Ellen Dunn from Highland Park, Illinois just outside Chicago told Penelope that after more than 10 years (if you counted summer stock) trying to make it as an actor (actually, in her un-p.c. day they were called actresses), “I finally realized it was time to try something else. But what?”To answer the question, I went to an all day seminar at Northwestern University given by a career coach who had helped a friend of mine. After the seminar I introduced myself and told her I couldn’t decide what to do with my life — law school? journalism? business?”Let’s flip a coin,” she said and dug a quarter from her bag. “What’s heads?”"Law school,” I said.”That’s it!” she said. “People always identify heads with what they really want.”So Ellen went to law school. She loved it. She graduated with honors, and a few years later became General Counsel of a big entertainment company. Sometimes you just need a little coaching. Or a good coin toss. And yay for Ellen because making your own luck is not pie in the sky.If things in your cubicle aren’t going so well, have a try at Penelope’s Pot Luck Pot Pie. It’s a little work intensive, but will keep you out of the stores. Plus, there’ll be a nice supper waiting for you for when you get home. For a couple of nights, anyway. You can use chicken, beef or vegetables.

Pot Luck Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe on epicurious.com from Bon Appetit 1995 got universally good reviews, but with everyone agreeing it was better to use cream of chicken soup instead of the broth, or to add some heavy cream if you did use broth. One person suggested using left over roast chicken. Another good idea was to use rosemary instead of sage. The best suggestion was to get your boyfriend to cut up the potatotes.Penelope’s Ultimate Pie Crust for a double crust pie. Or a double Bisquick crust.

• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons dried rubbed sage
• 8 ounces skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1½ tablespoons butter
• 1⅓ cups canned chicken broth
• 1½ cups frozen mixed vegetables

Preheat oven to 425°Make the pie crust dough.Prebake the bottom crust, about 15 minutes.In a medium bowl, combine the flour and ½ teaspoon sageSeason the chicken with salt and pepper.Add the chicken to the flour; toss to coat.Melt butter in heavy large skillet oven medium-high heat.Add the chicken and any remaining flour to skillet and stir until chicken is brown, about 5 minutes.Mix in the broth, vegetables and 1 teaspoon sage. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bitsReduce the heat, cover the skillet and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepperPour the chicken filling into the pie crust. Cover with the top crust and bake for about 20 minutes, until the chicken mixture is bubbling and the top crust is golden.