Chicken Pot Pie!
We’re at that awkward time between winter and spring, where I don’t know whether to cook hearty meals or start pretending the weather is nice and the green foods I find at the grocery store are fresh and wholesome. A hearty meal won today!
I’ve given you a link to one of my pot pie recipes before, but I changed it up a little (I try never to use canned soup now) and like this version much, much more. Hope you’ll agree.
If you’ve followed any of my posts, you know that my unofficial motto is: “If it’s worth making, it’s worth doubling.” Seriously – if it’s worth the time to make something, make a LOT of it and freeze it. You’ll be glad when you’re caught with unexpected company or just don’t feel like entering your kitchen.
This pot pie recipe makes two generous pies. Freeze one and inhale the other! Click on this link for my favorite pie crust recipe. You’ll have to double it, of course.
One to eat…
and one for the freezer!
Here’s my version, but as always, feel free to customize it to your tastes. Add mushrooms, celery, herbs, bacon, broccoli, green beans, cheese…well, you get the idea. Anything goes!
| Chicken Pot Pie | Print |
- 4 large chicken breast halves (about 5 pounds)
- 3 cups sliced carrots
- 3 cups cubed potatoes
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ cup chicken grease
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅔ cup flour
- 1½ cup chicken broth
- 2½ cups milk
- salt, pepper to taste
- Pie crust - enough for 2 deep-dish shells and 2 top crusts
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Place chicken breasts in baking dish and bake until done - about 1 hour. Remove from heat and reserve ½ cup of the grease.
- While chicken cools, peel carrots and slice. Peel potatoes and cut into small cubes. Cover potatoes with cold water until ready to use.
- In large saucepan or deep fry pan on high heat, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add the carrots. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook for 3 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and add them to the carrots. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped onions and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the chicken grease, butter, and garlic. Stir until butter melts and the mixture is bubbly.
- Add the flour gradually, stirring constantly. It will turn into a thick ball of dough. Stir and cook for one minute, turning heat down a little if it begins to brown.
- Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring well. You may want to switch to a whisk here.
- Add the milk gradually, Whisk continuously! The mixture should slowly thicken.
- Reduce heat to low and allow the mixture to cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The goal is to make a design on the top of the sauce with the whisk or spoon, and watch it disappear quickly. In other words, not too thick, not too thin. Add more liquid if it's too thick. You may use cream if you want a richer sauce.
- Remove sauce from heat and set aside.
- Heat oven to 400 F.
- Remove the meat from the chicken and chop into generous bite-size pieces.
- Drain the cooked vegetables and add the chicken. Add the frozen peas and stir to combine.
- Divide between the two pie crusts, just to the top of the pan. Refrigerate any extra filling for another use.
- Pour half of the sauce over the filling in each pie.
- Cover with top crust. Cut vent holes in the top crust.
- Bake at 400 F. for 45 minutes, or until the crust is a rich light brown.
- Allow the pie to sit for 15 minutes before cutting.
Pot pie ingredients. Um…except I forgot garlic, chicken broth, and peas 🙂
Cook carrots 3 minutes (they take longer than potatoes) then add ‘taters.
Cooking the fats and flour.
Pour sauce over meat and veggies.
Dig in!
This is the ultimate comfort food. I remember loving those nasty little frozen pot pies from the grocery store, even though they always were so hot they burned my mouth and accidentally finding meat in them was a real bonus. This pie…THIS PIE…is so much better than those. It’s packed full of chunks of chicken and vegetables that are easily identifiable. No comparison! Make a couple of them this weekend and you will never even pause in the freezer section again.