Recipe: Pot Pie

Our dear friends had their first baby a few weeks ago so I decided to make up some easy to freeze meals for them. When I had the boys the absolute best gifts were prepared dinners. I didn't have to worry about going to the store, cooking or cleaning up a big mess. It was so nice to just sit down and eat, especially when I was trying to juggle a newborn and a toddler. I decided to make double batches of the meals so we could have quick homemade dinners this week. Today I made stuff shell pasta, pot roast with carrots and potatoes and pot pie. I have to share this pot pie as it was so darn easy and it tastes pretty darn good! I didn't bake this pot pie, I just popped it straight into the freezer. Tomorrow night I will throw it in the oven and let it bake while I enjoy a clean kitchen! Note: I didn't measure much of anything, I just kinda threw a bunch of ingredients together based on what I thought sounded and looked good. Adjust as needed to fit your dietary needs.

Ingredients
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
Diced onion (I used about half of a small yellow onion)
Diced potato (I used four medium sized potatoes)
3.5 cups frozen veggie mix (I used green beans, sweet peas, carrots and corn medley, you can always use                                               fresh veggies, but I was strapped for time)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup low fat half and half
Chicken breast, cooked and diced (I boiled 3 large boneless skinless breasts & cubed them)
Pie crust (I used a Pillsbury pie crust because I was too darn busy to make one!)
Salt, pepper, minced garlic to your liking

Directions
1. Melt butter in a large, deep skillet or pan. Toss in onion, potato and veggies. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and minced garlic. Stir often so they do not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. You'll want to cook this a good 15-20 minutes or until tender.

2. Sprinkle flour into veggies and mix well.

3. Slowly pour broth into the veggie mix. Slowly add in half & half. Mix often until mixture is thick and bubbly and heated all the way through. Then add in the chicken and heat all the way through.

4. Pour mixture in a large round casserole dish OR pour into two smaller dishes (I used two 8x8 pans).

5. Unroll pie crust and place on top of mixture. I used two 8x8 dishes and one crust fit perfectly on top (I fluted the edges). Cut a few slits on top so the steam can escape while baking.

6. This is where I just placed my dishes into the freezer to eat one night this week. You can pop this right into a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes. If you notice the edges of the crust getting too dark, you can wrap it in foil.

Serve this with a salad for a super tasty, easy dinner!