9 Days 11 Dollars: Dinner #4

Last night may very well have been a turning point in my career as a home cook.

I made chicken pot pie from scratch. Well, mostly from scratch.

If my grandmother is reading this she's surely shaking her head that such a thing is considered an accomplishment at all, but hey - the microwave was invented more than 40 years before I was born. I give myself kudos each time dinner does not come out of a box, the freezer or a drive-thru window.

My usual chicken pot pie is a cinch - rotisserie chicken from Publix, can of mixed veggies, can of cream of chicken soup, frozen pie crust. Cut, mix, cover, bake....BOOM! chicken pot pie. It's yummy and simple and hearty. I love to make a hearty meal, it gives me the sense that I'm fulfilling my womanly duties.

But with the Challenge going on, several of the key ingredients for this pot pie were missing. Namely cream of chicken soup and pie crusts. But I had leftover chicken from Dinner #1 and by George I was going to put it to work. It seemed so frugal, so me these days.

So I pulled out my leftover chicken, my can of veggies, some Bisquick, milk and butter, and 45 leisurely minutes later, Dinner #4 came out of the oven.

The recipe goes a little something like this (typed in full below if you could care less about pictures of my hands and stove.)

First you need to get some butter a meltin'. I used about 5 tablespoons, it just felt right.

Add 1/2 cup of Bisquick

...a dash of poultry seasoning, and bring it up to a boil.

(I'm sure any Thanksgiving-esque spices or just some salt & pepper would do just fine.)

Add 1/2 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup skim milk and stir until it's nice and thick.

Now you can dump in the leftover chicken you so frugally saved for this very purpose.

And toss in your mixed vegetables. These came from a can. They were yummy.

Now pile all the goodness into a baking dish - time to make the crust!

Soften some butter and throw it in a pot.

The very same pot if you're like me and hate to hand wash dishes.

The crust won't mind one bit.

Add a few tablespoons hot water to the pot and then stir in 1 1/2 cups of Bisquick.

At this point you'll have a slightly sticky dough

which you can just dollop all over your chicken/veggie mixture.

Pop her in the oven for 40 minutes or so....

then lavish yourself with praise for your culinary expertise while digging in. Yum!

Cost per serving: $1.49

Chicken Pot Pie

You'll need:

1 stick softened butter

2 cups Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

Poultry seasoning

1 1/2 cups leftover cooked chicken

1 can mixed vegetables

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

1. Begin by melting 5 Tbs butter in a saucepan

2. Add to this 1/2 cup Bisquick and several dashes of poultry seasoning, or a good shake of salt & pepper

3. Bring up to a boil, then add 1/2 cup chicken broth and 2/3 cup milk. Return to boil.

4. Mix in your leftover chicken and (drained) can of mixed vegetables.

5. Mix well and spread in baking dish

6. Place 3 Tbs softened butter in saucepan and pour 3 Tbs hot water over it, stir to combine.

7. Slowly add in 1 1/2 cup of Bisquick, stirring until a soft dough has formed.

8. Pat dough mixture in a thin layer over your chicken/veggie mixture

9. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until the crust has browned nicely.

Enjoy!