Meat Pies recipe

Ingredients

For meat filling:

1 pound coarsely ground meat, beef or lamb

1/2 stick butter

1 medium onion, chopped

Juice of one lemon

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup pine nuts

For dough:

6 cups flour

1 package dry yeast

2 cups warm water

1/3 dry milk, dissolved in water

1/2 cup Crisco, or 1/3 cup oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

To make dough:

1. Dissolve sugar and year in a little bit of warm water. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and Crisco or oil until well-blended. Add the yeast mixture and liquid gradually.

2. Knead in a bowl until dough is soft and smooth. Dip hands in oil and knead a little more. Shape dough into a smooth ball and oil ball on all sides. Cover and let stand in a warm place until it doubles in size.

For meat filling:

1. In a heavy skillet, brown meat in butter. Add onions and seasonings. Cook until onions are limp and meat is done.

2. Add the lemon juice and pine nuts. Cool before using.

To assemble pies:

1. Pinch off dough into the size of a walnut. Place on oiled counter and cover with a towel so dough will not dry. Let rest about 15 minutes, then flatten into round circles, about 1/8 inch thick. Place flat round pieces on baking sheets.

2. Drop about 2 tablespoons of filling on top of each circle. In addition to basic filling, minced ripe tomatoes, olives and green peppers can be mixed in, if you choose.

3. Bake pies at 375 degrees in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes.