Chicken Pot Pie

I laughed just now as I looked at the name of the recipe I'm about to type out. The author, Laura Calder, calls it "Chicken Pot Pie for the Perfectionists." Well, that's an understatement. This recipe is the longest recipe I have ever made for something that T tells me I could buy for $9.99 at Costco. I will argue up and down now though, having made it, that you cannot even begin to compare the two.

I didn't think of this recipe as a challenge. It's chicken pot pie, after all, not a dish I'm unfamiliar with. But it definitely was a challenge in cooking endurance. And if you think you can cut corners, don't. It is the detail in this recipe that makes it a truly incomparable pie. When all was said and done, this recipe took me two days to make, so if you do decide to do this, you need to be organized and have the time to dedicate to this. In fact, you'll even need some decent time to sit down to read through the ingredient list, let alone the instructions. So, grab a coffee and maybe a snack and settle in. Here goes:

Chicken Pot Pie for the Perfectionists
Makes 2 pies, 8-10 servings in all

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 1 chicken, about 3 pounds, whole
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp butter, softened

For the Enriched Stock

• 1 large carrot, halved
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 celery rib, roughly chopped
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 generous sprig of thyme
• a few sprigs of parsley
• 6 peppercorns
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 5 cups chicken stock

For the Crust

• Lard pastry

For the Garnish

• 3 carrots, sliced, about 2 cups
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 leeks, halved and sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 slices of bacon, cut in lardons
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 large handfuls of chopped fresh parsley

For the Sauce

• 3/4 cup white wine
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika, more to taste

To Finish

• egg wash

Directions

• For the chicken, heat the oven to 375 degrees F, set the chicken in a roasting pan, season with salt and pepper, rub with butter and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, discard the skin, remove the meat from the bird and set aside and put the carcass in a stock pot with the rest of the stock ingredients.
• Bring stock ingredients to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. Strain and reserve 2 1/2 cups of stock for the recipe. Chop the chicken meat into bite sized pieces. You should have about 5 cups.
• While the chicken roasts, make and chill the lard pastry, then prepare the garnish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it and blanche the carrots and celery until al dente, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and rinse in ice cold water to stop the cooking. Drain thoroughly.
• Heat the oil in a pan and saute the bacon, until cooked but not crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the leeks to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and cook 5 minutes, adding the garlic in during the last minute. Add the bacon, peas, parsley and reserved chicken meat. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the sauce, pour the reserved chicken stock into a saucepan, add the wine and bring to a simmer. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the warm stock and cook until thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cream. Add more cream if needed but without making the sauce too thick. Season well with salt and pepper and add in the paprika. Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables and mix gently to combine thoroughly.
• To assemble the pies, spoon the filling into two 9" pie plates. Divide the pastry into two disks, roll out rounds and lay over the filling, pressing to seal the edges. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
• Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Brush the tops of the pies with egg wash and cut three slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake 25 minutes. reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking until the crust is deeply golden and crisp, about 30 minutes longer.

Recipe from Dinner Chez Moi, by Laura Calder

Chicken Piccata

As I learn more about cooking, I'm also realizing that I gravitate towards certain kinds of flavours. I'm not one for spice, but I realize that spice-less does not have to mean taste-less. Lemon is one of my favourite flavours to cook with (as shown here and here). It's a bright flavour that can take a regular dish to the next level. Too much lemon though can easily overpower a dish so less is more, especially with this recipe. It won't look like you have a lot of sauce once it's reduced down, but it's intense and a little goes a long way.

I also try to cook with fresh ingredients as much as possible, but on the occasion that I have turned to bottled lemon juice (unless called for) the flavour simply doesn't compare with fresh.

From a preparation perspective, I finally got a reamer and it made juicing the lemons a million times easier, plus I got more juice than the good ol' hand squeeze method I was using.

