love people; cook them tasty chicken pot pie

I do believe that some of the best food I ever put in my mouth was that which was brought to me after having my babies.  I don't know if it was because my taste buds (along with the rest of me) was in a state of hypersensitivity, or because the food was prepared by someone else, or maybe my serious sleep deprivation played a part.  No matter the cause, with both boys, the post-delivery meals were wonderful!

This Chicken Pot Pie recipe is one I have carried with me ever since.  I doubt you'll find anything terribly surprising in the ingredient list, but I contend the fresh thyme is what takes it over the top.  I just love it in this dish!  It's also particularly good if you have a little extra time and want to make the soups from scratch rather than using the canned... I'll share that in a future post.

If you're not using a deep dish pie pan, you can get two traditional-sized pies out of this recipe, which makes it incredibly easy to bless someone all while preparing supper for your own family.

I encourage you to think of a new mom who probably hasn't had a break since she came home with her newest bundle.  Maybe think of one who's even a couple of months into the journey and is just now realizing she may never get all ten of her fingernails painted ever again, or even one leg shaved, let alone two. Because those of us who've been there know our babies need us when they need us.  Period.  

Maybe you're needed at this very moment.  Grab a few items this week on your grocery run and go bless someone... goodness knows her "hypersensitive everythings" will thank you!

Chicken Pot Pie - makes two pies
Ingredients:

• 2 recipes/packages of your favorite double pie crust
• 1 10 oz box/bag of frozen vegetables, prepared according to package directions
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 can condensed cream of potato soup
• 2-3 cups chopped, cooked chicken (the fresh rotisserie chickens work great… LOTS of flavor)
• 1-2 tbsp. fresh thyme (adjust to your preference)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg yolk
• water
  
  ~ Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  ~ Place one pie crust in the bottom of each greased 9-inch pie pan and form up sides.  
      Set aside.
  ~ Mix together veggies, soups, chicken, thyme, salt, pepper, and milk.
  ~ Divide mixture between two pans evenly, and cover the tops of both pies with 
      remaining crusts.
  ~ Trim excess crust edges with kitchen scissors and press tines of fork on the edges
      around the pies to seal.
  ~ Cut slits in top of crusts to allow steam to escape as they cook.
  ~ Place pies on foil-lined baking sheet (to catch any overflow... learned the hard way)
      and cook until golden and beginning to bubble, about 45 minutes.
  ~ Prepare egg wash by beating egg yolk with a little water... just a splash.
  ~ Remove pies and brush tops with egg wash.  Cook an additional 10 minutes until a 
      deeper golden and sauce is beginning to emerge.