She came across a recipe for a "Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie" that sounded pretty good, but I suggested she make the recipe (for lack of a better word, since there is no actual recipe, it is a concoction of leftovers) I make, the dish she really likes & requests often.
Still she marked the magazine page and finished getting ready for school. I went out to the deep freeze and found a container of meat I had boiled off the bones the last time I roasted chicken.
I had a container of chicken stock open in the fridge so I left the frozen stock for another day.
I caught up with my neglected housework and spent the afternoon catching up over coffee with a friend. a pretty fine way to spend a Monday, if you ask me.
I called the sitter on my way home and Emily wheeled her bicycle into the driveway only moments behind me. While she unpacked her lunch box I started sautéing an onion for her, as I tend to linger long over coffee & it was getting late.
I told her I had written out my "recipe" for her and she scanned it briefly asking for interpretation of some of my scrawl. I told her there was a container of chicken on the counter which she dumped into a waiting baking dish. I told her we could use frozen mixed vegetables, which do not need to be cooked before joining the chicken and she added those to the pan as well. I have diced celery and carrots and added them to the sauté pan to soften, and added zucchini or any other vegetables lurking in the fridge to the mix as well, as well as frozen peas and corn. It truly is a "clean out the fridge" meal.
After Emily unearthed the extra box of stuffing mix she bought a couple of weeks ago (I didn't feel like tackling baking powder biscuits) I told her to watch while I made the sauce. It's basically white sauce with chicken stock instead of milk, but it is a method she needs to learn. As I stirred in flour to make the roux she said, "That doesn't look like gravy," followed by, as I told her to wait & to watch, "It looks like cookie dough!" I stirred in the stock slowly and soon had a gravy substitute. I have used cream of chicken or mushroom soup for this too, so there are lots of options.
She prepared the stuffing mix while I poured the onions and gravy into the chicken and vegetables. When the stuffing was done she spooned it over the mixture and put it into the oven for 20 minutes, enough time to heat every thing through.
She was eager to spoon my portion out for me, and apart from finding a small bone in her bowlful was delighted with the result.
The recipe, as I mentioned is filled with "OR"s and options, but she will learn that some casseroles and stir frys are a wonderful way to use up all those bits and pieces in the refrigerator, and learning a little creative economy is good for everyone.
Mom's Chicken Pot Pie
leftover diced chicken
several cups of mixed vegetables (frozen or fresh, sautéed or steamed) about the same volume as chicken
one onion, chopped and sautéed
1 cup chicken gravy/white sauce/cream of chicken soup (Or more if needed)
1-2 packages stuffing mix OR baking powder biscuits, unbaked
Combine chicken and vegetables, season with salt & pepper, pour gravy over all. Top with prepared stuffing mix or baking powder biscuits (leaving space between for steam to escape) Bake until biscuits are done & casserole is heated through.
We had about a cup and a half of chicken and used an 8x8 pan. A larger pan with more chicken would of course require 2 cups of sauce and twice the topping. An 8x8 pan doesn't need a full recipe of biscuits (mine uses 2 cups of flour) so increase/decrease as needed. This freezes well too, so I will sometimes make a second casserole & freeze it without the topping for some day when we're getting home late or I don't want to cook.
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