Chicken Piccata
Serves 2

Ingredients

• 4 split (2 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• olive oil
• 3 tablespoons room-temperature butter
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), with lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup white wine
• sliced lemon, for serving
• chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking tray with parchment paper
• Pound out each chicken breast to 1/4" thickness (it will be so tender!) and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper
• Take three shallow bowls and put flour in one, eggs beaten in another and Panko bread crumbs in the third. Take each chicken breast and coating first in the flour, shaking off the excess, next dip in the egg and finally coat with the bread crumbs. Lay flat on the baking.
• Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add two chicken breasts and cook for two minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan while you cook the rest of the chicken. Heat more olive oil in the saute pan and cook the second two chicken breasts. Place them on the same sheet pan and cook for 10 minutes in the oven while you make the sauce.
• For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. On medium heat, melt one tablespoon of butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, reserved lemon halves and salt and pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about two minutes. Off the heat, discard the lemon halves and add two more tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. 
• Serve one chicken breast on each plate, spoon on the sauce and serve with sliced lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa at Home

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

One of the biggest kitchen challengs I have is how to dress up chicken. I wanted to use the flour tortillas I made, but since they were sort of time consuming, I was looking for quick to make with them. Months ago when I realized how much I loved Mexican, I tagged a recipe for lime chicken from http://www.allrecipes.com/ that fit the bill perfectly. 

This chicken was easy, refreshing and the lime added a nice light flavour to a simple meal. And, while this isn't how I made them, I bet it would be easy to let the chicken marinate all day in the sauce and then quickly cook them up when you got home from work for a fast and healthy weeknight meal.

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

Makes 8-10 

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 10 6" flour tortillas

Directions

• In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and cilantro.
• Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 10-12 minutes.
• Add vinegar mixture and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
• Serve lime chicken in warm tortillas topped with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, salsa and sour cream.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes

Chicken Enchiladas

I don't eat a lot of ethnic food and have a real aversion to spice (though I am working on it!), but I do love Mexican. I discovered it when we were on our honeymoon and have always been keen to make things on my own so I can moderate the spice to my palate.


This recipe was the perfect one to fill a Sunday afternoon, and it is a lengthy one, but well worth it. I used a whole roast chicken and made it the day before, so it cut down a little bit on the time. But I do like being in the kitchen for a few hours, just focusing on the ingredients. Nowhere else does time fly like it does in the kitchen. I blinked and I was putting these little guys in the oven and 40 minutes later I was enjoying them slathered with sour cream -- as all spicy food should be. 

These enchiladas were a real hit. Find the time and go make them. You'll thank me, for sure.

Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 4-6

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 tsp oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tsbp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 cooked roasted chicken, shredded 
• 1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded monteray jack cheese
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 soft tortillas

Directions

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat ad cook the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, a cook a few seconds. Mix in the tomato sauce, water and chopped tomato. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until slightly thickened, about five minutes.
• Strain the sauce through a large mesh strainer in to a medium bowl, pressing down to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the reserved solids to a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce (the liquid that was squeezed out) with salt and pepper. This is the enchilada sauce.
• Add the shredded chicken to the bowl with the onion and tomato mixture. Add in a 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 a cup each of the shredded cheeses and the cilantro. Stir to combine.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 9 x 13" baking dish with cooking spray. 
• Stack the tortillas on a plate and microwave for 45 seconds until warm and pliable. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture in the centre of the tortilla. Roll up the tortilla around the filling tightly and place in the prepared baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas.
• Place baking dish in the oven uncovered for 7 minutes until start to brown slightly.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and pour the sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheeses. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for another five minutes, until the cheese is browned.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

Chicken Stuffed with Roasted Red Pepper and Basil

Oh my. This chicken was a winner. I made this for our guests on New Year's Eve and it was a hit. 


The chicken was tender (I may have pounded out my frustrations of 2010 on it), the red peppers, basil and asiago were a perfect combination and the sauce, oh, the sauce, was amazing and really, the icing on the cake.


