Thursday, February 20, 2014

ham, red pepper and mushroom mini-pies - an impossibly easy mini-pie recipe

Apart from the fact that these pies are really easy to make, they are also great for using up left-overs.

Being a prudent home cook, I really detest any wastage. There are always days in each week when I would flip through what I have in the fridge or freezer or pantry to see what needs to be used up pretty soon. And I would plan my menus around that.

One can easily eat two of these mini-pies for breakfast or as a snack, so even though I make 12 at one go, they don't hang around for very long.


Today I made these ham, red pepper and mushroom pies because I really wanted to finish the ham and mushroom in the fridge. You can use any type of ham or mushroom for this recipe, but I happened to have some picnic ham and shitake mushrooms, which I diced into small pieces.

In addition, I also diced half an onion and a red pepper. I was playing on the idea of a hand-held pizza pie combination.




The onions were sauteed in a hot skillet in some extra virgin olive oil until soft and translucent, then the minced garlic was added and cooked for a further 30 seconds. I then added the red peppers.



The peppers were cooked for about 1-2 minutes - I only wanted to take away the raw taste. Then the mushrooms were added and cooked until they, too, had softened.



I added the ham, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Since the ham was already cooked, I gave everything a quick stir to mix, and transferred this into a bowl to cool.



While the filling cooled, I made the batter.

The Bisquick mix, milk and eggs were added into a bowl and mixed with a whisk.



If you do not have Bisquick mix, I have also included a homemade Bisquick recipe at the end of this post. In fact, I am pretty sure that once I have finished using my supply of Bisquick mix, I would be making it from scratch as it is so easy to do so!! (And probably much cheaper too!)

I placed a scant tablespoonful of the batter in each hold of a 12-hole muffin pan which had been sprayed with vegetable oil.


Then in went about two tablespoons of filling.



Onto this, I added about 1 to 2 tablespoons of shredded cheddar. (Be quite generous with the cheese.)


Finally I topped each hole with another tablespoonful of batter, and sprinkled some pepper and dried parsley.


These were baked for 30 minutes. Let the pies cool completely in the muffin pans before transferring onto a cooling rack, or into an air-tight container. The pies can be kept frozen for up to 3 months.



Make these and breakfasts will never be boring again!

RECIPE
Ham, Red Pepper and Mushroom Mini-Pies - An Impossibly Easy Mini-Pies Recipe (Makes 12)

Ingredients:
For the Filling:
8 slices ham, cubed - I used picnic ham
1 large red pepper, diced
1 packet shitake mushrooms, stems removed and diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 cup shredded Cheddar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dried parsley to sprinkle

Method:
1. Saute onions for 2-3 minutes in extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and cook a further 30 seconds.
2. Add red pepper, cook 1-2 minutes to take away the rawness. Add mushroom, and cook until mushrooms have softened.
3. Add ham, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to mix. Transfer into a bowl to cool.
4. Spray a 12-hole muffin pan with vegetable oil. Add a scant tablespoonful of batter, followed by 2 tablespoons of filling and 1-2 tablespoons of Cheddar. Top with another tablespoon of batter.
5. Sprinkle with black pepper and dried parsley.
6. Bake at 180C for 30 minutes, or until the tops of the pies have turned golden brown.
7. Cool completely before removing from muffin pan and storing in fridge (2-3 days) or freezer (up to 3 months).
Note: Thaw in fridge over-night if storing in freezer before re-heating,

For the Batter using Ready-Made Bisquick Mix:
1/2 cup Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk - this can be whole milk or low-fat milk
2 eggs

Method:
Whisk Bisquick mix, milk and eggs in a bowl until combined.

OR
For the Homemade Bisquick Mix:
3 cups plain flour, sifted
1/2 tablespoons baking powder, sifted
56.7g cold butter or shortening

Method:
Place flour, baking powder and butter in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter (or food processor) to cut in the cold butter until evenly incorporated. Keep in refrigerator for up to 4 months.

This is part of my collection of Impossibly Easy Mini-Pie recipes. These are the other recipes that I have posted. Do check them out! :)


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