beef pot pie

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2 pounds London broil, cut into bite-size chunks

3 cans golden mushroom soup

3 cans French onion soup

1/2 cup sweet vermouth or sweet red wine (if desired)

6-8 red skin potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

5-6 carrots cleaned and cut into chunks

bag of frozen baby sweet peas

pastry for 2 pie crusts (recipe follows)

Heat a Dutch oven and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Brown the beef cubes in batches, do not crowd the pan. When all the beef has been  browned, add it back to the pan along with all six cans of the soup and the vermouth (if using). 

Put a lid on the pan and pop it into a 350*F preheated oven. Cook for 2 hours. Add the potatoes and carrots and cook for an additional hour or until the potatoes are fork tender. Dump in the frozen peas and continue to cook for about 10 to 14 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven (do not take off the lid) and let it sit on the stove top (no heat) while you make the pie crust.

Ina Garten's perfect pie crust:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening (Crisco)

6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. 

Spoon about half of the beef and veggie mixture into the pie crust. Top with the second crust, trim, ctuck and crimp the edges. Cut four or five slits in the crust to vent.  Bake in a preheated 425*F oven for about 40 to 43 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling starts bubbling out of the vents.

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Beef tips and veggies 

Serve remaining beef and veggies as another meal over homemade gnocchi or spatzel.