Bad Bites: Donut Mystery #16 (The Donut Mysteries) (20 page)

Momma’s
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

It’s easy to see why chicken pot
pie is a favorite around Momma’s table, and ours, too.
 
When we have leftover chicken, this is
the go-to meal that gives it an entirely different life!
 
You can make your own crust for this,
but I like the premade refrigerator kind.
 
They are just as tasty as mine, and a whole lot easier to use.
 
For sides, you can’t beat cranberry
sauce, and some lima beans really top off the meal for my household.

Ingredients

1 cup chicken, cooked and cut up
into bite-sized pieces, light, dark meat, or a mix of the two, depending on
preference and availability

4 tablespoons butter, unsalted

1 box or bag of mixed vegetables
of your choice, any frozen mix, about 12 to 19 oz.
 
We use the blend with corn, peas,
carrots, and green beans.

4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose
flour

2 dashes table salt

2 dashes pepper

1 1/4 cups milk (whole, 2%, or
1%)

1 pie crust, from the frozen
section for a quick meal

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425° F.
 

While you’re waiting for the
oven to preheat, melt the butter over low heat in a large skillet.
 
While the butter is melting, defrost the
veggies in the microwave, and if you’re using a store-bought crust, let that
rest on the counter at room temperature until you’re ready for it.
 
When the butter is melted, remove the
pan from the heat and add the flour, salt, and pepper, combining it all thoroughly
until it’s all incorporated.
 
Put
the pan back on low heat and cook this flour/butter mixture for 2 to 3 minutes,
stirring repeatedly.
 
Next, add
enough milk (3 to 4 tablespoons) to the pan to make a smooth mixture.
 
Stir this constantly, still on low
heat.
 
When the mixture is smooth,
add the rest of the milk and turn the heat to high, stirring constantly now.
 
When the first bubbles begin to form,
remove the pan from the heat altogether and continue stirring.
 
Now it’s time to add the chicken and frozen
veggies, mixing them all in thoroughly.
 
Transfer the mixture into an 8- or 9-inch
pie pan and cover the top with a store-bought crust (or the handmade one you
made ahead of time using the directions written on the next page), pinching the
edges and cutting slits in the top of the crust to let the steam escape during
the baking process.
 
Now’s the time
to gently wash the top of the crust with egg white for a shinier crust if you
like before the pie goes into the oven.
 

Bake the chicken pot pie in the
425° F oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the crust on top is golden
brown.
 
Take it out, let it cool for
five minutes, and then it’s ready to serve!

Serves 4 to 6 people, depending
on the serving size

Author’s Note:

Sometimes I like to make my
chicken pot pies in smaller, one-serving portions using bowls that are oven safe.
 
These can be festive during the
holidays, when I also tend to get a little fancier with the crusts, making
lattice patterns or cutting out sections of the dough with small cookie cutters
before baking.

Momma’s
Homemade Pie Crust

My late, truly great mother-in-law
taught me how to make these crusts.
 
As hard as I’ve tried, I’ve never gotten one to come out as wonderfully
as hers, but they are still pretty tasty, and it hasn’t stopped me from trying!

Ingredients

1/3 cup lard (Yes, I just wrote
lard
.
 
If that’s too much for you, grab a
ready-made crust from the store.
 
I
won’t tell if you won’t!)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 dash salt

3 to 4 tablespoons water

Directions

In a small bowl, work the lard
into the flour/salt mixture with a fork until you’ve formed pea-sized
pellets.
 
Next, sprinkle in the
water, one tablespoon at a time, and work that into the pastry as well.
 
Once that’s all been incorporated, add
more cold water slowly in 1-teaspoon increments until the mixture pulls away
from the side of the bowl and the flour is incorporated into the dough.
 
Be careful not to add too much water too
quickly, or you’ll have a gooey mess on your hands.
 
When you’re happy with the results, form
the pastry into a ball, and then flatten it with a rolling pin to ¼- to ½-inch
thickness.
 
It’s ready to use now,
but if you’d like, you can store it in a ball in the fridge for a few hours
before you need to roll it out!

Hot Chocolate Delight Donuts

This donut is based on the one
Suzanne created in this book.
 
While
I know that my offerings can never match hers, we like these, especially in
cold weather.
 
I just had to offer
this recipe so you’d have at least one new donut to try!
 

Ingredients

Dry

1 cup bread flour (unbleached
all-purpose flour can be used as well)

½ cup hot chocolate mix (see
recipe, or use a store-bought powder)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8
teaspoon salt

Wet

1 egg, beaten

½ cup chocolate milk (2% or
whole preferred)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the dry
ingredients (flour, hot chocolate mix, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg,
cinnamon, and salt) and sift together.
 
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients (beaten egg, chocolate
milk, butter, sugar, and vanilla).
 
Slowly add the wet mix to the dry mix, stirring until it’s all incorporated,
but don’t overmix.

Bake in the oven at 350° F for
10 to 15 minutes in cupcake trays or small donut molds.
 
I bought a dedicated donut baker that
sits on my countertop, and I absolutely love it.
 
It’s easy to use, reliable, not
expensive at all, and makes perfect donuts every time. These donuts usually
take 6 to 7 minutes to make.
    

Once the donuts are finished,
remove them to a cooling rack.
 
After
they cool just a bit, they can be covered with chocolate icing or a chocolate
glaze with chocolate sprinkles for an extra jolt, but actually, they are good
enough to eat as they come out of the oven.

Makes 5 to 9 donuts, depending
on baking method

If you enjoy Jessica Beck Mysteries and you would like to
be notified when the next book is being released, please send your e-mail
address to 
[email protected]
.

Your e-mail address will not be shared, sold, bartered,
traded, broadcast, or disclosed in any way. There will be no spam from us, just
a friendly reminder when the latest book is being released.
 

Also, be sure to visit our website at
jessicabeckmysteries.net for valuable information about Jessica’s books.