TV dinner, in a jar?

How cute are these individual pot pies?! I love the idea of serving dinner in a jar. The kids loved getting their very own portion & what is especially nice about preparing pot pies this way is you can easily add and take away veggies according to people’s likes and dislikes. This time mushrooms were the optional ingredient. I knew the kids would not want them…so I spared them the misery ((sparing them spared me–haha!!)).

The very best part of this meal was breaking into the flaky crust. Big buttery chunks of hot pastry fell into the saucy filling. My first bite instantly reminded me of when we used to have TV dinners as a kid. We would all sit around the living room eating our personal pre-portioned meal out of our very own aluminum tray. Although we didn’t sit around the TV while we ate, in honor of that memory, I decided to turn on my Bible app and we all listened to Matthew chapter 26. It led to a nice conversation – all because we ate individual savory pies that reminded me of TV dinners and watching “V” or “The Wheel” or the Huxtables…or my fav… “Magnum PI”.

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I have a few tips that make preparing chicken pot pies a little simpler ((and quicker)) on a busy week night:

1 – Go to your mom’s house and ask her to make the white sauce, in return leave her enough potpie filling and crust to make 2 pies for their dinner… Because mom made the white sauce, and I didn’t measure what she did, I am sharing a basic white sauce recipe. The key is to use equal parts butter and flour when making the roux. Mom said “I should know how to make a white sauce…it is the first thing “they” teach in Home EC…” I didn’t take Home EC, because she didn’t let me — I had to take Calculus instead…I haven’t used Calculus in 18 years but, I sure could stand to know how to make a white sauce…hahaha!!

2 – Use a pie crust mix, or even a refrigerated crust…OR puff pastry that is a great idea ((if you are pie crust illiterate like I am–again goes back to Calculus)).

3 – Buy 2 rotisserie chickens from SAM’s and use all of the breast meat for the filling. (Save the dark meat for chicken enchiladas).

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4 – Use a bag of frozen veggie mix and frozen diced potatoes (I did not use frozen and dinner was delayed because of it— you certainly don’t have to, just throwing out there as an option).

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5 – Pre-cook your fresh veggies to reduce baking time.