Tourtiere

Motivation
I heard about this French Canadian winter meat-pie on NPR.  I later looked up the recipe from the NPR website.  The version below is my spin on the original version.  I used 1 lb ground pork and 1 lb sweet Italian sausage on my first attempt with good results.  Instead of a pie pan I used a non-stick, oven-safe, skillet that is about the same size with good results and a very handy handle to move it in and out of the oven.

Ingredients
2 lb Ground Pork
1 1/2 cups Water
1 cup Onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup Celery, finely chopped
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/2 tsp grated Nutmeg
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
1 cup old-fashioned Rolled Oats (Quick Oats ok)
1 Refrigerated Pie Crust
Salt to taste


Mice en Place
Chop onions and celery.

Method
In a large pot add water and pork and bring to a simmer.  Add onions, celery, cranberries, and spices.  Cook covered for 1 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove lid, add oats, and simmer another 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste and add salt if needed.

Take off heat and allow to cool while waiting for oven to preheat to 425 degrees F and pie crusts to warm to room temperature.

Place pie crust bottom on pie pan and fill with meat filling.  Add pie crust top and seal.  Be sure to cut a few vents in top.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven to 375 degrees F and bake another 25 minutes until pie crust looks done.  (You could add an egg-wash the last 10 minutes or so if your that kind of perfectionist.)

Let cool a bit then devour.  I served mine with a bit of HP sauce, but it probably wasn't necessary.