Beef & Veggie Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Topping

Yes, it's true, this winter in Chicago has been pretty brutal.  Last week we were stuck in the house for two days while we dug out from the blizzard.  Today the high temperature is in the single digits and I don't even want to look at the low for tonight.  Alas, it is a good excuse to make some comfort foods, if we're trying to find a bright side here.

A few weeks ago we made this beef and vegetable pot pie from Food & Wine.  It wasn't quite the chicken pot pie Mark has been asking me to make for him, but no one complained with the finished product. You can make that version if you want to eat pot pie for two weeks (which you may), or you could go with our modified version, which is also a little lighter since all this comfort food is making my jeans snug:


Beef & Veggie Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuits (adapted from F&W)

3/4 of a stick of butter, cubed & chilled
1/2 a large onion, coarsely chopped
About 3/4 pound of carrots, chopped
About 3/4 pound of parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 pounds beef (I used extra lean here and it worked fine since it's not the main player in this recipe)
1/2 T thyme
2 1/8 cups flour
About 2 3/4 cup milk (we only had skim at hand and it worked fine)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 bag frozen peas
3/4 cup sharp cheddar (we used an English Coastal Cheddar I picked up at Trader Joe's and it was awesome all around)


Heat oven to 350


Put the oven racks with the top one in the upper third and the bottom one in the lower third.  This recipe tells you to put a pan to catch the drippings on the bottom rack, but I put our casserole dish right on a pan covered in aluminum.  Do not skip that step unless you enjoy cleaning your oven.  

In a large pot, heat some olive oil and saute the onions, carrots and parsnips until tender.  Season with salt and pepper as you go.  Add the beef and thyme and cook until browned. Stir in 1/8 cup flour and cook for a few minutes.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups milk and your stock and simmer until it thickens.  Stir in the peas and season with salt and pepper again.  Pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
Time for the biscuits.  Mix 2 cups flour with the cubed 3/4 cup of butter.  I used a pastry cutter.  When it gets a sandy texture, stir in the shredded cheddar.  Add a little more than a cup of milk until a smooth dough forms.

I used an ice cream scooper to scoop balls of the dough onto the beef mixture.  Bake for 40 minutes and then broil for another minute to brown the biscuits.  This ended up delicious with a really nice thyme flavor. With how well this turned out, Mark's chicken pot pie may be next.