Happily Ever Aft…Not Quite Yet

This delightful beef and potato pie really doesn't tie into the theme of the conversation, but dang is it delicious!

"And she lived happily ever after...", the words every girl of the 90's hopes to say about their own life one day- myself included. After all of the trials and tribulations I've seen over the past 3, well let's be honest, 7 years, I had hoped by now I would be writing my own "happily ever after, triumphant, overcoming all odds story". However, life doesn't tie up in a neat bow like the Disney and Hallmark movies make you believe. What life does do, is lend to small victories over time. It builds strengths in us through every bump in the road, and if you've been as "lucky" as I, it shows you what is truly important once you've gone through the incredibly hard times.

So what are my small victories? If you've been following along from the beginning, you will know that I divorced my son's father and moved to Atlanta during the start of the pandemic. Since then, I have moved us out from under my Mom's roof into a charming place of our own. I've grown a real estate business in a place that I did not grow up in, did not go to college in, nor really know much about. I've faced raising my, now 7 year old, son as a single parent, and growing relationships and friendships in our community for him and myself along the way. I trudged through online dating, and am happy to report it has proved to be fruitful in that I met a wonderful man who is good to me and my son and puts a smile on my face everyday. Not too shabby of a story, huh? Stay tuned for act 3!

Now you know I love a good real estate tie in, and don't worry we will be getting to the food momentarily! While same as above, the real estate market in North Metro Atlanta hasn't ended up in a happy ending of some harmonious balance of sellers and buyers having a fair share of housing supply to income from home sales. There have been some shifts toward a normalized market with opportunities for both buyers and sellers to get mostly what they want. The main issue we still face? The desperate need for more inventory. And not just that, but more desirable inventory. In order to keep the economy healthy and solve the housing issues, more homes need to be put up for sale. Whether by homeowners for resale, or built by builders as new construction, we need the supply for all of the demand. If you have the opportunity to sell and have been waiting for the right time to do it, take this as life's big sign and go for it! Help create the happy ending.

Now, for the delicious beef and potato pie! As I mentioned in the caption, it doesn't have a tie in to the above convo, however the wonderful man I mentioned, he thought it was incredible, so maybe if what they say is true, "the way to a man's heart..." I am on my way to that happy ending sooner than we thought. ;) I originally got this recipe from an edition of Rachael Ray's magazine circa 2010, I think? The original recipe is pictured below, there's just something so nostalgic about having the recipe on paper, am I right? I made a couple of small tweaks. 1. I didn't use any carrot and 2. I used red potato instead of baking or russet- mostly because of what was available the day I went grocery shopping for the ingredients. It was still seriously tasty! When you give it a try, let me know how you get on in the comments below!

Let's get cooking!

Chop up all of your veggies.

Then get them and your beef into a large deep sided skillet to cook in the olive oil for 10-15 minutes or until the beef is browned and the veggies are translucent- break up the meat with your spoon while it cooks. Enjoy the delightful smells.

Meanwhile, lightly flour the counter and roll out puff pastry to fit the pie pan you will be cooking the dish in. Turn the pie pan over onto the dough and using a paring knife, cut the puff pastry about 1/4" thicker than the circumference of the pan. Turn crust into pan, set aside. Roll out second puff pastry sheet just shy of the size of the first piece and cut into a circle, set aside.

Add in garlic for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time. Turn heat up to medium-high and add beer and cook for 3-5 minutes. Enjoy a few sips of your beer and then turn off the heat and stir in cheddar cheese until melted throughout. Spoon mixture into puff pastry sheet lined pie pan.

Brush the edges of the filled crust with the beaten egg yolk and water (egg wash). Turn second puff pastry onto pie pan, secure edges by pinching together the top sheet with the bottom sheet. Brush entire surface of pie with the remaining egg wash, sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top, cut an "X" in the center of the pie, and bake for 45 minutes (covering with foil if the crust browns too quickly).

Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting to serve. Enjoy!

Beef and Potato Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets puff pastry

• 1 lb ground beef

• 3 stalks celery cubed

• 1 large onion chopped

• 1 large baking potato

• 1 clove garlic chopped

• 1/2 cup dark beer (rest for chef's sipping)

• 8 oz sharp shredded cheddar cheese

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• salt and pepper

• 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Directions:

Take puff pastry out of freezer to thaw. Chop celery, onion, garlic, and potato, set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add beef and chopped celery, onion, and potato to skillet. Break up the beef with a spoon and cook until beef is cooked through and vegetables are translucent- about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly flour the counter and roll out puff pastry to fit the pie pan you will be cooking the dish in. Turn the pie pan over onto the dough and using a paring knife, cut the puff pastry about 1/4" thicker than the circumference of the pan. Turn crust into pan, set aside. Roll out second puff pastry sheet just shy of the size of the first piece and cut into a circle, set aside. Add in garlic for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time. Turn heat up to medium-high and add beer and cook for 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in cheddar cheese until melted throughout. Spoon mixture into puff pastry sheet lined pie pan. Brush the edges of the filled crust with the beaten egg yolk and water (egg wash). Turn second puff pastry onto pie pan, secure edges by pinching together the top sheet with the bottom sheet. Brush entire surface of pie with the remaining egg wash, sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top, cut an "X" in the center of the pie, and bake for 45 minutes (covering with foil if the crust browns too quickly). Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting to serve. Enjoy!