Unlike many children, I liked vegetables. Perhaps that was because I was part of the planting, growing, harvesting, and preserving of the produce even as a young child. This recipe is one I loved as a kid and we considered it a special treat. It's labor-intensive if made from scratch, but it's well worth the effort. I usually double up on the veggies and meatballs so that I can freeze the extras. The next time I make this dish, all I have to do is make the crust and use the frozen ingredients that have already been prepared.
Meatball-Vegetable Pie
Flaky Pastry (Recipe Below)
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup of soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of marjoram leaves
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1 egg slightly beaten
2 Tablespoons of milk
2 Tablespoons of cooking oil
1 pound can of stewed tomatoes
1 Tablespoon of cornstarch.
2 beef bouillon cubes
Mixture of your choice of vegetables
(Note: Use whatever vegetables your family enjoys. I typically use corn, potatoes, carrots, and lima beans, but you can be creative with this recipe.)
Prepare flaky pastry.
Sift together 2 2/3 cups of flour and 3/4 teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Cut in one cup of butter until the mixture is crumbly. (I use my food processor to blend butter with flour. Blend just until mixture is crumbly, then pour into a bowl to mix with water) Sprinkle with 7-8 Tablespoons of ice water. Mix with a fork until dough forms. Divide dough in half. Roll out half the dough on a floured surface and line 10 10-inch pie plate. Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, marjoram, pepper, egg, and milk in a bowl. Mix well. Shape into meatballs. (I use my food processor to make my bread crumbs and then add the parsley, marjoram, salt, and pepper and mix. I then dump this mixture into a bowl containing ground beef. Next, I chop my onion in the food processor. before adding to the bowl. Finally, I add my egg and then mix thoroughly with my hands.)
Brown meatballs in hot oil in skillet. Pour off the drippings. (Note: Ground beef makes its own grease and because of this, I am always hesitant to use oil in the skillet when I make my meatballs. However, the use of a little oil in the skillet will help to keep the meatballs from sticking. Heat the oil just a bit before starting your meatballs for best results. I start on a medium heat and then reduce to a lower heat to cook them through. When making meatballs, I always make a double batch and freeze some.)
Combine some of the tomato liquid with cornstarch. Add cornstarch mixture, tomatoes, and bullion cubes to skillet. Cook, stirring until it boils. (Note: I try to use as much homegrown as possible and don't like using bullion cubes. Instead of stewed tomatoes, I use home-canned, whole tomatoes minus the liquid and approximately a cup of concentrated, homemade beef broth which I thicken and stir in with the veggies after parboiling them. You can blend your tomatoes in your food processor before using them or just mash them slightly with a fork.) Stir in veggies. (I par boil to make sure they will be done since I use veggies that take longer to cook such as potatoes, carrots, and limas. If you use veggies that tend to cook faster, you probably don't need to parboil them.)
Arrange meatballs in the bottom pie shell.
Pour veggie mixture over all.
Roll out the remaining pastry. Adjust the top crust, flute edges, and cut vents.
Bake in 400-degree oven 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown.
All the butter in the crust makes this savory pie delicious and a recipe you will want to master and make your own. It lends itself to many variations. Experiment and find the combination your family likes the most.