Simple Pot Pie

Using food storage doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  For dinner the other night, I needed something fast and dairy-free.  My husband's cousin teaches my children piano lessons in our home and always stays for dinner with us.  She can't have milk so I always have to get a little creative on the nights she is coming.

I had some beef stew in my storage that was old enough I needed to rotate it.  I read the label and sure enough it was dairy-free so I decided I would turn it into a pot pie.

I opened the cans and poured them into a 9x13-inch pan.  You can easily make a smaller batch - just use less beef stew.  I ended up needing 5 cans to fill the pan.

I then sprinkled about 1/4 cup flour over the top and mixed it in.  The flour will help it thicken up as it cooks so it isn't as thin as beef stew.

Then I rolled out a pie crust between two layers of plastic wrap to fit the top of the pan.

Pie crust freezes very well so I always keep some in the freezer.  I needed to crusts to fit a 9x13-inch pan.

Rolling out between two pieces of plastic wrap keeps the kitchen clean, but also keeps the ratio of flour to fat where it needs to be for a crispy crust.

Get it as thin as possible.

Measure it by placing your pan on top - you want it to extend past the sides by about 1 inch. 

Take off the top layer of plastic wrap and pick up the dough

Flip it over on top of the pie and remove the final piece of plastic wrap

 Make it a little pretty by crimping the edges and cut a few vent holes in the top.

Bake at 400° F for 25-30 minutes until the pie crust is lightly browned.  Serve with some canned or bottled fruit for a quick and easy dairy-free meal all with storable ingredients.