Emptying the Freezer - "Use it Up" Pie

Each year, in the preceding weeks before Christmas, we invariably spend time trying to use up the contents of the freezer, to make room for buying food over the Christmas period.

No-matter how hard we try, there always seems to be some half-used packets of vegetables left over, and as we buy it so often, unused packets of Quorn products in the freezer.

Rather than throw them away, this year, I wanted to come up with some good ways to use up the contents of the freezer, so that I had time to clean it out before the Christmas rush starts.

In order to this, I created "Use It Up Pie" - A Pie or dish to use up any leftover food in the freezer.

In my pie, I used carrots, brussels sprout, cauliflower, and broccoli. I also had some frozen chilli cubes, and a packet of Quorn Chicken style pieces. However, you could use whatever you have left over in the freezer as this pie lends itself to many different kinds of vegetable and protein combinations. You could use any kind of vegetable possible, and proteins such as veggie sausages, veggie meatballs, quorn fillets and many others.


I also used onions and garlic from the fridge, along with some butter, milk and cheese, which you could omit if you are vegan, or use alternatives.

For the topping, I whizzed a slice of bread into breadcrumbs in the food processor, and grated cheese over the top. This really is a great pie for using food up, and it is so tasty too. Perhaps you could also use it for Christmas leftovers as it is a great alternative to bubble and squeak. The method will mostly be the same whatever you use.

Here is the recipe, let me know what you think!!

Ingredients

Frozen Carrots

Frozen Brussels Sprouts 

Frozen Cauliflower

Frozen Broccoli. 

2 Frozen Chilli Cubes

Frozen Quorn Chicken style pieces. 

Olive Oil

2 Onions, peeled and chopped

1tsp Garlic

1 slice of bread, made into breadcrumbs

Grated Cheese

Butter

Milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

1. Cook the Vegetables in a pan of boiling water for around 10 minutes until they are al-dente
2. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a separate pan, and cook the quorn pieces until they are slightly browned. Add the onions, garlic and chilli cubes after 5 minutes, and continue to cook until the onions are transparent. 
3. Once cooked, drain the vegetables and allow to cool a little.
4. When the quorn pieces and onions have cooked, drain the olive oil and set aside
5. Mash the vegetables and mix well together either using a masher or kitchen aid. Add the milk and butter as needed to enable the vegetables to gel together to a mask-like consistency. 
6. Add the quorn pieces and onions to the mash, and also some salt and pepper and cheese too if you would like. Mix well together until the ingredients have combined.
7. Transfer to an oven-proof dish and spread the top over evenly.
8. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and grated cheese over the top of the mixture evenly.
9. Cook in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for around twenty to thirty minutes.
10. Serve immediately.

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