How I Won My War With A 5lb Bag of Frozen Vegetables

You gotta love Costco. They really do offer great products at a fabulous price! Last time I was there, I purchased a 5 pound bag of ORGANIC frozen vegetables. How exciting to find organic veggies on the cheap! I proudly placed the bag in my freezer as soon as I got home. Ahh, this purchase definitely made me feel like a wise and terrific wife and mother.

As a few days passed, I contemplated what to do with my healthy selection. I settled on making a vegetarian dinner one night! I began happily sauteing a large portion of the veggies in some lime juice, garlic, white wine. After tasting it, I decided it still needed a little kick, so I went ahead and added some hot sauce, a little soy sauce, and a sprinkle of corn starch. Then I turned up the heat a little bit, and kept stirring.

What the heck was I doing?

As I was cooking, my daughter Jen came in and said: "What's that smell?"  Trying to salvage my dignity, I simply told her that we were having an Organic Veggie Stir Fry with Rice for dinner. Silence. Uh oh. Something was telling me that this meal wasn't heading in the direction that I was hoping.

The four of us quietly suffered through the strange tasting meal. My dog wasn't even hanging out under the table waiting for scraps like she usually does. My husband was trying desperately to be enthusiastic about it. Suddenly, I could not stand the silent tension for one more minute..... I said "I hate this dinner! No one has to finish it! Let's just put the rest in the trash!"  The smirks and giggling confirmed that I was not the only one who thought it tasted gross.

Those stupid vegetables! And the worst part was, there was still TONS more vegetables left in the bag!  Could I secretly just throw them away?   No...I couldn't just waste perfectly good organically grown food. What was I gonna do?

I thought long and hard, and then it came to me. How about Chicken Pot Pie? We were having friends over to watch the Grammy Awards. I was determined to make personal Chicken Pot Pies for everyone! I combined ideas from a few different recipes, and then immediately got to work.

So I guess you are wondering what happened. Well, the pies looked amazing and tasted terrific! I felt good about serving up a healthy one dish meal while simultaneously conquering my fears....about a 5 lb bag of veggies. Here is my recipe.

Chicken Pot Pies 
(This recipe is good for 6 very large personal pies, or 8 regular size personal pies.)

2 boxes of puff pastry sheets (found in the freezer section), thawed
3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and cut into cubes.
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 cup chicken broth
7 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
4 cups of mashed potatoes (homemade or store bought)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray Pam in bottom of pie plates. Roll out the puff pastry sheets a little, and line each pie plate with enough to cover the bottom and sides, as well as overlap over the top of the pie a bit, as well. (See photos) Whip together the mashed potatoes, cream cheese and chicken broth until fully blended. Then add chicken and veggies; make sure everything is mixed well.

Divide evenly amongst pie crusts, and then fold puff pastry over the top. Spray a little Pam on the top.

Place them in the oven for 40 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Wanna know something a little scary? My 5lb. monster bag of

organic veggies STILL isn't empty!! 

Hear ye, Hear ye! Chicken Pot Pies for everyone!!