When we're having company over, I really love a make-ahead dish so I can spend time with them when they come over and I am not relegated to kitchen. This one I could do 85% in advance (i.e. stuffing the chicken), but I did have to be a little more attentive while cooking it as it's cooked on the stovetop. Next time, I probably wouldn't have had a salad course (which I couldn't enjoy as I was monitoring the chicken), and just do a traditional appetizer people can enjoy until dinner is served. 

Chicken Stuffed with Roasted Red Pepper and Basil
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 medium red peppers, roasted and skins removed, cut into thirds
• 20-24 fresh medium-large basil leaves
• 1 cup asiago cheese, shredded
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup white wine OR 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Directions

• Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise, being sure to leave a hinge. Pound to flatten slightly. 
• Open and sprinkle each breast with salt and pepper. Inside, evenly divide the red peppers, basil and shredded cheese. Fold breasts over using toothpicks to close them.
• In a large skillet, heat half the oil and cook chicken for seven minutes on each side until no longer pink. Remove to plate and set aside.
• In the same skillet, add remaining oil to pan, add onions and cook. Stir in wine for three minutes. Add the cream, salt and pepper. Simmer for five minutes until thickened.
• Return chicken to pan and cook for five more minutes until heated through.
• Serve breasts and top with wine sauce. Garnish with parsley if desired. 

Creamy Chicken Soup with Wild Rice

As a new cook, I don't yet read recipes with a full vision of what the end product will look or taste like. In some cases, this barrier has led to some really bad food, or a really stressful cooking experience. In others though, it has led to some amazing dishes. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but this soup definitely falls into the latter category.

I had no idea what to expect going into this one, but 888 people gave it five stars on www.allrecipes.com, so who was I to argue? The tipping point here, is the addition of a creamy white sauce flavoured by a rice seasoning packet (don't judge until you try it!) that makes this soup border on a stew. It is decadent and rich, hearty and delicious. 

I'd now like to master the art of bread so I can serve this up in a crusty bread bowl. Yum!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Serves 8

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 roast chicken (or you could use three chicken breasts, cooked), shredded
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalked, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 package long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cream (5 or 10%)

Directions

• In a large stock pot, melt the butter and sautee the onion, garlic, carrots and celery. 
• Add the broth, water and chicken and bring to a boil before adding the rice -- reserving the seasoning packet. Cover and simmer until rice is cooked.
• In a medium pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the seasoning packet, stirring until the mixture is bubbly. One tbsp at a time, add the flour to form a roux. Whisk in cream and milk until fully incorporated and smooth. Add in salt and pepper and cook until thickened, about five minutes.
• Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through.
• Serve with crusty bread or better yet, in bread bowls.

Recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com

Mango Chicken Curry

One of my favourite restaurants in Toronto is Salad King. They make the most delicious mango chicken that is sweet with a mango sauce full of chunks of mango and red and green peppers and served with a steaming side of rice. Due to a problem in the building, Salad King has been closed for months and I have been craving this delicious meal so to satisfy my craving, I turned to Google. I think mango chicken as I know it must be a Salad King original but I found a decent recipe on www.allrecipes.com.

This dish was more of a curry (and for those of you who don't know me well, spice and I are not super close), but since I was making it I could monitor the amount of spice I put in. This was also the first time I had cooked with coconut milk and I really liked how it added a light thickness to the meal. And, with the exception of the coconut milk, I had everything else on hand.

Overall, not exactly what I set out to make, but still a really good dish that I will certainly try again. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 medium green pepper, julienned
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup chopped, peeled mango
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (I used lite)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• hot cooked rice

Directions

• In a large skillet, saute onion and red and green pepper in oil for 2-4 minutes or until crisp tender
• Add the chicken, curry, ginger, garlic, salt and cayenne. Cook and stir for 5 minutes
• Stir in the coconut mil and tomato paste. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
• Add mango and simmer for a couple more minutes. 
• Serve over hot rice.

