Chicken Pot Pie

This is a recipe I love to share with as many busy cooks as possible. Except for the deli chicken, you can have all ingredients waiting for you in pantry or fridge. It’s hearty enough for big eaters while being kid-friendly enough for even picky eaters. Most kids love chicken and the yummy Alfredo sauce is comfortingly creamy.

We’ve made all kids of additions and substitutions to the filling recipe. My most recent is adding 1/2 cup frozen pearl onions. The frozen ones I find at my Walmart are really nice. The are all the same nice little marble size, and they are already blanched and peeled. That is huge.

I like to use a peeled red bell pepper in place of the pimentos. I burn the pepper under my broiler on a piece of foil. When it’s burned on all sides, gather the foil up and around so it can steam inside. After a few minutes you can peel, seed, and chop.

My friend, Cindy, adds sautéd celery and mushrooms. Some moms make it with green beans because that’s what their kids will eat.

Yield: 1, 9-inch pie to serve 4 to 6

About 1/2 fully-cooked deli chicken, meat taken off the bones

1, 15–ounce jar Alfredo sauce

½ cup frozen peas and carrots

2 tablespoons chopped pimentos

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of dried thyme

1 package Pillsbury pie crusts or your own recipe for 2-crust pie

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg glaze to brush on top crust

  1. Preheat the oven to 375º. 
  2. Stir together chicken, Alfredo sauce, peas and carrots, and pimentos. Stir in salt, pepper and thyme.
  3. Line a pie pan with one piece of the pie dough. Fill with chicken mixture. Top with remaining piece of pie dough and crimp the edges. At this point you can also decorate with extra crust. Brush on egg glaze. Bake 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and pie is hot and bubbly.

Huevos Rancheros

Cook this fabulous dish over coals, on the grill, or stovetop. Use a large skillet, or in this case my paella pan.

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros
Yield: 7-8 servings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 large tomatoes, diced
3 roasted poblano chiles, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 chipotle chile, chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
Chicken stock as needed
7 – 8 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
8 crispy corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 – 1 ½ cups prepared pico de gallo
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

  1. Heat oil in skillet and add onions and garlic; cook and stir 3 – 5 minutes until soft. Add tomatoes, poblano, chipotle, chili powder, and cumin. Mix well and cook until tomatoes start to break down and become a salsa-like consistency. If salsa becomes too thick, stir in a little chicken stock. Break eggs on top of salsa; cover skillet and cook 10 – 12 minutes, until eggs are done to your preference. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. To serve, spoon a cooked egg, along with some of the salsa, on crispy tortilla. Top with cheese, pico, and cilantro.