Baking State of Mind

So this week we had weird weather. Last Friday we had snow and wicked high winds.

Since then it all melted, we had some warmer weather, some heavy rains, it turned cold again, in the 20's, and now it's snowing again. This is the weather we expect here.

Weather like this makes me want to stay in the kitchen with the oven on.

So, I've been baking.

 

I made focaccia.

 I never made it before, but it was easy. I just mixed the dough together, then kneaded in sun dried tomatoes and basil.

Then I put chopped prosciutto and Parmesan cheese on top.

This recipe called for making eight individual breads. I think next time I will either make a huge one on my jelly roll pan, or make two big rounds. One time we bought some fresh focaccia at the farmer's market downtown and they were thick rounds, almost like a cake. Perhaps I could put it in a spring form pan. Any ideas from anyone on that?

 

I took some time out to go to a great basketball game...

...made a banana bread...

...and made a chicken pot pie.

Now, I will admit, this pie is the lazy cook's chicken pot pie, but still delicious. It always seems to hit the spot.

When Big V was the only V and was brand spankin' new, my sister-in-law Donna brought over this pie for us to put in the freezer for a day when I was too harried to cook. (I have to say, V was born in February, and I was harried until July.) She also included the recipe in the package and I've been making it ever since.

Veg-All Chicken Pot Pie

1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of celery or cream of potato soup

1 16oz can Veg-All, drained

2 cups cooked diced chicken, or one large can canned chicken or two small

1/2 cup milk

shake of thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

1 egg, beaten

2   9in pie crusts

Combined soup, veggies, chicken, milk, thyme and pepper in a medium sized bowl. Place one pie crust into the bottom of an 8 in pie pan. Spoon filling into the crust. Cover with second crust, crimp edges to seal. Slit top of crust and brush with egg, if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 min.

Let cool 10 minutes before cutting.

Note: In my area it has been hard to find Veg-All lately, so I just buy a can of mixed vegetables and it does the trick.

Try it! It's really easy to make.

Have a good day! :)