Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight's Dinner

1 medium onion, choppped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 T butter
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
3/4 cup frozen english peas, thawed
1 large potato, peeled and cut in food processor
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
2 T cornstarch
2 T cold water
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
frozen pie crust

Saute onion, celery and carrots in butter.

Stir in chicken through bay leaf.

Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 15-30 minutes. (My chicken was pre-cooked and frozen, so I let the mixture simmer for 30+ minutes to make sure the chicken was fully defrosted.)

Remove bay leaf.

Combine cornstarch and cold water & stir until smooth.

Add cornstarch & water to chicken mixture.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add soup, cheese and sour cream.

Place in greased pie plate and cover with defrosted pie crust. Cut slits in pastry to vent.

Bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

It used to be really easy - and rewarding - for me to make a meal for a new mom or someone else who needed a bit of help. I was sharing with my husband this morning that it's a lot more difficult for me to serve in this way now. He asked why and I think the reason is that the hours from 3 to 7 are the busiest time of day for me now. Between art club, ballet and sports, we have activities going on all over the place. While I do still cook, it's a bit more catch as catch can instead of planned in advance and executed completely from scratch. On a day like today, when I am "off" and not working for pay, it's a bit easier to do a meal for someone else. But it still means that I'm not doing other work that needs doing, like laundry and grocery-shopping, which will both have to wait until tomorrow.

It's amazing how different each season of our life is...