Vegetable Pie

Recipe No. 654 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Vegetables. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Carrots, cooked diced — 6 pounds (4½ No. 56 dippers)
• Potatoes, cooked, diced — 9 pounds (5½ No. 56 dippers)
• Celery, cooked, diced — 5 pounds (5 No. 56 dippers)
• Peas — 1 No. 10 can
• Meat stock — 1¼ gallons (5 No. 56 dippers)
• Salt — 4 ounces (8 mess kit spoons)
• Sugar, granulated — as needed
• Tomatoes — 1⅓ No. 10 cans

Onions, chopped — 1 pound (1 No. 56 dipper)

• Butter or beef fat — 2½ pounds (1¼ No. 56 dippers)
• Flour, sifted — 4½ pounds (4½ No. 56 dippers)
• Baking powder — 4 ounces (¼ mess kit cup)
• Salt — 1 ounce (2 mess kit spoons)
• Shortening — 1 pound (½ No. 56 dipper)
• Milk, evaporated — 1½ — 14½-ounce cans
• Water (for milk) — 1¼ pints (¾ No. 56 dipper)

Directions

Key ingredients

Baking Soda & Baking Powder · Evaporated Milk

1. Drain cooked carrots, potatoes and celery.
2. Drain peas. Mix peas, meat stock, salt, sugar and tomatoes together; heat.
3. Fry onions in butter or beef fat; add ½ pound (½ No. 56 dipper) flour slowly; mix well. Add to tomato mixture. Heat to boiling point; boil 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.
4. Combine all vegetables. Place in well greased baking pans.
5. Sift remaining flour, baking powder and salt together for biscuit dough.
6. Add shortening; mix well.
7. Mix milk and water; add gradually to flour mixture, mixing until soft dough is formed.
8. Place dough on floured board; roll ½ inch thick. Cut into biscuits 2 inches in diameter.
9. Heat vegetables slowly in moderate oven (350° F.).
10. Place biscuits on top of vegetables and bake in hot oven (425° F.) until biscuits are done.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Carrots, cooked diced — 7⅔ oz Potatoes, cooked, diced — 11½ oz Celery, cooked, diced — 6⅓ oz Peas — 1 cup Meat stock — 1⅔ cups Salt — about 2 tsp Sugar, granulated — to taste Tomatoes — 1⅓ cups Onions, chopped — 1¼ oz Butter or beef fat — 3¼ oz Flour, sifted — 5¾ oz Baking powder — about 2 tsp Salt — about ½ tsp Shortening — 1¼ oz Milk, evaporated — ½ can (14½ oz) Water (for milk) — 3¼ tbsp

Use vegetable liquids in soups.

⚠ As printed, the manual is inconsistent here — “Water (for milk): 1¼ pints (¾ No. 56 dipper)”: 1¼ pints = 5/8 qt, but gloss says ¾ dippers = 3/4 qt. Transcribed exactly as printed; the parenthetical Army measure is usually the safer one to follow.

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 654, Vegetables. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.