Tonight, there was a crispness in the autumn air that hasn’t been around for quite some time, so I knew that we needed something especially hearty for dinner. Enter a new pot-pie recipe I found from perusing my library copy of Betty Goes Vegan!
I’ve mentioned this cookbook, written by Annie and Dan Shannon, a few times on the blog recently, and I must say I’m still in love with it. I just adore how so many homestyle meals can be made vegan with very little trouble; their explorations are every veg cook’s gain! I have yet to make a recipe from Betty Goes Vegan that disappoints; everything I’ve tackled thus far has been pitch-perfect. That’s not due to my cooking skillz, I might add. It’s just that this book is so descriptive, so accessible, that it’s hard not to fall right into lockstep with the Shannons!
Anyway, getting back to tonight’s chik’n pot pie. The Shannons actually have a similar recipe up on their blog, so I’ll direct you to that if you’re not interested in the whole cookbook as of yet. I will say that instead of making my own pie crust, I used a veg version from Whole Foods, and instead of making my own gravy, I used a vegetarian mushroom gravy from Safeway. All in the name of expediency on a Tuesday night!
I heated everything up together and put it into a pie crust, and then topped the pie with the second crust and baked it for about half an hour. The crust was nicely browned and the gravy was bubbling steadily after 30 minutes, so I brought the pot pie out to cool and, 10 minutes later, dug right in.
Success! I loved how the flavors mingled and how the gravy served as a binder as well as seasoning. The peas and carrots, green beans, celery, and of course the chik’n all went together beautifully and filled the pie plate perfectly to the brim!
Furthermore, we’ve got plenty of pot pie left for lunch tomorrow – a fact that we’re both incredibly happy about! We’ll definitely make this dish again; I can already see it’ll become a fall-and-winter staple!
:)