Meat Pies (bridie, pasty...)

These little meat pies are called many different things, have many variations & you can alter the filling in a million ways!  And do NOT think of Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd when you hear 'meat pies'. :D The little pies I baked may not LOOK fantastic, but they are delicious.  I have not perfected pie folding, so bear with me. 

This makes approx. a dozen. 
For the filling, in a pan, heat a tblsp. cooking oil and add one to 1-1/4# ground round.
Saute for 5 minutes and then add 1/2 cup minced onion and a clove of minced garlic, 2 shredded carrots, 1/4 cup shredded green pepper.
Stir and continue cooking another 10-15 minutes until vegetables are soft and meat is totally cooked. Drain completely.

Add 1 heaping tsp. beef base (comes in a jar - it's like a bouillon paste and MUCH better!!), 1/2 tsp. Trader Joe's 21-season salute (or all-season like Ms. Dash), 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 tsp. salt, 4 Tblsp. worcestershire sauce.  Pour 2/3 cup water over everything and stir. If it looks like there isn't enough liquid (you don't want it swimming in water!), add a tad more.  Cover and simmer for an hour.  If you like vegetables (like peas, potatoes, turnips), add them mid-cooking time.

In a small cup or bowl, stir together 2 tblsp. flour and enough COLD water to make a smooth paste.  Add to the pot - stir to thicken the meat/gravy.  Once it's thickened, taste & adjust seasonings if needed.
Cool down until the meat isn't steaming hot - it won't work if you put hot meat into the cool pie crust.

Heat the oven to 400º.

Have pastry ready (enough for a 2 crust regular pie), rolled out and divided into 10-12 equal pieces.  You can cut these in circles (then add filling and fold over) or squares (same thing, but make triangles).

Put a Tblsp. (or more) of filling into the centers of each pc. of pastry.  Fold the top half of the pastry over the filling, pressing down the edges to seal.  You can crimp it with a fork.

Put on ungreased baking sheets, leaving a little space between each meat pie.  Bake for 18-24 minutes, until the crust turns golden colored.  

Remove from the oven and cool on racks.