Ultimate Comfort

If I were to make a list of all time ultimate comfort foods pot pie would be in the top 5. Even before I went to the vegan side I loved loved loved pot pie. Unfortunately most of those pot pie experiences were from the frozen food section of the super market. As most ingredient conscious people know, the frozen food section is rarely a smart place to be. Even as a vegan the freezer section can be a pronunciation nightmare. I admit I can be found there from time to time (maybe more than I'd like to confess) but frozen pot pies are a rarity in the vegan variety and even if you find one it's probably going to be a disappointment. Barely any filling ingredients, too much gravy, not enough gravy. So needless to say, I don't get my pot pies all that often. Sure I could make them but in case I haven't mentioned it yet, I am pie dough challenged (because we're being all PC here). The doughs always taste fine, I can salvage them into something usable but they just don't work like they are supposed to. I can't just roll them out, can't fold them or drape them to place them in a pan or on top of a pie. They brake, crack, laugh at me. It's all very distressing.

Dispite my dough ineptity I really really really wanted a pot pie and I wanted it the right way. Lots of filling ingredients, smooth creamy gravy, flakey crust, the works. The result was perfect! I even was able to transport the dough from the counter to the pie and everything. It all worked.
Ok the husband helped me. Those are his leaves. Aren't they cute? I did roll out and place the dough though, my biggest challenge.

Seitan Pot Pie

Filling
3 Tb Earth Balance margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lg potato, scrubbed & diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 med carrots
Salt & pepper
1 lb seitan, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb green beans, frozen or fresh cut into 1" pieces
1/2 lb peas, fresh or frozen
Sauce
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup flour
2 1/2 cup vegetable stock (or 2 1/2 cup water with a veggie boullion cube)
1/2 cup almond milk
Salt & pepper
Crust
1 cup chilled Earth Balance
3 cups flour
10oz cold vegan cream cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

For the filling, melt the margarine in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion & potato. Saute for about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic, bell pepper, carrots and cook for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Stir in the salt and pepper to taste. Add the seitan, green beans & peas. Set aside.

For the sauce, melt the margarine over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the flour, mixing until smooth. Slowly whisk in the stock keeping the mixture smooth. Add almond butter, salt & pepper. Pour the sauce over the filling and mix.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Get a casserole dish or 9"x13" dish or even individual pie pans ready, lightly oil. Cut the margarine into little pieces. In the bowl of your food processor (with blade attachment), pulse margarine and flour until crumbly. Add cream cheese, salt & pepper. Continue pulsing until dough comes together into a ball. Roll the dough on a floured surface to a 1/4" thickness large enough to cover your pan or big enough to be cut into rounds to cover individual pans. Pour filling into pans. Cover with dough cutting off excess and press down edges. Place a baking sheet under whatever shape your dish is as there will almost certainly be some bubbling over and bake 20-25 mins.
This is easily open to modification. Add beans, corn, squash, whatever strikes your fancy. I need more pie.