Mom's Cheater Chicken Pot Pie

I had some leftover turkey from Sunday night's dinner and remembered Mom had a great easy recipe for Pot Pie. So I gave her a call and got the recipe. So here it is. I typed the recipe for 1 pie so it can be doubled easily. I used probably double the amount of meat the recipe called of, however. The original recipe called for the pie to be baked at 375 degrees F. for 40 minutes, but I baked it for just less than an hour before the crust was golden. I didn't have to foil the edges either, they didn't get dark. Maybe the milk helped. I thought the crust was a bit doughy, so I amended the baking directions as per the Pilsbury recipe. I also added a little chopped green onion, however, I'm not sure I liked the taste it added...

Mom’s Cheater Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

Filling

1 tin Cream of Potato Soup
1 tin Peas & Carrots (about 10 oz.)
1 cup diced cooked chicken
¼ cup milk
¼ tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. pepper
1 medium potato, cooked and diced
1 egg, lightly beaten

Crust

2 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box.
milk to brush the crust

Directions

Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan.

Stir together soup, peas & carrots, chicken, milk, thyme, pepper, cooked potato and egg. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust. Brush with milk.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Hello Dolly's

This is the original Magic Cookie Bar recipe taken from the label off the can. I like to call them Hello Dolly's however as that is the name I grew up with on the east coast of Newfoundland. I tweaked the recipe slightly by increasing the chocolate chips and recommend the layering as written. The cookies look better and believe me I have tried them every way. When the chocolate is on the top it scorches and tastes burnt. When the pecans are on top they dry out and may scorch as well. However, when the coconut is last followed by the condensed milk, the cookies look beautiful like a lightly toasted macaroon.

Ingredients

2 cups graham wafer crumbs

3/4 cup butter, melted

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 cups chopped pecans

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 can (300 mL) Regular or Low Fat Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk


Preparation

Combine graham crumbs with butter; press evenly onto parchment-lined 13 x 9″ (3.5 L) baking pan.

Sprinkle with in order, chocolate chips, pecans and coconut; press down firmly.


Pour Eagle Brand evenly over crumb crust.

Bake in pre-heated 350ºF (180ºC) oven 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool thoroughly and cut into bars. (Store loosely covered at room temperature.)

Notes:

Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday

Last week at the Grace in the Kitchen we had a visit from a 95 year old lady from Great Britain. She tried one of my hot cross buns and remarked to my co-worker Christine that they were good, but could use a touch more spice. I had used a recipe from our baking lab files from when I attended the Baking and Pastry Arts Program at Algonquin College. I went out to talk to her to see what she thought was missing. She offered to bring in her recipe which was also her mothers and I gladly accepted. True to her word her daughter showed up at the store the next day with the recipe. The recipe from school had only called for cinnamon!

Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients

1 pound flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
a pinch of cloves
3 oz. butter
3 oz. sugar
4 oz. currents and peel
1 oz. yeast
1/2 pint milk

Directions

Sift together flour, salt, spices and all the sugar but 1 tsp.

Rub butter into flour, add fruit.

Cream yeast with 1 tsp. sugar and add warmed milk.

Place bowl in warm place until yeast becomes spongy-about 15 minutes.

Make a well in the flour mixture, pour in the yeast, mix well into a light dough.

Beat until dough is spongy.

Leave in warm place to rise-about 1 1/2 hours-until doubled in size (bulk).

Turn onto a floured board, kneed lightly and cut into 12 oven even-sized pieces. Shape into buns.

Place 3 inches apart on a warmed greased cookie sheet and leave to proof another 20 minutes in a warm place.

Using the back of a knife mark each bun with a cross.

Melt sugar, 1 tablespoon, in 1 tablespoon warm water and brush buns with it.

Bake in a fairly hot oven: 400 degrees F. (gas #6) for 20 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature.

Christine's Ham Sandwich's

My friend at work Christine game me this recipe reciently and I have to say they are one of the best sandwich's I ever tasted. Perfect for a potluck or shower...She finds a tablespoon of poppy seeds call for in the origional recipe too much and suggests reducing it by half! I have adjusted the recipe accordingly. A soft dinner roll works great!

Christine's Ham Sandwiches

1 stick of butter
1 T mustard
1 T worcestershire
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 T poppy seeds
Small buns
Ham
Swiss cheese

Bring butter, mustard, worcestershire, brown sugar and poppy seeds to a boil in a saucepan. Set aside.


Make sandwiches with small buns, ham, and swiss cheese. I use Hawaiian Sweet Rolls because I think they're delicious. Place sandwiches in baking dish.


Pour sauce over the sandwiches. Cover and marinate in fridge for 24 hours or overnight.


Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes covered then 10 minutes uncovered.

Lemon Bars

This recipe is adapted from The Barefoot Contessa. I also tried the one from Cooks Illustrated and this one is hands down the best Lemon Bar recipe...I usually make the crust in a food processor as well. Using ice cold butter, just pulse the ingredients until they resemble a fine sand and continue with the recipe...

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
•
For the filling:

• 6 extra-large or 7 large eggs at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 baking pan lined with parchment paper, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.