I am staying with my dad a few extra days this week. One of my sisters is moving into a new house and my other sister and I are covering for her while she gets settled in.
I am always trying to come up with menu ideas that appeal to my dad. He has a very small appetite, and doesn't care much for pasta or carbohydrate-laden dishes such as casseroles, Mexican dishes etc. He's a meat and potatoes guy, and loves his veggies.
Yesterday I decided I'd make him a chicken pot pie, and it was a big hit. I had fun making it, and he seemed to enjoy eating it. I used half a rotisserie chicken for the meat. For the veg, I diced a potato and a carrot which I boiled for a few minutes (4 or 5) in a pan of water. I diced half an onion and a celery stalk and sauteed them in 5 T of butter. Once they were softened, I added 4 or 5 T of flour to the onions and celery. Once that was kind of pasty, I added 1 1/2 C of chicken broth and 3/4 C of milk and whisked it around until the sauce was nice and thick. I added salt, pepper, a bit of Lawry's seasoning salt, and some thyme. You could add frozen peas at this point, but I don't like 'em. Put the drained carrots and potato in the chicken mixture and stir. Mix it all up and pour it into a pie dish lined with one Pillsbury pie crust. I carefully placed the second crust on top and crimped the edges. Make a few little steam vents. I then baked it at 425 for 30 minutes.
I was worried the bottom crust would be soggy, but it wasn't. I was quite happy with the result. It was super easy, and wasn't even really a proper recipe.
I'll be home Sunday, and we plan to celebrate the 4th with our son-in-law, who always does a BBQ. Next week, get ready for some sewing posts, because I have some catching up to do!