Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie.  It is comfort food in it's best form.  This recipe is from a couple of different recipes that I combined.  

3 celery sticks, diced small

3 carrots, peeled and diced small

1 yellow onion, diced small

1 large red potato, diced small,

            optional

½ cup frozen peas, optional

2-3 cups cooked chicken, cubed

½ cup butter

½ cup flour

2 cups chicken broth

2-3 T. cream, if I have it or milk

1-3 pinches thyme to taste

Heat oven to 400º.  Melt butter in large pot.  Add celery, carrots, onion, and potato.  Sautee until the vegetables begin to turn translucent and are barely tender.  Sprinkle the flour over and stir to combine.  Add the chicken broth and gently stir until thickened.  Add peas and chicken and stir.  Place in baking dish or small baking dishes.  Cover with pastry.  Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.  Serve hot.  Makes 6 personal size or serves 6.

**I usually double the sauce recipe because the crust recipe makes about double what is needed.  Or roll the leftover pastry up with a piece of parchment and put in a Ziploc bag and freeze to use later.

Pie Crust

3 cups flour

1 t. kosher salt

1 t. baking powder

½ cup butter, room temperature

¾ cup shortening.

Mix flour, salt and baking powder.  Add butter and shortening and cut in with a pastry cutter or two knives.  Add ½ cup ice water and mix until it comes together.  Add a bit more if needed.  Roll out for pot pie.

This crust is perfect for a pot pie.  Flaky and flavorful.

I like using a rotisserie chicken from the store to make it faster.

Pot pies can be baked and then frozen or frozen before baking and then baked later.  If baking right from the freezer, cover with foil for 30 minutes and then bake another 20 minutes without the foil.