I've been spending the week crunching numbers, which makes a girl crave something a little more crunchy and tasty. How about...bacon cups? What a brilliant idea. There is a 100% chance I will make these for our next party. The possibilities for filling are endless!

In other news, the continued battering from Ye Olde Man Winter is starting to get me down. However, last week I invented a speedy way to make creamy and delicious chicken pot pie in a remarkably short period of time.

Short-Cut Chicken Pot Pie

1 grocery-store rotisserie chicken (I got the herb-rubbed chicken from Whole Foods)
1 bag frozen peas
1 bag frozen carrots, or whatever other veg you want. (I used mixed carrots & green and wax beans, which Otis didn't like that much. I thought the beans were tasty.)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Splash white wine
1/2 cup half-and-half
s&p and herbs and spices (I used thyme and marjoram)
Drop biscuit dough

a. Preheat oven to 350.
1. Make a roux with the flour and butter. add the garlic. Sautée in heavy pot until brown.
2. Slowly add chicken broth, stirring, so as not to form lumps
3. Add herbs, spices, s&p, any other seasoning you desire
4. Add wine
4. Simmer on med-low for 5 minutes
5. In the meantime, pull all the meat off the chicken and put it in a bowl.
6. Pour the drippings from the chicken into the sauce.
7. Snack on some of the chicken skin. Give some to the dog. Give some to Otis.
8. Add the half-and-half to the sauce, simmer for another 5-10 minutes until it seems the right creamy texture. Remember to stir once in a while!
9. Remove from heat, stir in chicken and frozen vegetables
10. Pour into large flat pyrex pan.
11. Make biscuit dough* and drop in large spoonfuls onto top of pot pie mixture
12. Bake in oven until biscuits are nice and brown and pot pie mixture is bubbly and hot, about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. In the meantime, catch up on your law school reading while drinking a Pabst.

* A note on biscuits. There is no need for bisquick. Seriously, people. Cut 1/4 cup butter into 2 cups flour, 1 T baking powder, and 1 t salt, add a cup of milk, mix with a fork. Ta dah!!

That's it! A nice cozy dinner requiring less than half an hour of prep time. I wonder if chicken pot pie would be good in bacon cups. I guess the filling would run out the holes...