Grandma's Chicken Pie

Grandma Lavender’s

 Chicken Pie

My Grandmother,

Janie Mae Lavender was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and later raised in Sumter County, Alabama. She married John David Lavender in 1933.They were married 69 years.

They had 5 children and raised their family in Sumterville, Alabama. It’s just 15 minutes from Livingston, They later retired in Livingston, Alabama.

Their farm joined her parents, James Arthur Ozment and Hassie Parker Ozment. The Ozments had 16 children.

Grandma Lavender was a special person. She was known in the area for her love of gardening.Her yard was filled will an assortment of plants,but she was partial to daylillies and daffodills. She had extremly large beds of both that trailed along their yard. She would have an open house when her garden was at its peak of the season. Young brides in the area would plan their weddings around Mrs. Janie Maes gardens, they would come and gather the beautiful flowers and take them to the florist to have them arranged. She loved to share her plants with family and friends.  She had a very green thumb.

She told me once to "always share your plants and your recipes, you never know when you might lose one. If you shared it, you can always get it back. "                

Grandma gave me this recipe about two years after I married Wendell. He loves the crust. I usually make 1 ½ or twice as much crust. The buttermilk gives it a very tangy taste that we really like.

Pre-heat oven to 375⁰. Spray 10x10 inch pan with Pam cooking spray.

Filling:

 2 cups cooked chicken, deboned and shredded

2 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes)

1-10 oz. Campbell’s cream of chicken soup

2 boiled eggs, sliced

 Optional: 2 cups mixed vegetables sautéed. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to season vegetables, We like it both ways. My children like it best without veggies.

In a bowl whisk the soup and broth,

then stir in the chicken.

Mix in the vegetables and pour into

a casserole pan.

 Put slices of egg over the top. (One son only likes the white, so I put them on one end)

Crust:
1 stick butter or margerine
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup self- rising flour

Melt margarine or butter, in a medium bowl.

Heat 1 cup buttermilk in the microwave for aprox. 30 seconds, just take the chill off. Add to the butter.
 (When you add cold buttermilk to the warm butter it will harden the butter and make it globby.)

Whisk in 1 cup self-rising flour, until smooth.

Pour over the filling. Bake for 45-60 minutes until golden brown.

for the regular recipe use a 10x10 in baking pan.

I usually double the recipe, bake in 13x15 inch pan.

When I’m cooking chicken, I usually cook extra and freeze 2 cups of chicken and 2 cups broth in a bag, for easy fixing later.