Creamy Spinach Pot Pie

The perfect Winter dish to battle the unforgiving cold outdoors is one that pipes clouds of steam and consists of rich, creamy sauces. With a dearth of fresh ingredients at home, I had to cleverly improvise a recipe to finish off all the perishable products in the fridge so that I could head out for a trip without coming home to spoiled food.

Thus, this isn’t your traditional pot pie. It’s simply a mix of things cooked together to form a beautiful product. I was pleased with the outcome, and I served it to a few friends who thankfully all enjoyed the “pot pie”! It is simple, cheap, quick, and easy to make and could be the star of an elegant Winter dinner.

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Creamy Spinach Pot Pie

yield: 4 pies

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. can pillsbury crescent rolls
• 2 large carrots
• 7 oz. frozen spinach
• 1 pkg. cream cheese
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 5 oz. frozen peas
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese (optional; use for extra goodness)
• 3 strips bacon (I used turkey bacon)
• 1 egg (for egg wash)

Directions (photos below!):

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
2. Thinly slice the carrots into circles and dice the bacon into cubes.
3. Cook the bacon in a pan until the fat is rendered and drain the bacon and set aside. Using the bacon grease, saute the carrots for about 5 minutes and then toss in the frozen peas and spinach until all the vegetables are completely cooked and combined.
4. Add the cream cheese into the vegetables and stir slowly until the cream cheese is completely melted. Add the 3 tbsp. of milk to thin the mixture. Add in the bacon and stir until mixture is completely combined.
5. Let the mixture simmer for a couple minutes until a rich, thick consistency is reached.
6. Roll out the chilled crescent dough and using the ramekin as the template, cut 1 cm. around the ramekin to form the circle of dough that will cover the pot pie. You can also use a mini cookie cutter to cut out a shape to garnish the top of the pie. I used a mini star cookie cutter.
7. Once the dough shapes are cut out, take the ramekins and spray the insides with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon in the ramekins about 1/2 c. of the vegetable, cream mixture, sprinkle with shredded cheese, and top with the crescent dough. Using a fork, press down the outsides of the dough against the ramekin rim.
8. Beat an egg in a small bowl, and using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash onto the crescent dough.
9. Repeat until all ramekins are complete. Bake at 350 °F for 10 min.

 

Forget about the gym at the moment and make these pot pies! I promise you that they will be a huge hit among the dinner table!