Hello friends!
This is Meghan here, Fork Dork number two and Irene's platonic life partner. After seeing so many of Irene's delicious posts - and having finally started getting back into the swing of apartment life, the general insanity of senior year of college, but most importantly COOKING - I feel that it is time to add my $0.02.
I have my screensaver set to display the pictures I have uploaded onto my computer. This combined with my compulsion of taking pictures of food that I deem particularly good-looking (not at all hard-and-fast criteria... I have been known to eat things that look less than appetizing simply because I made it, damn it, and that is all there is to it...) means that quite often I am taunted with visual memories of food adventures past. Por ejemplo...
Oh sweet baby Jesus, tell me that that doesn't make your heart smile and your innards dance at least a little bit!
Now this seems as good an opportunity as any to say a little something else about yours truly, FD #2, in relation to her Fork Dork counterpart. Irene follows a mostly vegan diet and lifestyle, and I admire her for that (not only do I admire it... I also gladly partake of it when visiting her kitchen of non-meatly delights!)
I, however, have an inexplicable love of two things: a) comfort foods from cultures not necessarily my own, and b) Italian food. This tends to mean meat... not a lot, but not always a little. Chicken, fish, and turkey mostly for me - the occasional pork, but not usually steak, for reasons we won't delve into just now. But hey, as I see it, we are equal opportunity foodies, Irene and I. Different sides of the same delicious coin. Keep on keepin' on my meatless amiga!
That said... it's time for some pahhhhhh! (Say it loud, say it proud.)
This was a thrown-together concoction with not a whole lot of extensive planning - a day or two beforehand, maybe, as well as a general desire for things of a pastry-crust nature. Full disclosure: I cheated on the pastry crust and actually used the refrigerated roll-out-and-cut-to-proper-size variety! Oh noez! Forgive me pie gods for I have sinned. Later I will attempt to do you justice - I did pull off a pretty sweet tarte tatin once, by your grace - but this is neither here nor there. For now...
Chicken Pot Pie, the easy way (sorry for the lack of measurements... going off recipe... it's the way of the future... ?? I figure you can adjust to your pie pan size this way...)
1-2 chicken breast halves
Some frozen and/or fresh veggies (frozen work best in the baking process to me - they don't get as mushy!): includes carrots, peas, green beans
a few good mushrooms
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 box pie crust rounds, unbaked of course (there should be 2 of the lil' suckers in there)
The herbs that bring your heart joy - in my case, fresh rosemary and fresh sage
Soooo...!
The chicken: cut into bite-size chunks, and saute gently in olive oil with some chopped garlic (what's that? I didn't include that in the ingredient list? oh ho ho my friend, that is because in my house, garlic is one of those "given" ingredients that you do not even need to think about. Do not question. Just do.) and rosemary. Cook until just barely not pink in the middle anymore - the baking will do the rest.
The saucy-filling bits: Throw down the contents of that soup can into a small saucepan, add maybe half a can of water - not too much, you want it still the consistency of a realll thick soup rather than something broth-y. If you like, throw your veggies in here and heat just so you take the frost off 'em but everything should still be pretty cool. Keep it cool, my friends.
The crust: Lightly oil your pie tin or pan or whatever it is you bake your pie in. Put one of the crusts in, laying the edges lightly over the pan and trimming them so they just barely reach over the top. Pour everything else in - chicken and filling - and throw crust number two on top. Crimp the edges with your fingers, making sure all is well sealed. Brush with some melted butter or egg white. And then - THEN! - make a couple small incisions on the top of the crust so that steam can escape safely and not cause pie explosions, which are generally unattractive to other pies. Don't be the cause of embarrassment for your pie!! So sad.
Anywho, bake for a good 35 or 40 minutes or until the crust is properly golden. Take out, let cool, stand back, and wait... just wait. Soon you will be everyone's best friend. Hooray!!! I made this like 6 months ago and can STILL taste it. Mmm-hmm!
With love,
Miss Meg