Beef Curry Pies - Hand Pies

 
Cold weather finally!  Easy comfort food is on the menu.  I don't know about you but the easiest organic meat to find is ground beef yet, recipes for ground meat seem to be chili, hamburger, meatballs - not again my kids scream! Although, their favorite dish is my sweet and sour meatballs . 
Epicurious to the rescue with this hand pies.  These would be great for a Super Bowl Party too.
FYI Costco has the best price on organic ground beef.

I cut potatoes too big.

Cupcake pans make it easy.

Choice - make more pies or make a covered top?  I choose more pies so I cut excesses into strips. 

Hand full of fun and tasty



Beef and Curry Pie 

from Epicurious

Adapted

3/4 pound organic ground beef

2 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon curry powder (preferably Madras)
1 large organic russet (baking) potato, ¼ inch pieces (1 cup)
10 tablespoons water
¼ cup frozen peas, thawed
2 (17 ¼ ounce) packages frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
 

1. Mix together beef, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and garlic with your hands until combined well
2. Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, then add beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up beef into small pieces, until just browned, about 4 minutes
3. Drain beef in a colander set over a bowl (reserve skillet) and return beef drippings to uncleaned skillet
4. Heat drippings over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Add curry powder and potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes more
6. Add water and cook, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, until liquid is absorbed and potatoes are tender, about 1 minute
7. Return beef to skillet and stir in peas, then cool filling, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes
8. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°F
9. Roll out one sheet of dough into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin and cut out 4 (5-inch) rounds with cutter.
10.  Spray cupcake pan with light oil
11.  Place round of pastry in each cupcake cup
12.  Mound filling onto each
13.  Cut excessive pasty and cover tops
14.  Bake until pies are deep golden brown and puffed, 25 to 30 minutes
15.  Cool pies to warm, about 10 minutes, or room temperature

Notes:
Reheat on a baking sheet in middle of a 350°F oven until filling is hot, about 15 minutes.

Original Recipe Beef and Curry Pie

 

Curried Chicken Salad

Finally had time to fill the fridge, but I had little time to make dinner.  I really wanted to make the chili since it is the perfect rainy day meal.  Not a chance, so I opted for curried chicken salad. 

One out of three kids ate it and liked it.  Another only ate the roasted chicken and the other decided she was still full from the late lunch.  First question before the first bite, "What vegetables are in this?".  The salad was good.  I used meyer lemon which tends to be sweeter and less acidic then lemon sold in most grocery stores.   The recipe calls for raisins; however, I prefer and used dried cranberries.

 

I cooked the chicken pieces in a cast iron pot

great as a sandwich or salad

Curried Chicken Salad

from Sacramental Magic in a Small - Town Cafe

by Peter Reinhart

adapted

1 chicken cut into 8 pieces

1t freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup low fat mayonnaise

1/2 cup meyer lemon juice

2T curry powder

1 medium red onion diced

2 small organic granny smith apples finely chopped

1/3 cup organic dried cranberries

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2t sea salt

1t granulated garlic

lettuce

tomatoes

bread

~ if you have left over roasted chicken, great use it otherwise, pepper and  roast chicken pieces in cast iron pot covered 425 for about 35 minutes.  Internal temp should register 180 in thickest area.  I removed the skin from breast, thighs and legs before roasting.

~ while chicken cooks

~ squeeze 1/2 cup juice from lemons and whisk with mayonnaise

~ add curry powder and whisk

~ add onion, apple, dried cranberries, and celery

~ when chicken has cooled enough to handle shred and add

~ season with salt, garlic and additional pepper if needed

~ serve on a bed of lettuce or toasted bread