Kitchen Adventures 15.2

Every few months or so I like to go through my cookbooks and recipes to select some recipes to try over the next couple months. Sometimes I faithfully follow this list, while other times I get  a moment of inspiration (or am limited by what's in my cupboards) and make up something different.

This recipe is one I randomly selected while deviating from my list. I had hamburger that needed to be used and was looking through my beef recipes. This looked good, so I thought I'd give it a try. It is definitely a different take on a pot pie, that's for sure! In the middle of making these, which did take awhile and an extra set of hands, I realized I was making biscuits from scratch. Again, I don't read recipes close enough sometimes to realize what exactly I'm doing. To cut out the biscuits I used a jar because I had no cookie cutters at that time. Now, of course, I have plenty, but that's why I keep random things around; you never know when something can be used a different way.

For me, this was pretty strong on the tomatoes, but I am not a big tomato person. The biscuits were delicious, though.

This recipe is from Every Day with Rachael Ray.

Beef and Cheddar Potpie

Ingredients:

6 T. butter, chilled
1 small onion, chipped
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
One 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 c. beef broth
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 c. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Great an 8"x12" banking dish and set aside. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain if needed. Stir in the tomatoes and beef broth and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid cooks out, about 20 minutes. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
2. Meanwhile, while the beef is cooking, make the biscuits. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, blend in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and the cheese until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the milk and stir quickly with a fork to form a dry dough. Gather the dough together and knead lightly in the bowl. Transfer to a floured work surface and roll into a large, 1/2-inch think round. Using a large round cookie cutter or a glass, cut out 8 biscuits. Gather the scraps and reform the round and continue cutting biscuits until the dough has bee used.

3. Place the biscuits on top of the beef mixture as close together as possible and bake until lightly browned, about 35 minutes.