Chicken Pot Pie

Today it was quite cold and blustery outside (if I may quote dear Winnie the Pooh). It was minus 10ish but the wind made it feel so much worse! When the weather's like that I tend to hunker down and make a filling, warm meal. So, off I went in search of a chicken pot pie recipe.

I found quite a few on-line and in my cookbooks but they seemed pretty blaw (hardly any spices, no garlic - what?!?), and used creamed soups as the base. I'm definitely not against using canned soups as bases but today I was channelling Martha Stewart and wanted a truly 'from scratch' meal.

I was throwing caution to the wind and cookin' without a recipe (oh yes, my friends, I was that wild and crazy!). But I knew that me of little memory would have to keep track of all the goodies I put into said pie. Luckily I keep a small notebook in the kitchen when I go on a cooking spree like I did today. Otherwise I'd honestly have no idea what I put in. Too much tinkering and tweaking going on without writing it down.

The finished product was really tasty! It was a big hit with those of us over 5 feet tall (Brad and I went for seconds) but those little people who call me Mom weren't big on this dish (other than the crust). Does anyone know when little humans grow out of the 'food shan't touch each other' stage? It's getting old fast here in our house. I hope your families enjoy this dish!

Chicken Pot Pie
From: The Baking Bookworm
Yield: 2 deep dish pies

2 tbsp butter
1lb chicken breast, cubed into bite-sized pieces
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 1/2 cups peeled, diced potato
3 cups water
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup frozen peas

Ingredients for No Fail Pie Crust

Prepare No Fail Pie Crust. Roll into two balls; wrap in plastic wrap and keep in fridge until needed.

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large, deep skillet melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken, onion, carrot, garlic, celery and mushrooms (if using). Saute for 3 minutes. Add potatoes, water, sage, pepper and salt - ensuring that chicken and potatoes are covered in water. Boil until potatoes are almost cooked and chicken is no longer pink, approximately 10 minutes.

In a large measuring cup, combine milk and flour until smooth. Pour into chicken mixture and stir until the mixture begins to thicken. Add frozen peas. Remove from heat.

Roll out each ball of crust dough between two sheets of plastic wrap until they are the appropriate size to make the top for your pie. Pour half of the chicken mixture into each pie plate. Place dough over each pie plate and seal edges.

Bake pot pies on a cookie sheet (in case of leakage) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Note: The chicken mixture is still pretty runny in this dish. If you'd like a thicker mixture add more milk/flour mixture. I just don't add so much that you end up with a sauce that's more paste-like than creamy. :(

Tip: If you don't need two pies right away, tightly wrap extra pie (before baking) in a large Ziploc freezer bag. Suck out excess air to prevent freezer burn (I use a straw). Freeze until needed. Thaw before baking.