Mini Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pies

I'm always looking for traditional recipes to convert into a vegetarian dinner. These mini pot pies are filled with veggies and topped with creamy cheddar mashed potatoes. I really liked the individualized portions, it was easy for us to take two for a nice lunch.

A Vegetarian & Cooking original.

Ingredients:
-Refrigerated pie crust 

-2 tablespoons. olive oil

-1 1/2 cups of leek, white and green parts chopped

-1 1/2 cups chopped celery

-2 large carrots, diced 

-8 oz. button mushrooms, thinly sliced

-1 cup thawed frozen corn kernels
-1 cup thawed frozen broccoli/cauliflower mix, chopped

-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

-2 cloves garlic, minced 

-1/2- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

-Pinch of nutmeg
-Pinch of thyme
-Salt
-Pepper
-3 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
-3 tablespoons milk
-1 tablespoon butter
-1/4 cup cheddar cheese

In a large pot of boiling water heat the potatoes until fork tender. Remove from the heat and drain. Mash until smooth, while mixing in the milk, butter and cheddar cheese.

Using a drinking glass, gently press out rounds of the pie crust. Using your fingers gently press out the pie crust until it's thin. Press into a greased muffin tin. Repeat until you have as many rounds as possible. I was about to get ten before I had to press together the trimmings of the pie crust to make the last two.

Bake for 5 minutes at 400. Once the pie crusts are removed from the oven, turn the oven down to 350.

In a large pot heat the olive oil and add the leeks, celery, carrots, mushrooms and  broccoli/cauliflower. Saute until reduced about seven minutes.

Add the flour and stir to coat. Add the vegetable broth a little at a time until a creamy sauce has formed. Stir in the corn.

Spoon the filling into the pie crusts (you may have a little leftover). You will want to fill them almost to the top. Top with the mashed potatoes and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I really enjoyed this dish. I thought it had good flavor and was a nice comfort food. The portion sizes were nice because you could eat just a little or go back for seconds if you were hungry. If the mashed potatoes and filling were prepared ahead of time this would be even easier to put together and would be good for serving a large group.