December 30, Mini Ham and Egg Pies

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 thick slice of ham, chopped
1 tsp mixed herbs
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese
9 slices of sandwich bread

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Whisk eggs then mix in cheese and seasoning.
Cut crusts off bread then use bread to form 9 cups in a medium sized muffin tray.
spoon egg mixture into bread cups.
Bake for 15 minutes or until bread is browned and egg mixture is puffed out.

December 14, Homemade Mince and Cheese Pies

This is a kiwi classic and I've put my own twist on it. I plan on taking these tomorrow for our shared lunch at work, hopefully they'll go down well.

Ingredients

400-500g mince
2 Tbsp gravy powder (I used Bistro's)
1 cup of water
A handful of cubed cheese
A pack of golden flaky pastry sheets
Grated cheese to top

Method

Preheat oven to 220C.
Brown mince in a medium-large sized frying pan over medium heat.
Mix gravy powder with 1/4 cup of water whisk until smooth.
Heat 3/4 cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes on high.
Mix gravy paste and hot water then whisk until smooth.
Pour gravy into saucepan then sift flour over top. Mix in well.
Throw in cheese cubes and lower heat.

Pastry

Cut pastry sheets to size (cookie-cutters may come in handy). Then use to line greased muffin trays (you can use whichever size you want I went with the regular sized muffin tray this time round).

Putting It Together

Scoop a spoon full of mince mixture into each pie.
If your a cheese lover like me you may wish to add a slice of cheese on top of the mince.
Then top with pastry lid, poke fork holes into the lid so your pies can breathe and top with more cheese (grated this time).
You may also like to try topping the pies with a frozen potato medallion instead of the pastry lid.
Cook for 15 minutes or until golden.
(makes 12 pies in a regular muffin tray)