The potting of pies about to begin.....

We went to London in 2015 and fell in love with   Beef and Ale  pies in the pubs.  On return I started making them at home when I found a recipe for "proper" English beef and ale pies.  Last winter I branched out and added seafood and turkey pies.  Each time I made about eight and froze them... There's always soup in the freezer for nights I can't cook but the pot pies were a nice alternative.  Now we are down to the last two in the freezer and I've been giving them some thought before I started on a "pot pie" marathon...

Even though the meats are different I pretty much use the same vegetables... onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, peas and red peppers and top them all with a pie crusts.  This winter I want to add lamb and pork pies to our list and I want each type of pie to have a unique taste so I have been trolling through some recipes for ideas and here is what I have come up with for inspiration.

Yesterday and today I did:

Chicken pie with stuffing crust..... usual veggies but added prosciutto, sweet potatoes,  and spaghetti squash.

Pork pie with corn bread crust .... usual veggies plus broccoli, corn, sausage and apples in a apple cider cream sauce.

In the future I'll try these:

Lamb pie with puff pastry crust .... usual veggies plus extra garlic, sun dried tomatoes, wine, spinach and garbanzo beans.  I have one very large lamb shank in the freezer and it would be perfect.

Seafood pie with pie crust....shrimp and cod.... usual veggies plus frozen whole onions, fennel seeds, pernod, kale, tomatoes and clam juice.

Beef pie topped with mashed potatoes... usual veggies but cooked in stout and added a variety of mushrooms, parsnips and leeks.

I have over the winter acquired a large supply of pot pie dishes from the thrift store that go well from freezer to oven...  Let the potting of pies begin.  Soon be ready for looooooong winter.