​I love pies and I have always liked a chicken pie over a beef pie. I love pastry also, so for me this is a great dish. 

The first time I made this I was not sure if the filling would be as flavoursome as I liked, but was I shocked, it had so much flavour it was amazing. 

The original recipe was for small pies but I sometimes I like to make large ones when feeding my family. 

The recipe originally used store bought shortcrust pastry for the base. But I made the switch from store bought shortcrust to homemade shortcrust as I like it better, the pie is amazing with the homemade pastry and it is so easy to make. But if you are short on time, use the Careme brand of pastry for the base as it is superior to other brands. Store bought puff pastry is fine though.

If you are making a large pie, you will have enough homemade pastry for the base and to use this pastry as your top also. It is great as a top to. The choice is yours. You can also just make 4 small pies with more filling in them, you don't need to make six, and then have two pies with a puff pastry top and two pies with the homemade pastry top as you will have some leftover pastry if you only make four pies.
​
Make sure you allow 20-30 minutes resting time for the pie. If you serve large pies straight away, they will be too liquid inside. Allow the cooling time.

So if you are looking for an easy pie recipe that tastes great, look no further.

​Recipe adapted from www.taste.com.au

Makes 4-6 small pies or 1 large pie

1 tablespoon olive oil
750g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cut into 3cm pieces
175g bacon rashers, rind removed, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g button mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup light cooking cream
​
Pastry base: for both large and small pies

150g butter, chopped
2/3 cup (160ml) water
375g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes

1-2 sheets of Borg puff pastry, for the tops of large pies
3 sheets of Borg puff pastry, for the tops of small pies
​
1 egg, lightly beaten
​
Sesame seeds, to decorate (optional)
​
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in batches, cooking for 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the bacon, cook, stirring, until golden. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms soften.

Return the chicken to the pan, add the flour, cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the stock, season with salt and white pepper. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the fry pan, simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Stir in the cream, remove from heat, taste for seasoning, cool. Once cool, if you feel it is a little to liquid, just stir in a little more flour, until it is thicker.

​To make the pastry, place the butter and water in a medium sized saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and add the flour and salt until a smooth dough forms.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. I kneaded it until had cooled.
​

Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced.

For small pies:
I make 4-6, 11cm (base) x 13cm (top) round pies. Lightly grease pie dishes. Divide the pastry into 6 even pieces. Roll the pastry out to 3mm thick. Line the pie dishes with the pastry, make sure you go up the sides and over the rim.

Spoon chicken filling into the pie dish.

Brush the pastry rims of the pies with some beaten egg.

For large pies:
My pie dish was 17cm (base) x 23cm (top), use what you have. Lightly grease the pie dish. If you are making one large pie, roll the dough into a circle 3mm thick that is large enough to cover the pie dish up the sides and over the rim. Place in a lightly greased pie dish.

Spoon chicken filling into the pie dish.

Brush the pastry rim of the pie with some beaten egg.
​
To cover, small pies:
Cut out one circle from each of the three puff pastry sheets that will be large enough to cover your pie dish. With the remainder of the pastry sheet, I cut it up into strips and lattice the pastry, I do this so I have no waste. You will have a small square of leftover pastry, cut out shapes and stick them on your whole rounds as decoration.

Pinch the pastry to the side of the pie dish to seal, make sure there are no gaps. Trim edge of pie carefully with a knife.
​​
​To cover, large pies:
Place 1 sheet of puff pastry over the filling, if not big enough, join an addition sheet to the pastry. Cut out decorations from the leftover pastry and decorate your pie, hide any joins.

Pinch the pastry to the side of the pie dish to seal, make sure there are no gaps. Trim edge of pie carefully with a knife.
​​
Brush pastry with egg. Make two or three small slits in the pastry. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.

​Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and puffed.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/chicken-mushroom-and-bacon-pies.html
Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694566040/

​​Give this or any of the cheesecakes above a go, they are simply amazing, the flavour, the texture, it is so good.

Recipe adapted from www.chef-in-training.com

Makes 1 loaf

1/4 cup (55g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
2 cups (300g) plain flour
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (250g) Nutella  
​
Preheat oven to 180C/160C. Grease and line with baking paper a 11.5cm x 21.5cm (base measurement) loaf tin.

In a large mixing bowl add the softened butter and sugar, beat until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the mashed banana, milk and vanilla extract, beat until well combined.

Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt, using a spoon, mix until just combined. Do not over mix.

In a medium bowl add the nutella and 1 cup of the banana mixture, stir well to combine. (You can heat the nutella in a microwave for 15 seconds before adding the banana mixture, I don't do this, but you can, to soften the nutella).

Add alternate spoonfuls of the nutella mixture and the banana mixture into your prepared loaf tin. Once it has all been added, use a knife to swirl the mixtures together, do not over swirl.

Bake for 1 hour or until it feels baked by pressing on the loaf in the centre, it shouldn't feel too soft, it can take an additional 10 minutes, depends on your oven, just start checking at the one hour mark. 

​Allow to stand in the loaf tin for 15 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Julie Goodwin's cookbook 'Gather'

Serves 4

1/4 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1.5kg chuck steak or gravy beef, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 long green chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1 litre beef stock


Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan forced.

Place the flour, cumin, chilli powder, salt and pepper in a large snap lock bag. Give it a shake to combine. Add the diced beef, shake the beef about to coat it in the flour mixture.

Heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a large enamel pot over a medium-high heat. Shake the excess flour off 1/4 of the beef (it will burn if you don't, reserve the flour in the bag). Add the beef to oil and brown, until golden on all sides. Transfer to a bowl, then cook the remainder of the beef in three more batches.

In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and sauté the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato paste and chillies, sauté a further 1 minute.

Return the beef to the pot, along with any flour left in the snap lock bag. Add the stock, give everything a good stir, bring to the boil.

Once it is boiling, place the lid on the pot and bake in the oven for 2 to 2.5 hours or until the beef is very tender. Take out of the oven, if the stew is too liquid, just place it on the stove top for about 10-20 minutes over low heat to thicken up. Just watch it and stir occasionally as it will thicken quickly and can catch on the bottom.

Serve over a bed of rice, a spoonful of salsa and a dollop of sour cream.​