Hunter’s Beef Pot Pie

Hunter’s Beef Pot Pie
By: Doris Christopher

Beef mixture:
1 fully cooked, ready-to-eat boneless beef pot roast with gravy (about 2lb)
• You can find this in your meat section at a local grocery store
4 slices bacon
1 cup baby carrots
2 cups refrigerated diced potatoes with onion
2 garlic cloves, pressed

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 can (14 ½ oz) beef broth, divided
2 teaspoons fresh snipped rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and ground black pepper to taste (optional)

Topping:
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, snipped
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 package (11 oz) refrigerated bread sticks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For beef mixture, remove pot roast from gravy, reserving gravy (about 1 cup). Cut beef into ½ inch cubes; set aside.

Finely chop bacon; cook in skillet over medium heat until crisp; remove bacon to paper towels. Reserve 2 Tablespoons drippings in skillet.

Cut carrots lengthwise in half. Cook carrots and potatoes in reserved bacon drippings over medium heat 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press garlic and add to skillet. Continue cooking 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in reserved beef cubes and bacon.

Meanwhile, for sauce, whisk cornstarch into ¼ cup broth in saucepan. Gradually whisk in remaining broth, reserved gravy, rosemary and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, until thickened. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Add sauce to meat mixture. Heat thoroughly, stirring frequently. Pour into 7x11 baking dish.

For topping, melt butter. Add parsley and garlic. Unroll bread sticks; do not separate. Press middle perforation together. Separate into 6 long strips. Twist strips and place diagonally over top of meat mixture in pan. Brush with butter mixture using a pastry brush.

Bake 13-15 minutes until beef mixture is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Serves 8