Vegetable Pot Pie

When I hear the word “pot-pie” I think of Swanson Chicken Pot Pies in the square red box.  When I was growing up, my mother would pop two in the oven (for my sister and I) for dinner when she and my father had card club. That also meant that the babysitter (which I despised) was coming over to our house.  But that is another story.

This was back in the day before microwaves were main stream and frozen dinners were a novelty.  It was a special treat to get an individual pot pie just for me.  This was also when nutritional labels were not required on food packaging.  And for good reason. 

Tonight I prepared a Vegetable Pot Pie with fresh vegetables and no creamed soup. The only premade item I used was 1 premade pie crust.  (You will notice this recipe calls for 2 pie crusts…  I only had 1 remaining in the box but happened to have leftover pie crust from another project in the freezer!)  Feel free to exclude some vegetables and fill in with some of your favorites!

Vegetable Pot Pie

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

8 ounces sliced button mushrooms

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 large carrots, thinly sliced

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch wide

2 cups cauliflower florets

1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped into 1/2 inch pieces

2 1/4 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 box pre-made refrigerated pie crust (contains 2 crusts)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Cook onions, mushrooms, and garlic in oil for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in carrots, potatoes, and celery. Stir in cauliflower, green beans, and 2 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are barely tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and 1/4 cup vegetable broth until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Stir into vegetables, and cook until sauce thickens, about 1 minute.

Roll out one of the two pie crusts to line the bottom and sides of an 11x7 inch baking dish. Pour the filling into the pastry lined dish. Roll out remaining dough, arrange over the filling, and seal.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is brown.