Chicken, Leek & Bacon Pot Pies

I got the idea to make this when we had some leftover shredded roast chicken from our picnic. I did cook up fresh chicken pieces, but stirred in the leftover shredded chicken to the mixture before cooling. I never remove rinds from bacon, they're the best bits! It's also handy to have ground nutmeg and dried parsley in the pantry, so you can whip this up when you get a pie craving. I also ended up with enough chicken filling for 6 ramekins, and because I was only cooking for Nick and myself that evening, I only made pastry lids for two pies. I covered the rest with cling wrap for the fridge and freezer for future meals. Just bring those from the fridge to room temperature when ready, or defrost those from the freezer, then make your pastry lids and bake as below.

Serves 4

40g unsalted butter
1 tbs olive oil
3 leeks (pale part only), thinly sliced
4 bacon rashers, rind removed, chopped
800g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2m pieces
1 tbs plain flour
Pinch of nutmeg
200ml chicken stock
300ml light sour cream or creme fraiche
2 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbs lemon juice
4 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

Heat the butter and oil in a pan over low heat. Add the leek, bacon and chicken and cook, stirring, for 6-8 minutes until the leek is soft and chicken is almost cooked. Stir in the flour and nutmeg and cook for 1-2 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the stock, increase heat to medium and bring to the boil. Season, then remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream, parsley and lemon juice. Cool completely.

Preheat oven to 200 deg C.

Cut two 1cm strips from the sides of each pastry sheet. Set aside. Cut pie lids from the remaining pastry, 1cm wider than the top of four 300ml pie dishes or ramekins. Divide chicken among dishes. Press pastry strips around the rim of each dish to make a 'collar' and brush with some of the egg. Carefully top with pie lids, press firmly into the collar to seal, then trim edges if necessary. Make 2 cuts in each pie top, then brush with remaining egg. Bake the pies for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Lime-Kissed Stuffed Avocados

I seriously thought the planets were aligning when I found out that Sheryl Crow was releasing a cookbook. I've been a fan since I was 16 years old, and it was just perfect! Nevertheless, it took me a couple of months to wait for it to be available in local stores (because we want to support our bookstores), but it has never become available in Australia. So I got it online, because retail most times stock only what would sell, but forgets that money can be made with the less popular items. Anyway, I came across this recipe while we were on our recent summer road trip, and what better time to do it than when we've got friends together for Christmas lunch! It's easy to put together (even with a camp kitchen), and don't worry too much about making substitutes with spices and seasoning, just have it the way you like it.

4 ripe avocados
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2  teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons fresh store-bought salsa, preferably organic
Blue corn or flax seed tortillas, preferably organic

Cut the avocados into halves and remove pits. Carefully scoop the flesh from each avocado, leaving the skins intact so that you can refill them. Transfer the avocado flesh to a glass mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and pepper and mash with a fork or potato masher. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Spoon the avocado back into the scooped-out skins. Garnish the top of each with a tablespoon of fresh salsa.

Serve with organic blue corn or flax seed tortillas.