Comfort Food - Pot Pie

These cold days call for warm, comfort food to make us feel cozy and good. I always think of soups and pot pies for these days. Recently, K-State's "You Asked It!", a newsletter of food information had an article of Pot Pies, so I'll share a bit of history from there and their source, The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink. I think its always interesting to learn origins and background stories of our food.
Pot Pies are typically a basis dish with crust, meat, vegetables and a gravy or sauce. It is a good way to put all the parts of a meal together in one entree and a handy way to use leftovers. The crust can be two crust, top and bottom; or just a top covering of biscuits. Sometimes mashed potatoes are used on top and that version is often called "Shepherd's Pie".
The earlier pot pies were a very 'lively' dish, sometimes made with a living bird inside that would burst through the pie shell when cut and fly out! This was served in 16th century England. Imagine the diner's surprise when the main course burst open like that! Doesn't sound too appetizing to me.
Pot Pies were also described as "Sea Pie", which were made aboard ships.
The early 1950's brought many changes to American dining, and frozen dinners became popular. One of the early ones was a frozen pot pie made with chicken. Today, chicken pot pie is still a favorite.

So this week I used some leftover cooked chicken from the freezer, half a bag of mixed vegetables, canned condensed soup, and baking mix to create a simple Pot Pie. With a salad and a roll it made a comforting lunch on a cold day. Look in your freezer to see what you can put together for this winter favorite.

EASY CHICKEN POT PIE

Ingredients:

1 can (10 ¾ oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 package (9 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 cup cubed cooked chicken or turkey

½ cup milk

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose baking mix

Directions:

·      Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir soup, vegetables and chicken in a 9-inch pie plate.

·      Stir milk, egg and baking mix in a small bowl. Spread the batter over the chicken mixture.

·      Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. ( 4 servings)

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