In the Kitchen with Karin: Beef, Cheddar and Potato Pie

Ok, so this is seriously decadent, but I'll give you ideas below on how to lighten it up!

It was so fabulous and we had company over that loved it too!

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef*
2 carrots, cut into ¼-inch cubes
1 large onion, cut into ¼-inch cubes
2 stalks celery, cut into ¼-inch cubes
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes
½ cup dark beer or beef broth
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

*I only used 1 pound of ground beef and it was plenty. I think this recipe would work just as well with ground turkey too.

First up. Get your oven heating to 375. Dice your onions, carrots, potatoes, celery and mince your garlic.

In a skillet, combine the beef, carrots, onion, celery, garlic and potato and cook breaking up the meat, over medium-high heat until the beef is cooked through and some liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium, add the beer/beef broth and cook for 10 min.

Add the cheese, 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Let cool. I thought I had more cheddar than I did so I combined cheddar (mild) and monterey jack. Worked great! You could probably do less than 8 oz. of cheese as well. You could always make the filling the night before, let cool and then put it in the fridge until the next night.

Roll out 1 pastry puff and layer in a deep pie dish or skillet. I did not get my pastry puff out quick enough to thaw and so had to thaw it out in the microwave a little bit to get it pliable. It didn't look pretty and I had to patch some holes, but I finally got it to work. Using a slotted spoon transfer the meat mixture to the pie dish.

Take a bit of the egg mixture and coat the top of the bottom crust before adding the top crust. Press slightly and cut off the extra parts. Brush more egg on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Make sure to cut an "x" in the top to let the air escape.

You could definitely lighten this up by leaving the bottom crust off. I really felt it didn't need it. It won't stay together as well when you get it out of the pan, but really the filling and the golden crust are the best parts.