Surfing Santa

Surfing Santa is enjoying the sun and sea while a lot of us are not. I have stayed as close to the furnace as I could get and turned on the little electric heater in the bathroom. My feet are cold anyway. It is already 19 degrees and falling. The weather man said we broke a record last night by 1 degree. I don't remember a December as cold as this December.

I am worried that the outside hydrant will freeze up and I will have to call a plumber. It did freeze up a couple years ago.

I finished of the barbecue ribs; they were really good. I got some hamburger out of the freezer to thaw out. I hope I...and you...thaw out, too.

I am posting a hamburger pot pie recipe that you may like.

HAMBURGER POT PIE

Onion Pastry(double crust)

2 cups sifted flour

3/4 cup of Crisco

1 teaspoon onion salt

1/4 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees(for metal pie plate 425 degrees)

Sift flour before measuring. Spoon lightly into a nested 1 cup measuring cup and level without shaking down.Cut Crisco into flour with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is uniform. Mix onion salt and water: sprinkle on water a tablespoon at a time. Toss lightly with a fork. Work dough into a firm ball with your hands. Divide in half and form two flat circles. On a lightly floured surface roll out bottom crust until 1-1/2 inches larger than inverted pie plate. Cut a circle 1 inch lager than the inverted pie plate. Fold in half, lift dough into pie plate. Trim even with edge. Roll out top crust the same way. Add pie filling (recipe below) and cover with top crust. Trim 1/2 inc beyond the edge. Fold top crust under edge of bottom crust, seal and flute with fingers or fork. Cut slits in top crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

HAMBURGER PIE FILLING

1 tablespoon of Crisco

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 chopped onion

1 can (15-16 ounces) green beans, drained

(I prefer 1 can mixed vegetables)

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon of oregano

1 can (10 ounces) tomato soup

In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon of Crisco. Add ground beef and onion. Cook just until meat is brown. Stir in green beans or mixed vegetables, soup and seasonings. Pour filling into onion pastry lined pie plate. Place top crust over pie filling and bakes as directed above.

If you use a less than lean ground meat, pour off any excess grease. Be sure to drain the vegetables as directed. You can use other meat in the filling, even spam. just be sure you "grind" it a bit.

I hope you try it and like it. It is a good budget streacher.

Berrrr.............................................THE END