12.12.2013

CHICKEN POT PIE

i wanted to write this recipe down as i went, but yesterday was a crazy day (i feel like i say that everyday) and i had a kitchen full of dirty dishes, a toddler that wanted my attention and a man that was expecting pot pie when he walked in the door (sound familiar to anyone out there). needless to say, i just did what i could. there isn't really a set recipe, so i will explain how i make this and then you can just go for it! (it tastes a little different every time).

this recipe came about per request from [the man]. he asked if i knew how to make pot pie. "of course" i replied. (no i had actually never made it before, but was confident that it couldn't be that hard) he then went on to explain the type of pot pie he would like, needs this, not that, i want it this way, but not that way...etc. and so i set off on "recipe research". i checked out what spices people used. whether veggies were cooked or not and how, before being placed in the pie. what veggies did people add? how did they make the gravy...and so on. Finally one day i gave it a go and man oh man was it good. i am sure there are better crust recipes (i am dieing to try my friends cream cheese crust, which sounds heavenly!) but as of now i do a classic Crisco crust (butter flavored Crisco, flour, salt and ice water). yes horrible for you, but oh so delicious and all together makes a great, basic, easy, flaky crust. for four ramekins with a top and bottom crust i used a double crust recipe (this makes a very thin top and bottom crust). as you can see below the crust is quite thin and i am by all means not a perfectionist when i comes to crust...if it covers the bottom it is fine with me...it all tastes the same.

1. make your crust (you can leave it refrigerated while you are making your filling.


2. make your filling. this is the time consuming part, but to me it is worth it. i don't like overcooked veggies and i don't want everything to taste the same, so i cook things separately. 

- first, i chop 1 onion and brown it in a saute pan with a little celery salt (this is worth going out and getting just for this recipe, it adds some really great flavor). i then add the carrots and celery (about 1.5 cups of each) and saute just until they become bright in color. i add a bit more celery salt and pepper if needed, just so they are seasoned. i remove this from the heat and chop the chicken into cubes.

- i use 2-3 small breasts. chop and cook. i cooked the chicken in the dutch oven on the stove top and seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder, when it was finished cooking i removed it from the heat and transferred just the chicken to the saute pan (leaving the juice). *remember that this is going to be baking too, so the chicken can be just a little underdone when you remove it from the heat as it will have more time to keep cooking in the oven. i added two cans of chicken stock to the juice and seasoned it with pepper, italian seasoning and thyme (the thyme is key) and a little more garlic powder. i then thickened it with flour to make a gravy and added about  1/4th cup half and half at the very end. add the veggies back in and taste. i didn't need anymore salt (i have a heavy salt hand), but you may need to add a bit more. at this point i usually add 1 cup frozen peas, but totally forgot...oops (i add them in frozen and they cook in the oven and in the hot gravy).


i could eat this just as soup!
 

3. if you haven't already, roll out your bottom crusts and line your ramekins.


4. fill with your delicious filling.
 

 5. roll out top crust and cover. poke holes in top, so air can escape.

6. bake at 375 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until crust browns. (i thought ours could have used a little more time, but we were starving and so i pulled them out just as they started to brown and bubble...they were still delicious. *also bake on a cookie sheet because they do tend to bubble over.

7. remove from oven and let cool. there is nothing HOTTER than pot pie right out of the oven and man can it scorch your tongue! so be careful.

ENJOY!

just a few more pictures taken with a camera rather than a phone. :)






if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. sorry this isn't precise, but to me i find the most joy in cooking by creating and experimenting! if you have any questions about the methods used or amounts, i would love to help.

ENJOY AND LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES!

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