It’s a brisk day and you just finished your long run. You take a hot shower and now you’re craving something warm and filling to eat. What better to sink your spoon into than a tasty pot pie that has been simmering in your crock pot all day?
When I found the From-the-Pantry Pot Pie recipe in The Vegan Slow Cooker cookbook, I thought it was too good to be true. I wasn’t sure how I was going to “bake” biscuits in my crock pot but I thought I’d give it a try. The recipe turned out even better than expected – so good, in fact, that my plan for leftovers failed when I helped myself to seconds and my boyfriend had thirds!
Here’s what I used:
For the Stew
1 small onion, minced
1.5 cups diced potato
1 pound frozen mixed green beans, corn, carrots and peas
1 cup water, plus another half cup if needed
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
For the Biscuits
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup skim milk
Here’s how I did it:
1. Cut 2 medium potatoes to yield roughly 1.5 cups. Oil the crock of your pot and throw all those in with the diced onion and a bag of frozen vegetables.
2. Heat up a cup of water and stir in a vegetable bouillon cube until dissolved. Pour the mixture into your crock; add another half a cup if you’re hitting the gym after work and will be gone 8+ hours.
3. Add in the stew spices, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
4. About 30 minutes before your stew is ready, combine the biscuit ingredients in a bowl and work them together until they form a dough. Roll out the mixture on a floured cutting board until it is half an inch thick and cut into circles using the rim of a glass.
5. Place the dough circles on the top of the stew in your slow cooker and turn the slow cooker up to high.
6. Prop the lid open slightly with a wooden spoon or clean dish towel (don’t open it too wide or it won’t stay hot enough to bake the biscuits). This helps to control some of the condensation.
7. Cook the biscuits for 30 minutes or until they are cooked through the middle (use a fork to test the biscuit closest to the middle of the crock).
8. Done?! Use a spoon to scoop out a biscuit and some of the stew. Salt and pepper to taste.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
On a side note, I cannot say enough about The Vegan Slow Cooker. Whether you are vegan or not, it is an amazing resource for crock pot recipes that don’t revolve around a fattening piece of meat. The recipes are a great starting point from which you can change to suit your diet or ingredients on hand (as you will notice in my recipe, I did not prepare it for a vegan diet but it still turned out delicious!).
Lara
Amanda
Brandi Heinz Brown
