Perfect for a picnic or dinner around a fire....

I have to say that this is one of my favorite things to eat and its considerably healthy and best of all, its portable.  And we all know that I love portable food!  A couple of months ago, I decided to indulge and buy myself a little something ... not shoes or clothes .... but a Breville Pie Maker from Williams Sonoma.  Oh my gosh do I love this thing.  How could I not ... its makes my favorite treat in the world ... a pie (or an individual pie I should say) in about 4 minutes.  Yes, you read that correctly ... 4 minutes.  Now you have to keep in mind that doesn't include the time it takes to make the filling or the crust but it is very simple and I absolutely love it. 

Anyway, I have been experimenting with it alot lately and not only have I been whipping out fruit pies but I also made some really exceptional pot pies that are fun to wrap in some wax paper and slip into a picnic basket and eat just about anywhere you want.  And they are beautiful, as well as, tasty!  Go figure!

The ones you see in the image to the right happen to be chicken pies but you can do just about anything from veggie pies, beef pies, enchilada pies to chicken pesto.  Basically, all you have to do is start with a base ingredient like chicken and add all the yummy complimentary veggies and then make a thickened sauce that will tie it all together.  Cheese and other things are optional.  Below, I decided to pass on a basic recipe for a chicken pie that you might like to try.  

Chicken Pot Pie

Favorite pie Crust (rolled out into two rounds)
2 chicken breasts (chicken chopped into bite sized pieces)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chopped thyme
1/2 tsp chopped sage
2 carrots cut into bite size pieces
2  potatoes cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of frozen corn
1 cup of frozen peas
1 cup of green beans
1/4 cup sour cream
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup

Cook chicken breast in a large sauce pan with 1 cup of water.  Bring to boil.  Add salt, pepper and chopped sage and thyme.  Add carrots, potatoes and celery.  Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.  Add corn, peas and green beans.  Continue to cook for 4 more minutes.  Remove from heat and sour cream and soup.  Stir until well combined. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a pie tin with 1/2 of the pie dough rolled into a circle.  Pour the chicken and veggie mixture into the crust.  Top with the remaining pie round and seal the edges.  Cut a couple of slits in the top of the crust for venting. 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned.