CHICKEN PIE ...p56

"Exquisite"
"Tastes like chicken with cookies on top"
"This is delicious!"
and subsequent midnight raids on the refrigerator to savor what little was left.

And whoever said "less is more" hit it on the mark with this recipe.  With just six everyday ingredients, we enjoyed one of the most commented on meals of the book.  The dish was so simple to make that I thought it would be a flop - but it wasn't - everyone loved it.  The critic asked how I made the gravy - very impressive.  When I responded with Campbell's Cream of Celery soup, she was surprised, thinking it was far more complex. 

Let's face it, everyone loves the smell of chicken stewing in a pot.  Therein lies the most labor of the recipe - deboning the chicken - having accomplished that, the rest is easy.  But I made it a little more challenging by throwing the picked-over bones deep into the woods, hoping that I, like Linda, might attract a chupacabra.  Seems Linda has one lurking in her woods - sighted by both her husband and her separately....  Before she even knew about the legend, she described this eerie, frightening creature they saw devouring chicken bones she had put out at the woodline for her cats.  The description prompted a "that's a chupacabra" from my daughter.  Sure enough, looking at the internet picture confirmed the identification. I'll let you know if one shows up in our yard.

Hardy Appetit!

CHICKEN PIE

1 can chicken, boiled and deboned
1 can Cream of Celery soup
2 c chicken broth
1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 stick melted margarine
1 c. self-rising flour
1 c. milk

Place bite-sized pieces of chicken on bottom of 9"x13" pan.  Combine soup, broth and seasonings.  Pour over chicken.  Mix margarine, flour and milk in pan to smooth batter.  Pour over casserole.  Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until crust is golden brown.