Kid Friendly Chicken Ricotta Pies Recipe

Today I am excited to introduce to you a blog friend of mine, Janine, who blogs at True Aim Education. She is sharing with us her kid friendly chicken ricotta pies recipe. Before we see the recipe, I want to tell you a little more about her. We are kindred spirits in our passion for raising up children. We want to raise up our kids to love the Lord as well as helping them to become good thinkers and active participants in making this world a better place. Janine and I have done a Google+ Hangout together, and I hope to do more with her. Janine LaTulippe is the Mother of 3 blessings all under the age of 5. She has an in-home preschool and is currently teaching 3 other children.  She is passionate about early childhood education and teaches all of the children in her care an advanced custom curriculum.  For more crafts, recipes, tutorials and more check out her Blog Party, Mom’s Library with new links added every week. Here’s her wonderful looking recipe that she has created. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks, Janine, for your wonderful contribution to Meaningful Mama.

“You need to write down all your recipes for me!” That’s what one of my preschool parents told me after I mentioned what her child gobbled up that day. Don’t tell her I would have made him eat at least 3 bites even if he didn’t like it, but I’m glad it wasn’t one of those days. Here is that awesome Kid Friendly Recipe that is easy to customize so your whole family will enjoy.

I love this recipe because you can make different pies to suit each member of the family. Simply fill the pies with the least ingredients first and then add more of your favorite flavors to the filling. To make this even more kid friendly, only fill muffin cups half way. This makes it easier to eat, but is a little more work. These also make great finger food for parties!

Kid Friendly Chicken Ricotta Pies Recipe

Basic Ingredients

Store bought (or homemade) Pie Crust at room temp, 1 Roll.

1 Cup Cooked Chicken chopped

1 Cup Ricotta Cheese

1 Egg

1 Clove Garlic Minced (or Garlic Powder)

1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

3/4 Cup Mozzarella

1/4 Cup Parmesan

Salt and Pepper to taste

I’ll list some optional ingredients and other flavor combinations you can try after I give you the basic instructions.

Grease a muffin tin or two if you are only filling the pies 1/2 full. Preheat the oven to 375. Roll out your pie crust so it is 1/8 inch thick or less and use the rim of a cup or a cookie cutter to make rounded mini pies that fit in your tin. You may need to ball up the scraps and do this until you use up all your pie crust.

Next mix all of the ingredients except the Parmesan in a large mixing bowl. Fill the mini pies 3/4 of the way and top with the Parmesan Cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a salad or fresh veggie platter and fruit.

Here are some goodies that I like to add to my pies for more flavor.

Optional Ingredients

1 Tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard or Ranch

1/4 Cup Grape Tomatoes Halved

1/4 Cup Baby Spinach

Try These Fun flavors

Pepperoni Pizza Pies: Substitute Chicken with Pepperoni and 3 Tbsp Ricotta with 3 Tbsp of Pizza or Spaghetti Sauce

Buffalo Chicken Pies: Substitute Crumbled Blue Cheese for Parmesan and 1-2 Tbsp of hot pepper sauce and a dash of paprika and cayenne pepper.

What fun flavors would you try?

Hope you enjoy them as much as my daughter does!

Thanks for reading!