Deep Dish Cheeseburger Pie

There is something so comforting about food wrapped up in dough. Sure, we usually think of these as sweet but I love savory doughs almost as much. And even though it's a rich, buttery dough, for me it takes the place of bread and other starchy side dishes. I just serve this with a salad and/or some other veggies and it's a full meal.

I admit that the dough is my favorite part and I have to restrain myself from "borrowing" a little bit from the next portion. Am I the only one who does this? Or wants to do this... :) I do especially love all-butter crusts and this one has lots of flavor with the addition of the cheese and herbs. And you can flavor the beef in lots of different ways. I had some leftover taco seasoning in the house but smoked paprika or cumin would also be great. And if you change the seasoning, you can also change the type of cheese for a whole different flavor. Italian style? Greek style? Hmm...sounds like I have a bunch more yummy beef pies to make... Enjoy! 

Ingredients
Dough:
2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
2 Sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1" pieces
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup ice water
2 Tablespoons chives, chopped
1/2 Cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Add the flour, baking powder, salt and butter to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Do not over mix. Add the chives and cheddar cheese and pulse once or twice just to combine. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube until a dough ball forms. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Filling:
1 lb. Lean ground beef
1 Onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon taco seasoning (optional)
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Cup low fat milk
1 Cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet pan, brown the beef and onion along with the seasoning. Remove the beef mixture from the pan and set aside. Add the butter to the pan and melt. Add the flour and whisk together on low heat. Slowly whisk in the milk until it thickens slightly. Whisk in the cheese. Add the beef mixture to the cheese sauce and remove from the heat.

Remove about a quarter of the dough ball and set aside. Roll out the dough so that it fits into a deep dish tart pan. (You can also use a regular tart pan or pie pan but you will have more leftover dough.) To form a nice edge, roll your rolling pin over the edges of the tart pan and the excess will fall away. Using a fork, prick a few holes in the bottom of the dough, line with aluminum foil and add pie weights or dried beans. You will need to "blind bake" the dough in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly but leave the oven on.

Remove the weights and foil and add the beef mixture into the dough. Roll out the remaining dough and cut strips to lay over the top (see photo). Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Makes approximately 6 servings.