Chicken pies

A couple of weeks ago I did a big freezer cook-up. Sadly we've eaten most of the contents now and I need to start fresh.

Anyway one of the things I made was chicken pies. I made a chicken and mushroom and a chicken and asparagus. These were very cheaty pies because I bought frozen pie shells and used pre-made puff pastry.

I cooked the basic mix - chicken, onion, herbs and separated it adding mushrooms to half and asparagus to the other. Then I sprinkled in flour, a dash of wine and cream.

The filling for two pies took about 20 minutes. I filled the pre-made pastry cases. topped with pastry, brushed with egg and sprinkled with poppy seeds. Each pie cost about $3-4. The local chicken shop sells the same size chicken pies at $12 each.

Chicken and asparagus pie

Chicken and mushroom pie

It's a simple method rather than a recipe that anyone can follow.

And when dinner time rolls around a couple of weeks later it's a very quick and easy job to throw the pie in the oven and add some sides.

The power of the freezer

I have been a bit off the air the last few days. Friday was a big day on the harbour and then friends for dinner. Then I woke up with a truly disgusting head-cold. What is it about a summer cold that makes it seem so much worse? It just doesn't feel right to want to snuggle up under a blanket on a hot day.

Of course my lovely family are in complete holiday mode and not very proactive on the cooking front. Oddly enough they're pretty good most of the time but some how when life has no schedule it can be six o'clock and no one had even thought about dinner.

This is when having a few meals in the freezer ready to go is a a true life-saver. Tonight we're having stuffed peppers I froze in December. All my lovely husband had to do was get them out and turn on the oven. Nice and easy.

There are lots of ways to get extra meals in the freezer but the simplest is to simply make a double batch of something when you are cooking dinner. Just double the meatball recipe, make some extra soup or as I did fill a few extra peppers with stuffing and you will be set for nights like these. We could get take away food but we generally don't eat take-out (that's a whole other post for another time) but this is quick and convenient and saves us money.

Some other options are:
- pre-made hamburger patties and buns
- minute steaks for steak sandwiches
- spaghetti bolognese
- taco meat (for tacos, burritos etc)
- a curry

What do you keep in your freezer for emergency meals?