Chicken Pot Pie with Buttermilk Biscuits

True story.  When I was in college my friends called me Martha Stewart. It's hilarious to think about now but she was my idol and I worshiped her!  I imagined myself one day living in a posh country manner in the Hamptons picking fresh flowers out of my meticulously groomed perennial garden while a boysenberry pie baked to golden crumbly perfection in my professional grade European range.  It was delusional, I know.  But there was something about her ability to be both a domestic goddess and also a successful business tycoon that enchanted me.  At that time in my life she embodied the idea that women could have it all.

The truth was, at the time I had a lot to learn – About cooking and and about life.  I did, however, make a mean sweet tea and a crowd-pleasing, soul warming, chicken pot pie.  Let me first say that this pot pie recipe was by no means anything you'd ever find in the pages of Martha Stewart Magazine.  For one, it used store bought biscuit mix, frozen vegetables, and canned soup.  Also it didn't take hours to make or cost a small fortune in ingredients (I was, after all, a poor college kid).  But it fed a crowd and every plate was always clean so in my eyes, it was a success!

Since then I've continued to enjoy cooking and, you'll be glad to hear, have considerably advanced my technique.  But as a busy working parent I am keenly aware that "having it all" sometimes means not spending hours slaving over a stove when you could be enjoying time with your family.  Let's face it, weeknights are chaotic. With only so much time to get dinner on the table, I can still appreciate the genius of this simple recipe.  And with a finicky 4 year old at the table I can also appreciate a meal that I know will be a hit.  After all, what kid wouldn't love eating dinner out of their very own jar?

If you have a little more time or this recipe is a little too "Campbells soup can" for you (actually I'm pretty sure that's where I found the recipe originally) then use any favorite pot pie recipe to make the filling and top with puff pastry.  My favorite is Jamie Oliver's Chicken and Sweet Leek Pie.  The trick is to bake the last 15-20 minutes or so in the individual jars instead of in the pie dish.  Bottom line:  Young or old, having your very own pot pie in a jar is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

1.5 c cream of chicken soup
1/3 c cooked chicken breast 
1/4 c peas 
1/4 c carrots 
1 buttermilk biscuit (e.g. Pillsbury) or puff pastry dough

Bake at 350° for 18 minutes.