"Little chefs: Children start to cook younger than ever" was the title of an article I read recenlty online. Based on research done in the UK, the article continues on, "In fact, on average they now rustle up their first meal at only seven--five years earlier than their parents' generation did."
My son Jason, never liked to spend much time in the kitchen with me when he was growing up but now, he does a lot of cooking. Jason's son, Blake is getting started early as you know, if you have read any of my recent posts. At 3 1/2 years old, Blake helped me develop a new recipe for St. Patrick's Day celebrations and meals this year.
We titled our recipe, Shamrock-Topped Chicken Pot Pies. Every kid likes chicken pot pies, don't they? And, plently of adults love them too.
Here is our recipe:
In a bowl, mix cooked chicken, mixed veggies, chicken gravy and milk; spoon into four individual casseroles.
Unroll refrigerated pie crust onto a cutting board. Using a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter, cut out shamrocks of pie dough. Be sure to wear your Lucky Charms®T-shirt while doing this!
Place dough shamrocks onto chicken mixtue. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
I used gratin dishes but decided that they are too flat and the filling was too spread out and so, it dried out a bit.
For my next test, I tried several different 16-oz individual casserole dishes, including a small foil pan. All of these worked great and the chicken mixture stayed moist. The ones below have to go back into the oven to bake another 5 minutes or so to brown the pastry shamrocks on top.
Shamrock-Topped Chicken Pot Pies
(If your kids aren't crazy about mixed veggies, you can substitute corn or cut green beans for them.)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Start to Finish: 50 minutes
1 rotisserie chicken, skinned, boned, diced (about 3 to 3 ½ cups diced chicken)
1 package Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 jar (12 oz) chicken gravy
½ cup milk
1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Place 4 (16-oz) individual casseroles on 15x10-inch pan with sides.
2. In large bowl, mix chicken, vegetables, gravy and milk. Spoon mixture evenly into casseroles.
3. Unroll pie crust; place on cutting board. Using 3 1/4-inch shamrock-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 4 dough shamrocks. Place 1 on top of each pot pie.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until filling is hot and bubbly along edges and dough shamrocks are golden brown.
5. Sprinkle parsley over top of each casserole.
4 servings
Tip: If you are looking for a little more flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves to the chicken mixture.