French-Canadian Meat Pie

French-Canadian Meat Pie

(Tourtiere Du Quebec)

My daughter loves meat pies but she is pretty picky so I came up with a recipe that will satisfy even the pickiest of eaters

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound of Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage

3/4 cup finely chopped onions

2 ribs of celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

6 cups of mashed sweet potatoes

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/8 cup water

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

Refrigerated pastry for double-crust pies (9 inches)

(this makes enough for two pies, but I only made one and froze the extra for another day)

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees

In a large skillet cook the beef, pork, onions, celery, carrots and garlic until meat is no longer pink

Drain and remove from heat.

Stir in potatoes, cream of chicken soup, water and spices

Line a 9 inch pie dish with pastry

Divide the meat mixture either between two pies or freeze one half.

Fill pie pastry and top with second piece of pastry

Seal edges by pinching them

Cut three slits in top of pie

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 - 45 minutes or until golden

Fiesta "Sausage" and Rice Stuffed Peppers (Vegan)

You can use your favorite Vegan Sausage for this recipe.  I used Light Life Gimme Lean Breakfast Sausage but any sausage that can be broken up when cooked will do

Ingredients

4 Bell Peppers of Various Colors

1/2 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil

14 ounce tube of Ground Sausage

1 Cup of chopped Onions

1 Cup of Chopped Poblano Chiles and Pepper Tops

1 Cup of Chopped Celery

2 Cups of Cooked Rice

1 14 ounce Container of Store bought Salsa or 2 Cups of Home Made

1 Cup of Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

2 teaspoons of Ground Cumin

2 teaspoons of Salt

1 teaspoon of Pepper

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

Cut top from Bell Peppers and remove seeds

Chop the "lid" and add to Poblano Chiles

Heat Coconut oil in a skillet and Saute Onions, Celery & Peppers for 3 minutes

Add  Sausage to skillet cook for another 5 minutes,  breaking it up as you cook

Remove from heat and add move ingredients to a large Glass bowl

Add Rice, Cheese, Salsa, Cumin, Salt and Pepper and Stir.  Mixing all evenly

Stuff Ingredients into Bell Peppers and place in a shallow baking dish or casserole

Ad enough water to cooking dish to just cover the bottom

Bake in Oven for 45 

Makes 4 Servings

Vegan Polenta with "Sausage" and Peppers

Vegetarian / Vegan

At first I wasn't going to include this in my Blog, because it's not really a recipe that I came up with. But I changed my mind when I realized some of us have busy lives and a quick and delicious meal may be all we are looking for

Ingredients

1 - Tube of pre-cooked Polenta

1 - Jar of your favorite pasta sauce

3 Vegetarian Sausage (I used Trader Joe's Brand)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

4 - sweet peppers, seeded and chopped

4 Cloves of Garlic, minced

6 Green Olives, sliced

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Instructions

Slice polenta into 1 Inch thick rounds

Saute Onions and Peppers in skillet  for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add minced garlic and saute 2 minutes

Move Garlic, Onions and peppers to a sauce pan and add Pasta Sauce and Olives and cook over 

low heat until it comes to a boil

If Necessary add a tiny bit of oil to skillet

Fry Polenta in Pan for about 4 minutes per side.  The longer it cooks the crispier the outside.  

remove from pan and place on plate lined with paper towels.

Cook Sausage according to package then remove to cutting board

Slice sausage into bite size pieces and add to Pasta sauce

Place two slices of Polenta on a plate cover with about 1/2 cup of sauce

Garnish with Shaved Parmesan Cheese

Savory Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff (Vegetarian)

Vegetarian

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of Butter

1 medium onion, sliced

4 cloves of Garlic, diced

3/4 lbs Portobello mushrooms, sliced and halved

1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Can of Vegetable Broth

1 Cup of Sour Cream

2 Tablespoons of Bragg Liquid Aminos

8 ounces of Egg Noodles

Instructions

Bring water to a boil in a large pan and follow instructions on package for Egg Noodles.

Slice mushrooms about 1/4 inch thick and then half them

In a large skillet melt butter and olive oil together.

Add sliced onion and saute for 3  minutes

add garlic and saute for 1 minute

Add Mushrooms and saute about 10 minutes or until tender stirring often

Add vegetable broth and scrape bottom of skillet removing any browned onions to incorporate into stroganoff

Add Cream of Mushroom soup and stir to blend

Cook over medium heat until the liquid starts to bubble

remove from heat and add sour cream, mixing well

Salt and Pepper to taste

Serve over Egg Noodles

Grilled Portobello, Poblano and Corn Tacos with Cilantro Pesto (Vegetarian)

INGREDIENTS

Four Large Portobello Mushrooms

6 Limes

1/4 tsp ground cumin

4 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

4 Poblano Chiles

2 large Onion 

2 ears of Corn

Cilantro Pesto

Salsa

Cotija Cheese

12 tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash the Portobello Mushrooms using a mushroom brush. Here are some tips on how to clean and prepare a mushroom for cooking and Grilling

HOW TO CLEAN AND PREPARE MUSHROOMS

In a food processor combine 1/2 of one onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of lime juice, 1/4 cup of vegetable or olive oil, 1 tsp of sea salt and 1/4 tsp of cumin.  Blend until smooth.

Place mushrooms in a bowl and pour marinade over, making sure to coat all of the mushrooms.  Set aside.

HEAT GRILL

Slice onion wide enough so that it stays intact when grilling.

Remove top and seeds from Chiles and cut in 1/2 lengthwise.

Remove Husks from Corn.

Lightly coat all vegetables with oil.  Place directly on the grill and allow them to cook for about

5 minutes per side.  Allowing them to get a little blackened but not too burnt.  This will add a smokiness to the flavor.

When vegetables are done place chiles in a plastic or paper bag and fold over to trap the steam. Allow them to sit in the bag for 10 to 15 minutes.  This will loosen the skin so that they can easily be peeled.

Once vegetables are cool enough to handle remove skin from chiles and slice, length wise.  Remove Corn from cob using a sharp knife and cut onion rounds in 1/2.  Place all items on a platter.

Remove Mushrooms from marinade and place on grill.  Cook five minutes per side and slice adding them to the platter.

Serve with Warm Tortillas, Cotija Cheese Cilantro Pesto and Salsa. Allow guests to create their own. 

Recipe for Cilantro Pesto

The Final Product

Grilled Black Bean & Quinoa Burgers (Vegetarian)

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) Can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups of cooked Quinoa

1/2 cup of Plain Bread Crumbs

1/4 cup minced Bell Pepper (any color)

1/4 cup minced Onion

2 cloves garlic Minced

1 1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Frank's Hot Sauce

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 egg

olive oil

Directions

Preheat Grill

Roughly mash the black beans in a large bowl with a fork or potato masher.  Mash just enough to create a paste leaving some beans fairly whole.

Mix all ingredients into beans EXCEPT OLIVE OIL.  Use your hands to make sure all ingredients are well mixed.

Form Black Beans into 4 patties of equal size and shape.

Lightly Brush patties with olive oil.

Place on Grill and cook over direct heat for 5 minutes.

Brush with olive oil and flip.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

During last few minutes toast buns and serve with your favorite condiments.

In this case I used seeded tomatoes and Avocado

Enjoy.