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com 

Chicken Fajitas

I love an easy weeknight meal that comes together with ingredients from my own kitchen. I have a dream that one day I'll menu plan so grocery shopping is more productive and meal-time less stressful, but for now, I'll just take it when I can create a healthy and satisfying meal from my items I already have. 

Fajitas are easy and can be personalized to any taste. I keep mine simple with lettuce, tomato, cheese and chicken, but feel free to add additional toppings. T, for example, added artichokes, olives and hot sauce. I'm trying not to judge.

These are also fun to serve at a casual party and have the toppings in separate bowls and let your guests put them together. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken (turkey or beef would work too)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 package of fajita seasoning (stay tuned for an at-home version to make)
• 1/4 cup water
• lettuce, shredded
• cheese, shredded
• tomatoes, diced
• sour cream and salsa
• tortillas (once I get a cast iron skillet, I'm going to make these tortillas)

Directions

• Brown ground chicken until no longer pink and drain off any excess liquid
• Add diced onion, seasoning and water and simmer for a few minutes
• Warm tortillas in the oven 
• Add chicken to tortilla and add preferred toppings, such as lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream and salsa
• Wrap tortilla pulling bottom up (perpendicular to line of toppings), then fold in sides to create a leak-free fajita
• Serve with a fork -- in case the leak-free fajita, well, leaks

Chicken Stuffed with Havarti and Asparagus

Asparagus is in season and I'm looking for ways to use this delicious vegetable. As a new cook, I am usually a stickler for a recipe, but I branched out and adapted a chicken cordon bleu recipe and instead of stuffing chicken with swiss cheese and ham, I used havarti and asparagus. In a word? Awesome.

This, I think, is the start of a slate of stuffed chicken recipes. Any recommendations?

Ingredients

• five chicken breasts
• five slices of havarti (from the deli)
• 10 spears of fresh asparagus
• 1 egg
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions 

Cut the bottoms off your asparagus and put in a microwave safe bowl with a little bit of water for about two-and-a-half minutes to cook them slightly.

Lay out your chicken, crack an egg into a bowl, put your bread crumbs in another bowl and wrap two asparagus spears in each slice of havarti.

Slice the chicken length-wise leaving a hinge on it. Insert a roll-up of cheese and asparagus.

Dip in egg followed by a dip in the bread crumbs and lay flat in a buttered oven-safe dish.

Repeat with each chicken breast. If you want, you can put toothpicks in at the seam to secure the chicken closed.

Put in oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

When there is about 10 minutes left for the chicken, in a pot, whisk together the heavy cream, wine, bouillon cube and cornstarch. Bring to a boil and then let simmer, whisking often while the sauce thickens.

Once you've plated the chicken, spoon a couple tablespoons of the cream-wine sauce on top of the chicken.

Download a printable recipe for Chicken Stuffed with Havarti and Asparagus

Roasted Chicken

I have never successfully roasted a whole chicken in a crock pot. We've tried at least three times and each time, a flavourless chicken with soggy skin came out.

Last week though, whole chickens were on sale so I decided to give it one last shot. I scoured the internet for a good recipe and merged a few based on what I had on hand. This one rejected the crock pot and that soggy skin and instead instructed me to put the chicken in the oven. A novel idea.

It was easy to make, smelled delicious and most of all, tasted great with moist meat and crispy skin. I prepared this in advance and T put it in the oven when he came home from work. When I got home, our whole condo smelled delicious.

It was tough to not cut into it immediately when it came out of the oven, but I think the most critical step is letting it rest for 15 minutes so all the juices can be reabsorbed making the chicken moist, instead of running all over your cutting board.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 lemon
• 1 onion
• fresh garlic cloves
• spices -- I used a tsp each of dried oregano, basil and rosemary, though I'm sure fresh would have been even better, and this is just what I had, so go ahead and try other combinations
• a few tablespoons of olive oil

Directions

Put spices in a small bowl and add oil. Mix together.

