January 9, 2011

"Chicken Pot Pie, and I don't care; Chicken Pot Pie, and I don't care." Sometimes, this tune just pops into my head! Chicken Pot Pie. But this time: I DO CARE! When you can find a recipe that's as simple as vegetables, meat and a crust; it's good to let things like CPP take you away. (We're going to refer to this as CPP from now on. Chicken Pot Pie is really hard for me to keep writing over and over again. I have no idea why!) Creature comforts, such as CPP have been around awhile. It was a way to use leftovers, vegetables and meat, and then top it off with a simplified pie crust. Over the years, CPP really hasn't changed that much. It's components of chicken, celery, potatoes, carrots, peas in a warm chicken broth of luscious flour, salt, pepper and onion; enclosed in a homemade crust or sweetened pie dough, has brought friends and neighbors together for years. Last night's dinner was no exception. Friends of teachers are most rewarding. Whether they are a male or female teacher is besides the point! I can't really explain all of this, but just trust me on this one: It's a TEACHER THING! CPP is the perfect get together dish for many reasons. The textures of all the different veges are just one of the components. The potatoes are chunks. The carrots are sliced. The celery is diced. The peas are round. The chicken is usually chopped or picked apart by hand(I did double duty last night), and the sauce is creamy and gooey at the same time. Then, all of this goodness is topped with the simplicity of a basic pie crust. I again topped mine with cracked black pepper and kosher salt. After baked in the oven for only about 25 minutes, the dish is now complete and ready to be destroyed. HINT: let it rest about 5 minutes after you take it out of the oven. Trust me on this one! Have you ever had pizza lip? You know what I mean by this!? The same thing with CPP! Only with CPP , your whole mouth is encapsulated with a milky fireball attacking all aspects of your mouth. Think about it. It's true! Don't sit there and tell me this has never happened to you. You buy one of those cheap microwavable CPP'S and you take it out of the wrapper. You then follow directions to the T , and then you take it out of the microwave. Wait... Bot here's the bad part! YOU DON'T WAIT! You are so hungry from that instant coffee and pre-sliced bagel from breakfast 5 hours ago, that you now toss that micro CPP right in your mouth. Without any hesitation whatsoever! CPP MOUTH!!! Enjoy some good neighbors and teachers with your homemade CPP sometime. You'll remember the friends and the CPP for many years!