Southwest Taco Pot Pie

It's late at night, once again. The elections are over and done with (here in the United States).     I hope that ....well, I just hope. HOPE.

Hope for everybody!
And now, we don't get all those political commercials! Woo hoo. That is the absolute BEST PART of the whole election.


I came home from work, put some ground beef on to brown ---Southwestern Taco Pot Pies were on the menu for tonight-- prepared everything else for it and then stuck it in the oven and went for a quick walk.


Earlier in the week, my friend Michelle from Ms. enPlace
tagged me with these "getting to know you" questions, so as I was walking, I was trying to think of something very clever and witty I could say when answering these questions....nothing came to me, so I guess I'll just be honest.


1. What is your favorite kitchen task?
Is shopping and planning for a dinner party a task? I really love to do that.


2. What is your least favorite kitchen task?
emptying the dishwasher


3. What would be your ultimate meal?
Seafood soup and clam spaghetti and good Italian bread with garlic butter and a glass of good white wine. And my friend Robbie's salad. She uses romaine and green onions and blue cheese and avocado and almonds and ginger and cilantro and grape tomatoes and cranberries....and dresses it with garlic olive oil and rice vinegar and Greek seasoning.
And for an appetizer, sourdough baguette toasted, some with bruschetta and some with cambozola cheese. German chocolate cake for dessert with good coffee.
And ultimately, it would have NO CALORIES.


4. What is your favorite kitchen tool?
This thing from Pampered Chef. It's great when you have to brown up ground beef...it breaks the meat apart like nothing!

And a really good knife. You can't live without a really good knife. (don't you hate it when you go to someone's house and have to use one of their knives? All my friends must think I've never cut anything in my life....it's hard using a knife that is not your own)


5. Besides salt and pepper, which seasoning, herb, or spice do you use the most?
Garlic salt. Season Salt. Cilantro. Cinnamon. But not all together of course.


6. What was your worst kitchen disaster?
Hmmmm.....I haven't really had a bad one. I've put things in the oven and forgotten to turn it on. Actually at my house it's a disaster to have a baked potato which is still hard in the middle. It has happened often thru-out the years.


7. Which celebrity chef would you want to cook with and why?
Nigella Lawson. Because she makes cooking sound very sensual. She talks about the "ooey deliciousness of the sausage". And her rooms are pink and she has twinkle lights all over the place.
OR Anthony Bourdain...the bad boy of cooking. He's dangerous and he makes me laugh. and he drinks too much and he smokes too much. Not attributes I usually like, but you know, it's like a car wreck, you can't keep from looking.


8. What is your "signature dish?"
Here in lies the dilemma... I DON'T HAVE ONE! It drives me crazy. Even my friends who don't cook, are asked to bring their one special thing. I don't have a special thing. I make too many things. Well, I always experiment when asked to bring a dish.


The Taco Pot Pie....
Honestly...... it was good. I was pleasantly surprised.


I said to the Handyman...'it's good. If I  make it again, I'll put it in indivdual pie pans" (because it didn't hold it's pie shape all that well, it was kind of moist to do that, as you can see in the picture below)


Handyman said, (as he was shoveling into his mouth,) "It's good. You've made worse."
He's a sweet talker.  He knows the way to my heart.

Southwestern Taco Pot Pie


1 pound lean ground beef
1 (1.25-oz) package of Taco Seasoning Mix
1/3 cup water
1 T. oil
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 chopped green, red and yellow peppers
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/4 t. salt
1 (11-oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup salsa
1 4oz can of green chilies
1 (15-oz) package refrigerator pie crusts, softened as directed on package
8 oz shredded cheese, Mexican blend


Brown ground beef in large skillet over med heat. Add taco seasoning and water. In a separate pan heat 1 T of oil. Add peppers and onions; cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper, corn and salsa, chilies, stir well, mix with beef and set aside.


Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for a 2-crust pie, using a 9-inch glass or metal pie pan.


Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese evenly in the bottom of crust. Spread half the beef mixture evenly in pan over cheese. Pat down. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese in pan and spread with remaining beef mixture. Pat down. Top with remaining cheese. Top with 2nd crust and flute. Slit in several places.


Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is brown at 400 degrees.. Cover the edge of the crust with a shield after 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.


Top with a dollop of sour cream and some taco sauce.