CHICKEN POT PIE

  

                            

     Who doesn't love chicken pot pie?  It's yummy, creamy, comfort food.  But who has time to roll out a crust most nights after a long day at work or home with the kids? Nobody.  Rolling out a crust just makes you mad, unless you are an expert pie maker like my mother-in-law.  Most of us aren't.  Most of us don't even wanna go there.  I can make a pie crust, I just get mad every time I do it because it doesn't look or taste like her's.  This is why she makes the pies for our Thanksgiving dinner every year - because I ask her to! Anyway, that's a bit off subject.  Back to not wanting to make a crust for a pot pie, yet wanting to eat one.

     A couple of years ago some of us homeschool moms decided our kids needed a home-ec class to learn how to cook.  We each sponsored a cooking class in our homes, and mine was - guess what - PIES.  Of all things.  We made individual pumpkin pies and everyone learned how to make a crust.  I even pulled off how to roll out a crust (without crumbling) and look like I knew what I was doing.  And then my wonderful friend and homeschool mentor Betsy introduced this wonderful pot pie recipe, and it has been a favorite at our house ever since.  The best part?  FROZEN PIE CRUSTS!!! This is so easy you can do it as a last minute throw together meal.  Keep these ingredients on hand for some night when you get in late and everyone's grouchy and wondering how you're gonna pull dinner off.  And then, you will. I don't know if any of those home-ec kids ever exercised their new pie crust skills, but at least we all got this practical and much-loved recipe out of the deal!


Ingredients:

• 2 Deep dish frozen pie crusts (one package = two)
• 1 15-oz. can Veg-all (the one in the picture was too big - we only used half the can.)
• 1 Can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Can cooked chicken (sometimes I use leftover chicken or turkey or boil a few frozen tenderloins that I have on hand.  But if I keep a few cans of these (from Sam's, naturally), it makes everything simpler!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Mix Veg-all, milk, cream of chicken soup, and chicken together.  With canned chicken you need to cut the chunks up.  This doesn't take long.
3. Prick pie crusts.  Pour chicken mixture into one pie crust. 

               

     4.  Top with the other crust.  Hint: keep these frozen until ready to use.  If you let the crusts get too
          warm, it's hard to slide the top one out.

                

  
       5.  You may pinch crust edges together if you like, but I don't because the crust tends to cave.
       6.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.  Be sure to place it on a pan or cookie sheet in
            case the filling spills over.

     Cut and watch it disappear!  It is so good, my family is sad when there are not any left overs, so usually I make two.  In which case, I use the large Veg-all can!