vegetable pot pies and apple tartlettes

recently, i made vegetable pot pies and some apple tartlettes, because frankly i didn't have much in the way of veggies. i was alone this weekend and i had a lonely little carrot, a zucchini and a red onion - oh, and some frozen peas. so i guessed you've figured the vegetable pot pies aren't really potpies, haven't you? no, they're tarts, so sue me, i just totally misled you. well, if i bothered to cover them with pastry dough, they would've been pot pies right? i knew you'd see my point of view. and as far as the apple tartlettes go, they just sound better than apple tarts. reminds me of this crazy lady who works here who keeps saying, "she's such a tart" in all that southern twang glory.

anywho, they look a lot more fussy than they are. they're very fast and i would highly recommend this for a dinner alone. who wants to be in the kitchen for an hour when they're by themselves? not me. i really only feel inspired when i know they're are mouths to feed. so, it took me all of 5 min of prep, 5 min to cook and then 25 min to bake.

vegetable pot pies

serves 2

prep time: 10 min

bake time: 25 min

vip's:

• 1 package of individual sized frozen tarts - mine had 8 in there - only use 4
• 1 zucchini, washed and diced small
• 1 carrot, washed and diced small
• 1 red onion, washed and diced
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1-2 tbspn oil
• pinch of cumin, coriander, red chili powders
• pinch of garam masala
• juice of 1/2 lemon

the play:

• preheat oven to whatever the frozen tart package says - mine said 375
• defrosted the tarts while you prepare the vegetables
• saute all veggies together in a bit of oil, add a pinch of coriander and cumin powder, red chili powder and garam masala. add salt and cook until cooked thru but still firm - about 5 min
• turn off heat, add lemon juice
• prick the tarts all over with a fork
• divide the filling among 4 tarts
• bake according to package instructions - mine were at 375 for 25 min.

apple tartlettes

serves 2

prep time: 5 min

bake time: 25 min

vip's:

• 1 small granny smith apple, peeled and diced
• 2 tbspn butter
• 1 tbspn brown sugar
• 1 tbspn toasted pecans or walnuts - you can microwave these for 30-45 sec
• 1 tbspn chocolate chips or butterscotch chips (optional)
• 1 tbspn pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice or a mixture of ground cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, ginger
• tiny pinch of salt
• a tiny squeeze of lemon juice

the play:

• preheat oven to whatever the frozen tart package says - mine said 375
• defrost the frozen tarts while you chop the apple and get the other ingredients together
• prick the tarts with fork
• add the chips to the bottom if you are using them
• mix the apples with brown sugar, nuts, spices, salt and lemon juice
• fill the 2 tarts with this mixture
• top with 1 tbspn butter cut up over each tart
• bake according to package instructions - mine were at 375 for 25 min.

Notes: for the veggie pot pies, use whatever firm veggies you have on hand like bell peppers, cauliflower, etc. (i think that line is in every post so far, lol). for the apple tartlettes, you can pretty much use any stone fruit, i'm sure peaches and nectarines would be divine.

Listening to: 'Nickel bag of funk', by the awesome awesome awesome Digable Planets, from their debut album, Rebirth of Slick (1992)... how can you not love their lyrics?

"Tell my pops i'm out earthbound with the crew

He said butterfly may the boogie be with you..."