Oh My-Chicken Pot Pie

Now that the weather is getting cooler, I've been in the mood to cook comfort foods...this is one of our family favorites. Chopped vegetables, chunks of chicken, gravy and flaky pie crust. Yes, home made crust. Making pie crust is EASY. Pie crust is your friend. None of that store bought junk. You know the kind- thick, heavy, no flake. That stuff is nasty. OK, tell yourself you can do it. YOU are the Pie Crust Master! Your family is worth it. Your self esteem depends on making this crust. Kidding. OK, sorry. I just can't help myself when it comes to pie crust. I have a crust obsession. We ate this for dinner last night...Mamma Mia! It was good.
Oh- almost forgot- this is one of those recipes I make without a recipe, so I tried to measure and make note of amounts...it's a little different every time. You want a pan full of vegetables (use veggies you like), a little chicken (not really big on a lot of meat) and enough gravy to cover all of the filling. The gravy shouldn't be too thick because it thickens as it cools. Most pot pie recipes call for peas. Well, that's the great part about being the cook. I really don't care for peas. So I don't put them in my pot pie. I love green beans. I buy the Costco frozen "fine" beans - throw them in right out of the freezer, just before topping the filling with the crust.




Oh-My Chicken Pot Pie
A Bountiful Kitchen
print recipe (for filling and crust)


2 -3 chicken breast (about 1 ½ lbs) halves, cooked and shredded
4-5 cups chunked red potatoes, skin on
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup onion, chopped
1 quart chicken broth or stock
1-2 handfuls fresh or frozen petite green beans or peas
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sifted flour
2 teaspoons chicken stock concentrate*
1-2 cups water
2 teaspoons tarragon
Salt and Pepper

Place potatoes, carrots, and chopped onion in a large pan. Cover with chicken broth. Heat to boil, cover and cook just until vegetables are tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Using another pan, cook butter over medium heat. Add flour, whisk until smooth. When vegetables are cooked, remove vegetables from pan using slotted spoon and place cooked vegetables, fresh green beans or peas and chopped chicken in a greased 9x13 pan. Slowly add the chicken broth to the pan with butter and flour. Cook until sauce is thickened, and smooth. Whisk in chicken stock concentrate. Add one to two additional cups of water, a little at a time, until gravy is still slightly thickened, about the consistency of a cream soup. Add 2 teaspoons dried tarragon, salt and pepper to taste. Pour gravy over vegetables and chicken in 9x13 pan.
Cover with pie crust. Cut slits in crust to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes.

Tips:
-*Stock concentrate is sold in many forms. It enhances the flavor of the gravy. Knorr and Swanson both sell stock concentrate. Knorr is sold in a little "cup" about 4 cups to a package the little cups are equalt to about 1 tablespoon of flavoring. Swanson sells their product "Flavor Boost" in a box with 8 liquid packets included. You can also buy stock concentrate in jars at Costco or other food specialty stores. These are usually sold in 2 cup (actual 2 cup measurement) jars that need to be refrigerated after opening. I always look for products that are MSG free. A crumbled bullion cube will also work.
-Brush top of crust with beaten egg for a glossy crust.
-I usually set the pan on top of a cookie sheet to catch any gravy that may bubble over the pan.
-This recipe yields 2- 9" pie plates or one 9x13 pan. If you like LOTS of sauce, double the gravy, and serve the extra sauce/gravy on the side with the pie.

I made these little hand pies with the leftover dough. YUM.

Pie Crust:

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup solid shortening (I like Butter Flavor Crisco for Pot Pie)
1/2 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix flour and salt in bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry cutter, until pieces of shortening are small and pebble like. Stir water in with a fork until all of the water is absorbed and dough gathers together. Flour surface and rolling pin. Flatten dough with hand to make a round or rectangle to begin. Roll out from center to about 1/8 " thick. Roll out into shape of pan. Fold crust in half, transfer to pan or pie plate. Unfold dough over the filling. Brush crust with beaten egg, cut slits for steam to escape. Bake pot pie for 40 minutes.

A few hints:

-If you are uncomfortable making dough, do a practice run. Make a trial batch or two.

-Don't add too much flour to the dough (in addition to the amount called for in recipe), or it may be too hard to handle. This is a tender, soft dough. Flour your hands, rolling pin and the counter generously.

-Refrigerate dough for easier handling.

-Don't panic if the dough tears while transferring to the pan. Just pinch it back together.

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