Yes, the stuff from the can. Have to include it for shopping list purposes.

When making this dish, be sure to place the vegetables on top of the chicken after sautéing; that way, they won’t be crushed by the meat and will render their juices to the chicken. If you like, you can substitute two medium leeks for the onion in this recipe. To prepare leeks, trim the dark green leaves and root end, keeping the base intact. Quarter each leek lengthwise and rinse thoroughly. Rice pilaf makes a nice accompaniment. You can make this dish in a smaller sauté pan, but you will then need to brown the chicken in batches.

Make full-flavored, fresh-tasting chicken pot pie without spending all afternoon in the kitchen.

You can make the filling ahead of time, but remember to heat it on top of the stove before topping it. Mushrooms can be sautéed along with the celery and carrots, and blanched pearl onions can stand in for the onion. If you don’t want to make a pastry topping, make the related biscuit recipe, stamp out 8 rounds of dough, arrange dough rounds, over warm filling and bake as directed.

Always made with refried black beans, which is why I call them burritos. It just doesn’t taste right with just meat and veggies. I also like to serve this dish with spinach instead of crunchy lettuce, because it’s one of those things that you can easily sneak spinach into for the kids (as if they needed to grow any taller).

Serve with BBQ Chicken Pizza

Serve with Pea Salad

Cutting the sweet potatoes into slices of even thickness is important in getting them to cook at the same rate. A potato masher will yield slightly lumpy sweet potatoes; a food mill will make a perfectly smooth puree. The potatoes are best served immediately, but they can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and kept relatively hot for 30 minutes. This recipe can be doubled in a Dutch oven; the cooking time will need to be doubled as well.

The Davis Farmer’s Market is amazing. Everything’s fresh and smells good, and is in season. You can even get an entire bag of slightly deformed veggies for only $2. The Market is one of my favorite things about Davis – the boys love the kettle corn and the sunflower greens. Go figure. We found this recipe at the Market in fall 2004.