Life goals and Chicken Pot Pie

A cool fall day seems to call out for comfort food. 

In this house, we eat a lot of soup. But somedays we need something more substantial. We need pot pie. 

I have tried lots of recipes for pot pie but this one makes me happy. I like the way there is no crust but a delicious layer of biscuit dough that bakes into the creamy gravy. 

Yea ... THIS!

This recipe comes out of Aunt Kate's only cookbook.... Mrs. Peterson's Simplified Cookbook. 

This cookbook was published by the People's Bottled Gas and Coke Company of Chicago. 

There I go .... just throwing out names. Like Aunt Kate. 

Aunt Kate was my great-grandmother's sister. 

I think she could be described as feisty, stubborn, determined and talented. According to family lore, she bicycled from Ohio to Illinois. 

She was an incredibly talented seamstress.  She owned two dress shops, one in Roseville, IL.

She is the sassy babe on the right! 

I never cease to drool over this photo. The building, the lace and the scissors that hang from chatelaines on their waists. 

Auntie, as she was known, broke a lot of barriers. 

After marriage ... she moved to San Francisco. Her only child died there .... she survived the great earthquake. Divorced, she came back to Illinois to care for my great-grandmother's children as great-grandmother battled tuberculosis. 

Somewhere, she ended up living with my grandparent, my mother and her sisters.  She gardened and sewed. And left behind bits and pieces of her live. A pair of knitting needles. A thimble. An old dresser. 

And Mrs. Peterson's Simplified Cookbook. 

Years ago, Granny (my grandmother) gave it to me. Tattered. Worn. No notes. No writing. But with this great recipe. Enjoy it on cool fall day. 

Meat Pie (and my notes/clarifications)

2 lbs meat (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs)

2 large potatoes

1 large onion

1 cup celery

3/4 cup diced carrots

(I add 8 ounces sliced mushrooms)

(I saute the veggies and meat in 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and other seasonings ... I add 1 tsp dried thyme and 2 tsp dried parsley. I cook it until the chicken is cooked through. I add 1/4 cup flour and cook. Add 2 cups chicken stock and cook until thicken.)

(At this point, I add frozen peas.)

The crust

1-1/2 cup flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp fat (lard or Crisco) 

Cut the fat into the dry ingredients and stir in the milk. Knead lightly on a floured board and roll out to 1/2". Cut to fit and cover the casserole dish.

Cut a few holes to let the steam escape. 

Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.