[Recipe] "Simple Sophisticate" Veggie Pot Pie Muffins

I've started a new tradition of hosting Sunday Suppers—part of my 2015 vow to do things-- a la Jamie Oliver.  It's fun and relaxing—I love having guests around the dinner table, drinking wine, laughing, unwinding.  There are, however, a few challenges involved in planning and hosting, including, but not limited to, the following: 

1.  Space (meaning that only so many people will fit around my dinner table);
2.  Quantity of food (meaning that it's difficult to gauge for and cook for even a small group of people);
3.  Quality of food (meaning that I want to feed people well and do not, unfortunately/fortunately, follow the advice not to use your guests as guinea pigs);
4.  Complexity of food/prep (meaning that time can be a serious constraint); and
5.  One of my friends is a vegetarian, so I always try to make one main meat dish that everyone else can dig into and make sure there are plenty of vegetarian sides.

Today's recipe is amazing because it's delicious, super-simple, vegetarian, filling, and deceptively sophisticated.  As anyone who has ever made pot pie entirely from scratch can tell you, pot pie is not generally an easy task, nor is it a particularly cute food.  This, however, is both, and goes perfectly with a simple salad.  (I served these with my "Pick of the Harvest" Butternut Squash and Apple Salad to start.)  They would also make a great appetizer/finger food (if a bit substantial) for a bigger cocktail party.

"Simple Sophisticate" Veggie Pot Pie Muffins
a recipe by A Million Moments

I stumbled across this recipe, interestingly enough, not for a dinner party per se but because I am a huge nerd who wanted to celebrate "Pi Day."  Yes.  3.14.15.  But I'm known by my friends and have been for years as someone who tends to make a lot of muffins and cupcakes, not because I'm necessarily obsessed with them but because they are really easy to bring in to share.  So, naturally, I took to the Internet to see whether it was possible to make pies in muffin tins.  The answer is, of course, yes, but in the midst of my quest I also stumbled across these muffins, which really intrigued me because, despite my penchant for baking, it's savory foods, not sweet, that truly interest me.

Ingredients
2 cans Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits
10 oz. frozen classic vegetable medley (corn, peas, green beans, carrots, etc.)
1 can sliced potatoes
1 can cream of broccoli
shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dice the vegetables (bite-sized pieces) and put them in a medium-sized bowl.
* For simplicity's sake, this recipe called for (and I used) instant/frozen/canned vegetables, but of course you can saute a medley of vegetables simply in butter or olive oil, lightly salted, instead.

2.  Add the can of cream of broccoli soup to the bowl and combine.
3.  Prepare a surface to roll out the biscuits by sprinkling a bit of flour on top so the dough won't stick.  Each biscuit in the can will make one muffin-- roll each biscuit into a 6-inch circle.  Place the rolled biscuits into the muffin tin and add a spoonful of vegetables to each one.  Be careful not to overfill-- keep the vegetables level with the top of the muffin tin.
5.  Sprinkle a little bit of cheese on top, then pinch the excess dough together in the center to cover your filling.

6.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until they're golden brown.  Let cool for 5 minutes.