Chicken pot pie

I used to make the traditional chicken pot pie recipe found on the back of the Bisquick box. It was pretty good, fairly easy, but seemed to be lacking something. One thing I found troublesome about that particular recipe, was getting the biscuit topping to cook through. The last time I made it, the Bisquick left us with a goopy, doughy surprise. Yuck! I was traumatized and decided not to make that again.

Lucky for us, Cooking Light published a different take on chicken pot pie, and this one does not require Bisquick! I tried it, and loved it. I made one modification, and that was to add a bit of cheddar cheese, simply because everything tastes better with cheese. One thing I love about this recipe is it leaves fewer dirty dishes, and that is always a bonus. It is also a one dish wonder, since you get your protein, veggies and carbs all together!

This makes enough for both of us to eat for dinner, and usually leaves enough leftovers for both us to eat the next day for lunch.

I'll post a picture later, only because my sweet cousin told me pictures were a necessity!

Ingredients:

Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough

1 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 pkg (~ 10 oz) veggie chicken, cubed (veggie delight works great, found at whole foods/weaver street. I ended up using Morning Star's meal starter chicken strips, cut into chunks)

1 small onion, diced

1 package mushrooms, sliced

1 1/4 cup veggie broth

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies

10 1/2 oz. can cream or mushroom OR cream of celery soup

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

2. Cut 4 circles from pie dough. (I use a bowl so that crust fits on top) Grease baking sheet with butter/cooking spray. Place dough circles on sheet and sprinkle with salt and olive oil. Bake 10 - 12 minutes, until a golden color.

3. Heat olive oil in large pan over med - high heat. Add thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Saute onions and mushrooms until tender. Add veggie chicken, cook until just browning.

4. Add broth and soup. Add frozen veggies and cheese if you want it.

5. Simmer 10-12 minutes.

6. Serve in a bowl with the crust placed on top!

*I like the crust topping so much, that I will take the scraps, roll it into a ball, flatten it out, and make extra circles to bake. If you don't have a rolling pin, use a plastic cup or some other smooth rounded object that can be used like a rolling pin.