Chicken Pot Pies

Chicken Pot Pies Straight Out of the Oven

Tuesday night, I decided to make individual chicken pot pies for dinner, with some of the chicken I had cooked earlier.

Ingredients for the Filling

 I cut up about half of one chicken breast, some of the boiled carrots from Monday night's dinner, and leftover broccoli and added a bit of the onions I had cooked with the chicken.  I included some frozen corn, too.  I would have included frozen green peas, but I didn't have any.  Then, mixed up about 2/3 of a can of condensed cream of chicken soup with some milk (about 1/2 cup).

Filling Mixed and Ready for Pies

The next step was to combine the chicken and vegetables with the cream of chicken soup, which becomes the filling for the pot pies.

Pie Crust

Then, I made the pastry for the pie crust.  I used an easy, oil pastry: 2 cups flour, a pinch of salt, 1/2 cup oil and about 1/4 cup water; mix all together until a dough forms, divide into portions and roll out.  I decided to make 4 individual pies, using aluminum pie pans I had bought some time ago.

Pie Pans Filled with the Chicken Mixture

I divided the chicken/vegetables/soup mixture evenly among the four pie pans and topped with pastry circles:

Pot Pies Ready for Baking

I cut some slits on the top crusts for vents to let the steam out, brushed the tops with some milk, arranged any bits of trimmed pastry on top (so as not to waste any pastry), placed them on a foil-lined baking tray (for easy clean up should any filling spill out) and baked in a 400F oven for 30 minutes until the pastry was crisp and the filling was bubbling.

Daughter came home tonight and we had a pot pie each for dinner.  The other two were wrapped with foil and kept in the fridge - we might have them for dinner, tomorrow, or I might take them to the office for lunch on Thursday and Friday.

This is a very easy pot pie recipe.  The cream of chicken soup eliminates the need to make a white sauce.  One can use any other condensed cream soup, too, such as cream of celery or cream of mushroom - it varies the taste a little bit, that's all.

Do you make chicken pot pies?  Do you have a favorite, easy recipe?

On Tuesday, I spent $5 for parking at the doctor's office; $15 doctor's visit co-pay; and $1,603.01 for the 1st installment of property taxes (2nd installment due next February).

Breakfast was a banana; lunch was a salad with slices of beef steak and grapes; afternoon snack was a piece of the birthday cake my colleagues got for me!  They surprised me with the cake and a monetary gift!  They sent the rest of the cake home with me to share with daughter.  Dinner was the pot pie and another piece of cake!  Yes, I know, but you get to turn 60 only once.

Monday night's dinner was beef steak, broccoli, boiled carrots and a baked yam (no butter):

Monday Night's Dinner

 Tuesday's Gratitude:

- Incision healing OK, per surgeon
- Colleagues surprising me with cake and a gift!
- Daughter home for my birthday
- A safe flight home for daughter
- Aunt and cousin calling to check on me