I am in love with Savory Mini Pies!

 There has been a whole lot of pie experimentation going on lately in my world. I am preparing to prepare to begin my very own pie business. And while this requires some business savvy, planning and organization, it also requires that I have perfected my pie recipes. There is so much pie and so little time.
 One thing is certain, many of my people have been more than happy to be taste testers. This is awesome! For one, I need opinions. Secondly, I DO NOT need whole pies just sitting around my house. One of my pie testers suggested I offer a mid sized savory pie that can serve one or two people. So, amongst other pie making, I have been working on a few savory mini pie ideas.


 The series of pictures below depict the steps in making my third mini( first-green tomato and white cheddar, second-taco, third is chicken chorizo and sweet potato in a red pepper chipotle sauce.

I browned the chorizo.  If it happens to come in links, you will need to take it out of the casings and brown it like you would round beef or pork.  I use chicken chorizo.  I feel better about this and I am able to purchase locally at the farmer's market.

 I tossed sliced sweet potatoes in olive oil, roasted garlic, Cayenne pepper and black pepper.  Put them under the broiler for a bit until they soften and a few get crispy. 

  I used enchilada sauce as a base. Add chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, and red bell pepper and a bit of onion.  Let it simmer on the stove for a bit.  Certainly, one can adjust the level of heat.  Watch out those chipotle peppers are a wee bit spicy

  So now the prep work is done.  What I have found with mini pies is that they work best when the ingredients are layered in the mini pie plate, whatever pie plate you choose.  For this series of little pies, I used some old school Pyrex bakers.  By old school, I mean I literally grew up with them.  They are adorable and a nice size for a 1-2 person mini pie.

  Anyway, I used a cheddar cheese basic pie dough for my top and bottom crusts.  Once the bottom crust was in the pie plate, I layered in sweet potato, chorizo, pepper sauce and cheddar cheese. I repeated it one time.  Put the top crust on.  Made it look pretty.  Then popped the little gem in the oven for 25 minutes. And presto...A mini pie of my very own! Next up Lasagna Pies with Parmesan Herb Crusts. Now that's gonna be off the hook!!