Genevieve Chops Mushrooms

She loves helping in the kitchen.  We'd have to get to the breakable dishes and the sharp knives sooner or later (I recall, cringing, that I once broke FIVE of my mother's serving dishes at the same time when I was on dish drying duty).

This is the second time I allowed her to cut mushrooms with a paring knife and a cutting board.  Except for her snail pace, she's an ideal helper.

The mushrooms went into chicken pie, which I adapted loosely from Country Living.  Essentially, you make creamed chicken in an iron skillet and then lay a disc of pie dough on top.  Bake for about a half hour.  I really liked the ratio of crust to filling - sometimes a full crust pie for an entree is too rich.

Updated for Beth:

This really is a plan, not a recipe.  Hopefully easy to tweak.

In a 10 or 12 inch iron skillet, saute an onion and 1-2 sliced carrots and something like celery or green pepper.  Maybe some mushrooms. 

Sprinkle with 2 Tbs. flour.  Allow to brown a bit - a few minutes, stirring. 

Pour in, while stirring, 2 cups chicken stock and something dairy:  a glug of cream or milk or some dry milk powder.  Cook, stirring, until thick and bubbly (you've just made a white sauce). 

Add 1-2 cups diced cooked chicken (you've just made creamed chicken).  Check seasonings and add salt, pepper, sage, parsley, etc.  You could stop here and eat this creamed chicken over toast, cornbread dressing, or mashed potatoes. 

To make a chicken pie, just make one recipe of pie dough (I use one 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1/3 c. shortening, salt, and ice water).  Roll out to the diameter of the iron skillet.  Lay the dough gently over the creamed chicken, cut some vents in the dough and optionally brush with 1 beaten egg for a nice shiny crust.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until you see some bubbling action at the sides and vents.