Wednesday's Dinner: Veggie Pie

On Wednesdays I have my morning free. Usually I ride my bike, take a spin class or do something in the late morning, before picking Sam up at noon. This morning we are having a blizzard, so Paul took the van with snow tires and I am at home today. This suits me well! A batch of veggie broth is simmering on the back burner (recipe follows - so easy) and root veggies are roasting in the oven. They will be turned into a veggie pie for dinner using the extra leftover pie crust not used for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. (Mmm ... pie. I have one more sugar pie pumpkin. Perhaps I'll roast and puree that up today for *just* one more pie...).
This pie recipe could be a pot pie, but we have a lentil squash one ready in the freezer, and I wanted this to be a bit different. Again, use whatever you have on hand. You cannot go wrong!

Veggie Broth
When chopping veggies, save the scraps in a large tupperware. When it's full, make some veggie broth and freeze in 2 cups portions in the freezer. If you don't have scraps, you can use carrots, potatoes and celery for a basic broth. I just add my scraps, a bay leaf, some Italian seasoning and fill the stock pot up with cold water. Let it cook for an hour, turning down the heat when it starts to boil. Simmer for an extra 20 minutes with some soy sauce for extra salt.

Veggie Pie
Chop up whatever veggies you have on hand. I had turnips, beets, celery, potatoes and red onions. Peel and chop and put in a roasting pan (or a cookie sheet lines with foil and sprayed with PAM if you're me and don't have a roasting pan). Sprinkle generously with olive oil and your choice of seasonings. I wanted this to be mellow, so I added rosemary and thyme. Add sea salt and pepper and use your hands to combine, so each piece is coated with the olive oil and has some seasoning. Roast at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. It depends on how much you roast, so keep your nose nearby and start checking at about 40 minutes. Stir every 20-30 minutes too, to make sure it browns.
If you don't want to go to the trouble, Stephanie gives a very simple crock pot recipe for roasting veggies.

Bake your pie crust for about 5-7 minutes in a 350 oven, then add your roasted veggies, mashing them somewhat with your spoon to mix them up. Add a TBSP of butter to the top. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.