Christmas Meat Pie Cook Ahead And Freeze Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Heat 1 tbsp oil and the butter in a frying pan, then add the onion and fry for 5 mins until softened. Cool slightly. Tip the sausagemeat, lemon zest, breadcrumbs, apricots, chestnuts and thyme into a bowl. Add the onion and cranberries, and mix everything together with your hands, adding plenty of pepper and a little salt.
• Cut each chicken breast into three fillets lengthwise and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan, and fry the chicken fillets quickly until browned, about 6-8 minutes.
• Roll out two-thirds of the pastry to line a 20-23cm springform or deep loose-based tart tin. Press in half the sausage mix and spread to level. Then add the chicken pieces in one layer and cover with the rest of the sausage. Press down lightly.
• Roll out the remaining pastry. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg and cover with the pastry lid. Pinch the edges to seal, then trim. Brush the top of the pie with egg, then roll out the trimmings to make holly leaf shapes and berries. Decorate the pie and brush again with egg.
• Set the tin on a baking sheet and bake for 50-60 mins, then cool in the tin for 15 minutes Remove and leave to cool completely. Serve with a winter salad and pickles.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, potato and celery; cook and stir until tender. Add flour and seasonings until blended; gradually add milk and broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in turkey and peas; divide mixture among 4 ungreased 5-in. pie plates., Unroll crust; cut into quarters. On a work surface, reroll 1 quarter into an 6-in. circle; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge; cut slits in top. Repeat with remaining crust and potpies., Cover and freeze 2 potpies for up to 3 months. Bake remaining potpies until golden brown, 18-22 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving., To use frozen potpies: Remove from freezer 30 minutes before baking. Cover edge of crusts loosely with foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake until golden brown and filling is bubbly, 15-20 minutes longer.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add onion and carrots; cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned and onion and carrots are softened. Add flour, thyme, salt and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Gradually stir in broth; heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in frozen peas and corn; transfer mixture to baking dish.
• Make mashed potatoes as directed on pouch. Spread potatoes evenly over mixture in baking dish. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through (165°F in center) and top is lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• To freeze: Cook beef filling as directed in recipe, but do not add frozen peas and corn. Cover and refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to 1-quart freezer container; freeze up to 2 months. To bake: Heat oven to 400°F. Spray microwavable 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place frozen beef filling container in large bowl filled with hot water about 5 minutes or until filling can be slid out of container into 8-inch square dish. Cover with plastic wrap; microwave on High 5 minutes; stir well. Cover and microwave 3 minutes longer; stir well. Continue heating another 3 to 4 minutes (checking and stirring every minute) until heated through. Stir in frozen peas and corn. Continue as directed in recipe.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Sauté ground beef and pork with onions until no longer pink.
• In another pan boil and mash potatoes with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Do not drain fat from ground meat mixture.
• Add crumbled soda crackers, cinnamon, thyme, sage and mix well, the crackers help absorb a lot of the moisture and gives it great taste and texture.
• Next add mashed potatoes and mix well. I cool this before putting in crust but it isn't necessary if your baking it right away.
• Use a deep dish 9 or 10 inch pie plate and line bottom with 1 crust.
• Fill crust and then place second crust over filling, press edges together to seal: cut slits in top crust.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
• This recipe may be made ahead of time and baked later, up to 24 hours ahead as long as kept refrigerated.
• Also can be frozen after prepared for a later date.
• I have started making this in 2 smaller foil pie pans and freeze one for another time. Each pie feeds 4 or 2 with leftovers.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place the potato in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, mash, and set aside.
• Meanwhile, crumble the ground beef and pork into a large saucepan, and add the garlic, onion and water. Season with mustard powder, thyme, cloves and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring to crumble the meat and mix in the spices, until the meat is evenly browned. Remove from the heat, and mix in the mashed potato.
• Place one of the pie crusts into a 9 inch pie plate. Fill with the meat mixture, then top with the other pie crust. Prick the top crust a few times with a knife to vent steam. Crimp around the edges using the tines of the fork, and remove any excess dough. Cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the crust has browned. Serve by itself, or with a beef gravy.

Steps:

• In a deep skillet, melt the butter and cook celery, carrots, and onion until tender.
• Pour in the flour, and mix in well.
• Stirring constantly, add in the milk and chicken broth a little at a time, alternating between the two. Bring to a boil and continue stirring until thickened.
• Add chicken, peas, salt, and pepper, and stir until combined. Remove from heat and cool.
• Roll out pie crust and use the foil pot pie dish as a template. Cut a piece of dough for the bottom of the dish that is about an inch (²¹⁄₂ cm) thicker than the widest rim of the dish, and a piece that is the same size as the rim. (Roll dough back out and repeat to make more pieces.)
• Place the larger piece of crust in the bottom of the foil dish, fill with the cooled pot pie filling, and top with the smaller crust piece.
• Pinch together, then seal together with a fork. Cut 4 small slits in the middle of the crust.
• Cover each pot pie with foil and freeze for up to 2 months.
• To bake from frozen, preheat oven to 400˚F (200˚C), and bake for 30 minutes with the foil on top. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Enjoy!