I am going to use the pre-baked puff pastry idea myself in the future. Here is a to-die-for recipe for chicken potpie from Ina Garten. When I made it, I just used a "red box" pie crust (I'm so NOT a baker). I baked the filling as a whole double-crusted pie. Even though I used a deep dish pie plate, I had filling leftover. I froze that. Can't remember if I've used it yet or not - I'll have to go look lol! Ingredients: 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on 3 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade 2 chicken bouillon cubes 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions) 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup heavy cream 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups) 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves For the pastry: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well. For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot. seagrass

Caminnc, wow azaleas already in bloom! My daffodils and crocuses are peeking up from the ground but I think the cold days we've been having in the meantime have been keeping them in check. You're welcome for the recipe. If anyone wants a copy of the book I got it from, it came from the Dollar General and it's called Quick And Easy Family Baking-Cakes, Cookies, Pies & Breads That Anyone Can Bake. It's a brand new book (Copyright September 2011) and it has all sorts of hints and tips along with the recipes. In an earlier post of mine, someone mentioned they enjoyed my threads. I thank you and everyone else who's been helpful and kind to me here and the rest of GW. I just wanted to say cooking and gardening are two of the brightest spots in my life right now. I enjoy these hobbies with utmost happiness and I'm always glad to help out everyone in any way I can. I'll cherish them for as long as I can. A funny story about the cake mix and the pie filling. They're slightly larger than what the recipe calls for. The pie filling can is 21 ounces and the cake mix box is 18.25 ounces. A little more to go around LOL :). Brad AKA Moonwolf

Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Pie 1 fryer, cooked, meat taken off bones, cut in bite-sized pieces 2 hard-boiled eggs 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 1/4 cups chicken broth 1 cup self-rising flour 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup butter, melted fresh ground black pepper Heat oven to 375 F. Grease a 9x113 casserole. Put chicken in the bottom of the casserole. Top with sliced eggs. Bring broth and soup to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over chicken and eggs. In a bowl combine the flour, buttermilk, butter, and pepper. Mix well. Pour over chicken/sauce. Bake 45 minutes at 375F. Serve with a green vegetable or salad and don't forget the cranberry sauce. Freezer Stash Meatballs 3 lb.s lean ground beef 1 1/2 c. soft bread crumbs 3 eggs 6 TB minced onion 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 t. salt 1/2 t. pepper Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl mix all ingredients together. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Arrange in 2 large shallow baking pans. Bake in preheated oven until meat is browned with no trace of pink and juices run clear, 10-13 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Let cool to room temperature, Store one day in frig or longer in freezer. Makes 48 meatballs to serve 8. Sweet and Sour Meatballs Heat 12 oz. grape jelly and 1 bottle chili sauce in a saucepan until jelly is melted. Add in meatballs, let them heat 15-20 minutes in sauce on low. Serve over cooked rice. You may add some dried onion soup mix to the sauce at the beginning, but I don't like a whole package as it is too strong. Meatball Hoagies Simmer cooked meatballs in Preggo spaghetti sauce (or your favorite brand of sauce). Put on toasted hoagie rolls, top with grated mozzarella cheese. Serve with fresh veggie sticks and a dip for a quick dinner. Green Chile Enchiladas 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef 3/4 c. finely chopped onion 1 TB chili powder s&p 8 to 12 flour tortillas 3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 1/2 c. sour cream 1 small can chopped green chiles Brown ground beef with onion. Drain fat off. Stir in chili powder, s&p. Spoon meat mixture and some grated cheese on each tortilla. Roll up, put in a greased baking dish. Combine soup, sour cream, and green chiles, spoon over enchiladas. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, top with more cheese, bake 10 minutes more. Can be made ahead and frozen. Thaw completely before final baking.

I just found this one and it looks like a winner. Ultimate Breakfast Casserole: 12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 4 cups cubed bread 1/2 cup butter, melted 2 cups cheese, grated 8 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup sour cream salt and pepper to taste additions, to taste You can substitute 3/4 pound (or 1 1/2 cups) sausage or ham or ground beef or Whatever you have! You can get away with 1/4 cup butter. Or even margerine. If you must. I would never!! If you don't have any sour cream, you can use 2 cups milk instead. Add 1 cup chopped sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables, if you like. This is, as you can see, like so many of my recipes, a standard that you can rely on to then change to suit your own family. I love recipes like that. How do I come up with recipes like this? I take recipes from other places and start changing them to suit my family, and over the years, as our tastes and their ages change, I adjust them. I sometimes forget where recipes come from to start with. (And really, this is a very ordinary recipe what's special about it is how you can make it your own.) The important part is the standard, the quantities that work within the recipe. Once you deconstruct that part, the recipe is anything you want it to be. I hope you'll make it something that is perfect for your family. Try it! You'll like it. (Note: You can also easily cut this recipe in half, if that suits you, and bake it in an 8x8 pan. I've never done that, but there is no reason you can't (I would recommend watching the baking time as that would probably not take as long.) Cook and crumble bacon; set aside. Cube bread. Grease a 9x13 pan. As you can see, 4 cups of cubed bread to meis 4 overflowing cups. I cut big cubes, and that makes a difference in what fills up a cup. Also, I'm using thick-sliced Grandmother Bread. If you're using a different sort of bread, it might be different for you, so adjust accordingly. You want the bread to loosely cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan. When I lay it out in a 9x13 pan, here is what the bread cubes look like. Melt butter (or margerine) and pour over the bread cubes in the pan. Toss with shredded cheese. I'm using a Mexican Fiesta blend. Use whatever cheese you like. Whisk eggs, milk, and sour cream. If you're adding sauteed vegetables, add them to the eggs, milk, and sour cream after you've whisked them. Add salt and pepper if you like. I use peppered bacon. Bacon is pretty salty, and it's peppered, so I don't add anything at this point. Pour mixture evenly over bread cubes and cheese. Sprinkle bacon (or whatever) over the top of the casserole. I like to toss chives over it, too. Then the teenagers start crying. "What is that green stuff?????" CHIVES. I grew them, chopped them, and froze them. It makes me happy to use them. I love them. The teenagers just barely let me get away with that. Or most likely, by the time I get done telling them all that, they want to smack me and just get on with the pigging out. Cover with foil. You can cook this right away, or let it sit in the fridge overnight. Bake at 325-degrees, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes. Here is a link that might be useful: ultimate breakfast cass