Cut lemon in half, rough chop the onion and peel and smash garlic cloves. You won't be eating these, they're just for flavour while the chicken is cooking

Rinse chicken and stuff with lemon, onion and garlic

Pour oil and spices over chicken and rub in with your hands

I used the twine that came on the chicken to tie his legs back together, but it wasn't necessary

Place on a baking sheet and let this sit in the fridge for a bit to marinate

Bake uncovered at 425 degrees for 1 hour, 15 minutes

Important: once you take it out of the oven, let it sit for 15 minutes while all the juices reabsorb into the meat, making it truly melt in your mouth

I have no good recommendations for how to cut a chicken well, but know that it's a bit messy but still delicious

Download a printable recipe for roasted chicken

Baked Chicken Parmesan

I hosted a dinner party last night and made my signature dish: chicken parmesan.

The first time I made it, I didn't read the recipe through (one of my noted key learns), and I threw a pot at my husband. I tend to get stressed in the kitchen. But last night, I felt much more confident with my cooking and was able to time everything in the kitchen so I could enjoy some time with my guests!

As always, read the whole recipe through because this chicken parm has a surprise white sauce -- which not only makes the dish extra delicious, it adds precious time.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cups dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp each pepper, dried basil, dried oregano
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

• Read through the directions and get everything ready that you need to prepare the chicken -- in one bowl, mix the bread crumbs and parmesan, in another bowl, beat two eggs, and get your greased baking dish out. This should look like an assembly line which I assure you, will save you time and headaches

• Now, beat those chicken breasts. This is maybe the most cathartic experience I have had cooking. It's awesome
• Next, dip each piece of chicken in egg, then dip it in the breadcrumb mixture, then lay fat in the baking dish

• Bake these uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (note: you will bake these a second time with the sauce and cheese on top)
• While they are in the oven, get ready to make the white sauce. In a pot, melt 2 tbsp of butter and add 2 tbsp of flour. Mix well and cook for 3 minutes without browning
• Mix in milk and spices (pepper, oregano and basil) and bring to a boil before reducing heat. Simmer for five minutes, stirring often

• On each piece of chicken, drizzle some of the white sauce, some tomato sauce and top with grated mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes more until cheese is bubbling

Chicken Wellington

In my family, you always got to choose your own birthday dinner. Every year, I chose chicken wellington -- a delicious parcel of dough filled with chicken and cream cheese. Mmm!

So I made them for T and I for dinner on Saturday night with a delicious salad. They're pretty easy to make and we had two left over for a super easy dinner on Sunday night.

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts
• slightly more than 1/2 a brick of cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 1 package of Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 3 green onions
• 2 teaspoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Boil the three chicken breasts in a pot of water for about 20 minutes or until cooked through

2. Cube the chicken into bite sized pieces. Note: If you can leave the chicken to cool in the fridge for about an hour, it cuts cleanly and won't shred

3. Put the cream cheese in a medium sized bowl and make sure it's pretty soft.

4. Add some butter and some milk to the mixture, but not too much, you don't want it to be too runny -- mine looks like cottage cheese

5. Cut up your green onion into small pieces and add to the mixture. Then add the cubed chicken and mix (this should look like chicken salad)

6. Now, take your crescent rolls out of the fridge (leave them in as long as possible -- they're easier to work with), and open up the roll. You should have 8 crescent rolls, but you want to make four wellies, so keep them in pairs like a square

7. Use a rolling pin to make them a big as you can and make sure the seam in the middle is pinched together

8. Put 1/4 of the chicken mixture in the middle of the roll

9. Now, don't be scared, but ultimately, you need to close this like a present. My mom's are perfect always, so I know it can be done! I take the corners and pull them in, and then you might need to pierce some seams together. This is the bottom, so it can look a little sloppy

10. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, or until dough is done and slightly brown on top

Even Coop wanted some :)