillet (I use cast iron) and heat over medium heat, stirring gently, until they become fragrant and start to lightly brown (it won't take long).

Serve chicken and broccoli over rice, topped with the toasted almonds.

This is delicious!

Serves 6

White Chicken Chili

This chili recipe came from the label of a can of "Bush's" Great Northern beans. It is mild, but could be spiced up by adding some canned chopped (drained) jalapenos. (The amount depends on how hardy your stomach lining is.) The recipe calls for cooked chicken, so it's a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey. If I don't have leftovers, I use a large can of white meat chicken, drained and shredded with a fork.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies, drained
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 (16 oz) cans white beans (navy or great northern), drained and rinsed well
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken breast*

Optional toppings:

shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
sour cream
salsa

In large sauce pot, cook onion in oil for 3-4 minutes. In small bowl, combine flour and cumin. Add to pot and stir, cooking for 2 minutes (mixture will be paste-like, just keep stirring). Gradually add chicken broth, while stirring constantly. Add drained, rinsed beans, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken and heat through.

Serve with toppings, if desired (but tastes great alone, but pairs well with whole wheat sweet potato muffins).

Yield, 6 modest servings.

*To make this vegetarian, instead of chicken add another can of beans, or a cup of frozen white shoe-peg corn and 1/2 cup of small-diced firm tofu.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Muffins

These muffins bake up beautifully moist and tender. Not too sweet*, they are the perfect accompaniment to my white chicken chili.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato (I used canned; you can also use pumpkin)
2/3 cup brown sugar (just spoon into the cup, do not pack)
1/4 cup oil (I used safflower)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (seems like much, but it isn't)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I used Saigon cinnamon, for stronger flavor)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Spray 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray

Mix the first four ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix the remaining (dry) ingredients in a large bowl. Add the wet to the dry, mixing vigorously until combined---do not over mix! The batter will be thick and you'll need to use some elbow grease to mix it well. Stop when the flour is combined.

Spoon into muffin cups until level. Bake for 12-20 minutes, until puffed and toothpick in center of muffin comes out clean. Put pan on rack to cool for 3-4 minutes, then turn out muffins to finish cooling. (Taste best when cool.)

Enjoy!

* If you want to sweeten them more, you could fold in 1/4 - 1/2 cup chocolate or cinnamon chips to the batter.