The Tate's Exquisite Chicken Pot Pie (est. 2014)

This was a very "on the fly" recipe with a lot of imagination, so it is neither quick nor precise - but it is certainly yummy!

Ingredients (more or less)
1/2 lb bacon
1/2 white onion
1/4 cup pearl onions
a splash of red wine
a splash of red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
a splash of worcestershire sauce
a pinch of black pepper
a pinch of salt
1 medium zucchini
2-3 large carrots
4 cups fresh mushrooms
4 garlic cloves
2 cups peas
2 chicken breasts
a splash of white wine
8 fresh sage leaves
2 pie crusts
you favorite cheese

Bacon paté:  This was inspired by watching "Mind of a Chef" on PBS and is basically the legal, food-form of crack cocaine...
Sauté 1/2 lb (extra smokey) bacon with 1/2 white onion until grease gathers and onion starts to brown. Drain most of the grease and reserve for later, then add red wine, red wine vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Let cook on low-medium for 5-10 minutes, then combine in food processor with some black pepper until it reaches the consistency of hot, delicious, play-dough. Set aside.

Filling:
Veggies: Chop, food process, or use As Seen On TV "Veggetti" (yes we actually own this) one zucchini and two large carrots and set aside. Saute mushrooms with garlic with some of the reserved bacon grease until mushrooms begin to decrease in size. Add some white wine and continue to sauté. Add pearl onions, fresh peas, zucchini and carrots and cook until done. Reduce to low heat, drain liquid then add 1/4 cup whole milk.

Chicken: Place 2 chicken breasts in a casserole dish with white wine, Worcestershire sauce, 8 leaves of fresh sage and two garlic gloves chopped in half. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and cook covered in the oven on 350 for 20-25 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove, shred with forks, and combine with veggies.

Put 'em All Together:
Place a pie crust in each pie pan and bunch up the excess crust around the rim. Divide the chicken/veg combo into each pie crust. Split the bacon paté in half and smear over the top of each pie. Layer the top of each pie with your favorite cheese (I used Trader Joe's lactose-free yogurt cheese). Place pies in oven and cook for 45 minutes total on 350 (I rotated each from top rack to bottom rack every 15 minutes, mainly because I didn't know how long the crust would take to cook and didn't want to burn the cheese).

California Avocado Breakfast Casserole

Recipe: California Avocado Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

• an 8 ounce pack of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• about 10 slices cooked bacon, cut into bite sized pieces(I prefer Trader Joe's "Ends and Pieces" - so smokey and heavenly!)
• 1 cup shredded hash browns – thawed (or if you have a food processor just shred potatoes in it!)
• 1 Avocado, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk(lactose free in my case)
•  salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Lightly spray with cooking spray a 9×13 glass cake pan. Press crescent rolls on bottom and up sides of pan to form the crust.
2. Layer bacon, hash browns, California avocado, and tomatoes on top of crescent roll dough.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Pour egg and milk mixture over the top of other ingredients in the 9×13 pan.
4. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle Kosher salt and cracked black pepper over to taste. Serve and enjoy!

This recipe is great because you could really add anything you wanted as long as you include the crescent roll crust and the egg+milk combo. Make it Italian and do Italian breakfast sausage, basil, and Parmesan! Go Greek with feta, artichokes, and maybe some olives! throw in some jalapenos, sals and cilantro and you've got a Mexican breakfast casserole! I mean, it's breakfast - enjoy yourself for cryin' out loud!