When it comes up in conversation that I’m a vegetarian the first question asked is, “What do you eat?” After a little chuckle I simple say, “Food.”
Last week has been all about comfort food. Vegetable soup, warm sandwiches, poptarts, mac-n-cheese, and endless mugs of hot cocoa topped off with handfuls of marshmallows.
I eat out a lot when I’m on the go. More than I’d like to. I’m thankful for the crisp cool breeze that has been steady in my part of the world. Why? Because it inspires me to cook. Meals large enough that I’ll have leftovers therefore preventing me from ordering carry out.
My sister shared this recipe with me a long time ago. I actually only made it once last year. I made it last Saturday with three variations.
Here’s the recipe (courtesy of allrecipes):
Veggie Pot Pies:
My first variation with the recipe? No chicken (red potatoes instead). At least not in my half. Yes, someone in my house eats meat and was looking forward to this dish as well. So, being the nice person, I shared. And I put chicken in his portion. I say portion because I claimed 3/4’s of the pie. Cause I was the cook and the cook makes the rules.
I added diced red potatoes to the recipe. I keep the skins on for added nutritional value. They, along with the celery, were picked fresh from my garden. YUM!
Everything taste better with butter! After I took this photo it reminded me that I need to level my stove. Do you notice the lean? I laugh to myself on how one things triggers another.
Pinch bowls! I love using these when I cook. Especially those with a lip to them. Makes it easier to grab and not spill. I found these at the local Dollar Tree, three for a buck. Can’t beat that. Seasonings are all from Calico Bean. My favorite store!
Waiting for the plot to thicken…..oh wait I mean pot.
Here’s where the second variation comes in effect. The recipe states to place the chicken mixture in the bottom pie crust and then pour the liquid mixture over it. I added my “veggie” mixture right to the thickened sauce and stirred it so everything is covered. Much easier this way. The first time I made this recipe and followed everything as it said my pie pan overflowed. I’ll explain more, keep reading.
Instead of using a round pie pan I chose to use a rectangle cake pan (third variation). This way nothing overflows. Just stretch the round pie crusts out and they’ll work just fine. I’ll prepare it this way from now on. Using the rectangle pan also prevented the pie from bubbling over.
I added the chicken to his portion. Does your local supermarket offer rotisserie chickens? They do here and they are a BIG time saver for recipes like this. They’ll season and cook the bird for you for $5.99.
Don’t forget to add the slits to the dough before you place it in the oven. You can see that I made an A on the meat side.
The meal was a complete success. Can you believe that my boyfriend actually said that it would be “the bomb” even without meat in it. I could of slapped him. Never again will I add chicken!
Next time I make this I’m going to alternate the veggies that I use. Broccoli and cauliflower sound pretty good. What do you think?
My only problem: I’m searching for those little metal pie tins to make this recipe ahead of time and then freeze them. Can’t find the tins anywhere. I’m speaking of the ones that the Banquet pot pies come in. Any resources, please share. Thanks!
How did this series get started? Click here. I don’t cook with a lot of vegetarian cookbooks because they use a lot of ingredients that I don’t eat. Basically, I find a recipe and alter it to my liking. I find it easier to alter the meat recipes. Do you have any you would like to share? Leave me a comment or send me an email. barkoutloud22@yahoo.com
Until the next word…
~Jennifer
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