The minced meat filling in this old fashioned pie is made from scratch. Serve warm, garnished with whipped cream, if desired.

• 1/2 pound lean beef stew meat
• 2 tart baking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 T. molasses
• 1 cup currants
• 1/4 cup apple cider (apple juice also ok)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 T. rum
• pie dough for a double crust deep dish 9" pie

Preparation -
Place the beef in a saucepan, add water to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer for about one hour or until tender. Cool, then run the cooked beef through a meat grinder or a food processor to grind coarsely. Place the meat in a large saucepan. Stir in all the remaining ingredients - except the rum and the pastry. Cook over medium heat almost to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Cook until the apples are very tender and the mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and let cool. Prepare pie dough for a double crust 9" pie. Line a deep 9" pie dish with rolled out dough. Spoon the minced meat pie filling into the unbaked pie shell. Scatter the rum over the pie filling. Roll out the remaining dough and place it on top. Flute the edges to seal the top crust to the bottom crust. Make a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape while baking. Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for 1 hour. Serve warm, garnished with whipped cream if desired.