Chicken Pot Pie
1 1/2-2 cups of chopped leftover, cooked chicken3 cups frozen veggies (I used a California mix of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and yellow squash)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 1/2 cups cream of mushroom soup (I make mine from scratch vs buying it in a can...here's a great recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup)
1 tbsp chicken base
1/2 cup water
Pepper to taste
Pie Crust
2 pie crusts (one for top and one for bottom...I made my own, but you could buy the rolls of pie crust if you want. Making the pie crust wasn't really difficult and it tasted a million times better! Try it!)2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup shortening
1tsp salt
1/2 cup cold water
Pie crust is pretty easy to make. Just take all the ingredients and mix in a bowl until combined. You may need to use your hands as it will seem pretty crumbly. Once you work it up with your hands, it will come together nicely. Separate the dough in 2 equal halves, roll into a ball, and then flatten into a disk shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour at least in the fridge. When ready to use, take out and let sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to make rolling easier.
Get out that rolling pin and roll out the dough until it's about 1/4" thick. Don't worry if the edges look crummy, they will get trimmed up anyway. Make sure you make it big enough to fit whatever dish you are using. I used a 8 x 8 (or maybe it's a 9x9) casserole baking dish.
Place the crust in your dish and press gently into all corners/bottom. Don't worry about any overhang, we'll trim everything up before we put it into the oven.
While the pie crust is waiting, add the butter to a large pan and melt. Throw in those frozen veggies and saute just until they are unfrozen...you don't want to cook them! You want them to be crunchy still because they will continue to cook in the pie.
Add the chopped chicken, cream of mushroom soup, water, chicken base, and dash of pepper. Mix around until everything is coated well. Your filling shouldn't be super thick or super runny...if it's too water-y, add some more chicken or veggies or mushroom soup. If it's too thick (you don't have any extra like in the pic) add a bit more water and adjust the chicken base accordingly (taste it...you want it to taste good).
Add the filling to the pie crust. It's ok if it looks like a lot of filling. Once in the oven, the veggies will cook down a bit.
Add the top crust and trim any overhang (yes, I used those scissors in the pic...ghetto, huh? haha). Crimp your edges to seal in all the goodness. I'm not a professional crimper...just make sure the top crust and the bottom crust are "smooshed" together so none of the filling seaps out.
I had some leftover pie dough that I didn't want to toss, so I rolled it out and used a cookie cutter to add pretty hearts to the top. You can do this if you want, totally optional and won't change the pure yumminess of the chicken pot pie. If you do add shaped dough to the top, dip the cutouts in milk and place them on the crust. The milk will help to seal the cutouts to the crust. Poke a few fork holes around the crust and place in the oven at 400F for about 50-60min or until the crust is golden brown. If using a smaller pie pan, adjust your time accordingly. Once the pot pie is done, let it sit for about 15min so the juices thicken up.
Mmmm...I have to admit, this is one of the prettiest chicken pot pies I have ever made! The homemade crust was thick and had a crunch that store-bought crust just doesn't have. Store-bought crust is good, don't get me wrong, and I do use it when I don't have time to make my own...but after making this crust, I will be hard pressed to find an excuse to spend the money on crust. Homemade crust costs pennies and was really simple. Give this pot pie a try and let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Happily Homemade
Sandra
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