Granite Kitchen: Fall is for savory pies

When it comes to dinner, pies are not typical fare for Americans. Instead, the most popular dinners are mashed potatoes, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries. Also making the list are steak and baked potatoes, corn on the cob and fried chicken.

For a fun twist on a standard cheeseburger dinner, you can make a cheeseburger hand pies using ready-to-bake crescent rolls, cheese and ground beef. After cooking the ground beef, you can stir in the condiments you prefer on your burger like mustard, ketchup and relish and spoon it onto pieces of dough cut from a ready-to-bake crescent roll sheet.

Before closing up the pie, you can add a sprinkle of your favorite shredded cheese, then add some sesame seeds on top. These tasty hand pies are delicious right out of the oven or reheated and make a great grab-and-go dinner.

If you like French onion soup and want a more substantial pie, you can sauté some stew beef with sliced onion and add a can of condensed French Onion soup to make a tender, flavorful filling. You can add a nice melting cheese such as Gruyere before adding a top crust and baking it in the oven.

I made one recently and saved myself some work by using a ready-to-bake pie crust that I prebaked before filling it to prevent a soggy crust, then I filled it and used a sheet of crescent dough as a topping.

Biscuits also make excellent pie “tops,” and there’s different kinds of ready-to-bake biscuits at most grocery stores so you can experiment with buttermilk biscuits, cornbread biscuits or honey biscuits.

I used cornbread biscuits to top a pie made with ground beef seasoned with Sloppy Joe mix. I also added a can of corn that was lingering in the pantry and topped the meat mixture with shredded cheddar cheese.

The whole thing was ready to eat in about 30 minutes or so and was a hit at the end of a rainy, chilly autumn day.

French Onion Beef Pie

• 14-ounce package ready-to-bake pie crust
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 pound stew meat, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 10-ounce can of condensed French Onion Soup
• 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 8-ounce package crescent roll sheet
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Remove a pie crust dough from the package and gently press it into a 9-inch pie plate and lay a piece of parchment paper over the top. Place a cup of dried beans or other pie weights over the parchment paper and set it in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until the edges of the crust begin to brown.

Remove from oven, remove the pie weights and set the pie crust aside. Add the olive oil and butter to a pan and set over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the stew meat and onions and season with salt and pepper. Sauté the beef and onions until the beef begins to brown and the onions are translucent. Stir in the condensed soup and remove from heat, then transfer the filling to the prepared pie crust.

Spread the shredded cheese over the beef mixture, then lay the crescent roll sheet over the top. Gently press along the edges to seal the pie, then use a knife to poke a vent hole in the center of the dough. Sprinkle the flaky sea salt over the top and set in an oven to bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter before serving.

Sloppy Joe Pie with Cornbread Biscuits

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
• 8-ounce can of corn, drained
• 1.3-ounce package of Sloppy Joe mix
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 (6-ounce) packages of ready-to-bake cornbread biscuits
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Add the olive oil to a skillet and set it over medium-high heat.

When the oil is warmed, add the ground beef. Sauté the beef until it’s browned and cooked throughout.

Remove from heat and stir in the tomato sauce, corn and Sloppy Joe seasoning.

Transfer the beef mixture to a casserole dish and spread it in an even layer, then add the cheese.

Set the biscuits on top, then transfer to an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the biscuits are lightly browned.

Remove from oven and brush with melted butter before serving.

Cheeseburger Hand Pies

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup relish
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 2 (8-ounce) packages of crescent roll sheets
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon water
• 1 tablepoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Add the olive oil to a skillet and set it over medium-high heat.

When the oil is warmed, add the ground beef and sauté until browned. Drain the beef and transfer it to a bowl. Add the ketchup, relish and mustard, and stir.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

On a clean workspace, spread a sheet of the crescent roll dough into a rectangle and cut it with a pizza cutter to create three equal strips.

Add about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture to one side of each strip, then sprinkle with cheese. Stretch the dough over the meat and press the edges together.

Transfer the hand pie to the prepared baking sheet and use a fork to press the edges together. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Add the egg and water to a small bowl and beat with a fork until well mixed. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over each pie, then sprinkle the pies with sesame seeds and a pinch of salt.

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 to18 minutes or until the pies are golden brown.