« Friday March 13, 2009 | Main | A Note from Lynn »

Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie
(A family favourite for many generations; can be varied endlessly depending on the mood of the moment and whatever leftovers are in the fridge. We’ve even made it without chicken for vegetarian guests and it was still great. Kids love it, and it’s easy and foolproof enough that older children can make it, although an adult may want to chop and fry the vegetables for younger cooks)

1/2 – 2 cups of cooked chicken or turkey, cut into bite size chunks. Preferably not actually bitten-off chunks, although your kids might argue that this is the best way to measure how big “bite-size� is.
1 can mushroom soup. (the magic ingredient)
1 tbsp. olive oil or margarine
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 medium size carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. dried sage or 1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage or 2 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 tsp. dried parsley, if you have it
A few sliced mushrooms, if you have some
Rosemary, basil, thyme can all be added as well to taste
Other tasty additions: left over gravy and/or dressing, leftover or frozen peas or mixed vegetables, small chunks of cooked or raw broccoli, parsnip or potato.

Biscuit topping:
1 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. margarine
3/4 c. milk

(or package of store-bought uncooked biscuit dough)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Put olive oil or margarine into large pot, heat on medium element until it spits. (the pot, not you). Add chopped onion, celery and mushrooms (if being used) and cook a few minutes until vegetables are becoming transparent. Dump in everything else, add a soup can full of water, heat to a gentle boil while stirring occasionally. If your kid does the stirring, it’s OK for them to lick the spoon now and then to check the flavour. This is all going to be cooked later anyway.

While the meat mixture is heating, mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in the margarine with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture is pebbly. Pour in the milk and mix quickly and briefly with a fork, just until the dry mixture is more or less evenly moistened. Any chunks that have sprayed out onto the counter make good play dough to keep the youngest sous-chefs busy while you finish this recipe. If using bought biscuit dough, cut or tear it into pieces two or three inches in diameter.

Get the small fry to stand back while you plop the hot mixture into a casserole dish large enough that the mixture is two inches or so below the rim. Drop the biscuit mixture on top in large spoonfuls or chunks. These will be shapeless blobs, which is fine. Don’t fuss over getting them the same shape or size. It’s best if there is a little space between the blobs. The kids can fight over who gets to lick out the bowl. The loser gets to lick the pot, which is yummier anyway.

Put into preheated oven for 25 - 35 minutes. The biscuit topping should be nicely browned and the stew part bubbling. If you’ve added a lot of raw vegetables, turn the temperature down to 350 after 15 minutes and let it cook for another 25 minutes. You’ll need this time to clean up the spilled flour, margarine-y handprints on the wall, and other kid-cookery mess anyway.

Serve with a salad. Dinner rolls go well with this, and cranberry sauce is a yummy extra. It’s also red, which adds interest for the short ones. For a really hungry crowd, mashed potatoes and more cooked vegetables can be added to the meal.