For some people, home isn’t necessarily the place where they currently reside. Home is sometimes where their favourite memories are: their childhood home, college dorm, the first place they lived on their own, a local drop-in centre, or their vacation home. The expression, “home is where the heart it” is sometimes more than just an expression.

Something that is closely associated with home is comfort food. These are home made foods that have sentimental or nostalgic meaning. In Canada, some common comfort foods include Sunday roast beef, plain mashed potatoes, chicken noodle soup, pierogis, baked ham, holiday turkey, shepherd’s pie, and cabbage rolls.

Below is a quick and easy version of a classic comfort food, chicken pot pie.

Quick and Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Crust
1 box of two ready made refrigerated pie crusts (defrosted)

Filling
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ¾ cups chicken broth
½ cup milk
2 ½ cups shredded, cubed, or diced cooked chicken or turkey
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for a two crust pie.

In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Side dishes for pot pies usually consist of a light romain salad or mashed potatoes. Chicken pot pie can also be eaten on its own. For this recipe you can substitute frozen vegetables with any type of fresh vegetables you have on hand. You can also use beef as the filling. However you would need to use beef broth instead of chicken broth.

Yovella is a former resident of McCauley who still works and volunteers in the area.