{Vegetable Pot Pie}

We ask a lot from comfort food.

We expect it to warm our core, remind us of tradition, smooth over a rough

day, or keep us company when we want to stay in on a cold night.

Pot Pie is one of the favorite comfort foods at our house. I used to make it with

chicken (and sometimes I still do for David), but I usually make a vegetarian version.

This dish has been done a thousand ways by as many people. I like my take because

it's semi-homemade, and that saves me some time that I can use to to curl up and

relax on a comfort food kind of day. I do a combo of fresh and frozen vegetables

because I do not believe all frozen vegetables are created equal. The crust and

sauce are the real short cuts.

Ingredients:

Two store bought roll-out pie crusts

fresh carrots (4), celery (4), onion (half), and garlic (2-3 cloves)

frozen peas and corn

mushrooms or chicken ... or both ... seasoned with some Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 cans Cream of Potato soup

salt and pepper

How to make it:

Put some water in a small pot. Add frozen peas and carrots.

(I use about a half a bag of each.) Strain. Put in a mixing bowl.

In a frying pan with extra virgin olive oil, saute fresh garlic. Then, add

roughly chopped carrots, onion and celery. You don't need to cook these

all the way. They'll finish softening when you bake the dish, but you want

to get them started. Season with salt and pepper. Add that to the bowl.

Now, add a dab of butter to the same pan with fresh, sliced mushrooms. Give

them a few shakes of Montreal Steak Seasoning. That's the secret, right there.

Add to the bowl.

Mix in two cans of Cream of Potato soup. This gives you all the creaminess

and the chunk of the potatoes without any extra prep or ingredients. That's

good stuff, huh? Set the bowl aside.

Press one room temperature store bought crust in the bottom of a

pie plate. Pre-cook it a little according to package suggestions.

This prevents your bottom crust from being doughy when you're done.

Pour the filling into the crust.

Top it with the other crust. Pinch the edges. Cut some pretties into the top.

Place over a baking sheet lined with foil. That way, if it bubbles over

at all, your oven stays clean. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60-80 minutes.

Let it sit on a cooling rack for a little bit so it has a chance to set.

Then, all that's left to do is to serve up a big piece, and enjoy every comforting bite.