Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie. I grew up eating frozen chicken pot pie--we only got to have it when my parents went out for the evening. My brothers, sister and I thought it  was a real treat. The real treat is the chicken pot pie you make at home--it tastes the best.

If you use a rotisserie or leftover chicken and a prepared, purchased pie crust, you can save a lot of time and energy. Or, make them the day ahead.

Chicken Pot Pie

serves 6 to 8

2 Tablespoons olive oil (or butter), plus 1 T butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium sweet onion, diced

3 cups diced celery

3 cups chopped carrots

1 cup diced potatoes

1 cup peas

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4-6 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

4 cups cooked chicken, cut or shredded into bite-sized pieces

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons corn starch, if needed

1 teaspoon dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

2 prepared pie crusts

1 egg plus 1 Tablespoon milk

Chop all vegetables. I think it's a good idea to use any vegetables you might have as leftovers too.

Saute the vegetables, minus the peas, in 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside. Then saute the mushrooms in 1 tablespoon butter until lightly browned. Return vegetables to the pot and add 1/4 cup flour and stir until well-combined, about 1 minute over medium heat. 

Add chicken broth, stirring constantly, and bring to simmer. Add bay leaf, dried thyme and season with salt and pepper.

Add cooked chicken, peas and cream, return pot to simmer. Adjust thickness of broth if necessary--in a cup, mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water--add a little at a time to pot, while stirring, to thicken gravy. Cook for a few minutes more to cook the cornstarch. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Next, the pie crust. My friend Laura gave me a recipe for pie crust years and years ago and I'm still using it. I make it in the food processor so it's easy. Put 3 cups all-purpose flour into the processor bowl with 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 1/3 cups shortening. Pulse, sparingly, until shortening is cut into the flour--it only takes a few short pulses. Transfer dough into another bowl and add 1 egg, 5 tablespoons of ice-cold water and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Mix gently until combined. Divide into three balls and refrigerate.

Using prepared or homemade pie crust, roll out dough between two pieces of waxed or parchment paper to about 1/4 inch. I found an ochawan (a rice bowl) that was about the right size for the ramekins--with a little bit of crust draping over the edge.

Cut pie crust to size of ramekins plus about 1-inch. Make 1 pie crust for each ramekin.

Fill ramekins. Moisten edge of ramekins and place pie crust on top, pressing gently to seal. Cut 4 slits into crust and garnish with thyme leaves. In a small bowl, beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon milk. Lightly brush over crusts. This will give the crusts a golden-brown color.

Place ramekins on baking sheet and bake in 400ºF oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbling.

While the chicken pot pies are baking, I clean up the kitchen.

Itadakimasu!

***

Meet Kelly and Erik. They're friends--and also relatives. Kelly must be in about 1st grade in this photo, and Erik in 3rd.

It's been a lot of fun watching them grow into adults. You might remember Kelly from my Beef Dip Sandwiches post. Kelly is talented at thrifting. She combs the thrift stores for items she can modify into things she can use.

Erik is an artist. He has always loved drawing and worked for a company doing marketing and designs for clothing. Now he's started a business called Cloud Kicker Society--a lifestyle brand for the Vapers. The website is coming soon.

He also loves music and used to be a DJ. Erik is soft-spoken and funny. He can cook, too.

Erik and Kelly's mother, Meg, recently retired and the whole family celebrated her retirement and birthday at a gathering over the weekend.

Every month, this part of our family has a gathering. The get-togethers  are so much fun and insure that the family will all know one another and stay close.

The parties have a theme for the pot-luck dinners--which adds more fun seeing and tasting what everyone makes. You might remember the Cajun-themed dinner featured on my Easy Oven Roux Gumbo post.

That's Mako on the left. He's the one that notifies everyone of the parties and themes. Every family needs a person willing to be one that keeps everyone in-touch. Thank you, Mako, for being that person!

Nancy, Jessica, Rick and Maria are enjoying the festivities.

Lena, Garrett, Meg (and I) are talking about wedding preparations. Lena and Garrett and getting married later this year--I'm so excited!

I finally got the opportunity to meet David, Brianna's boyfriend. Brianna is working on a dietetic internship and has a blog! You can find Instant B Play filled with lots of good information on nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.

Sriracha chicken wings and Easy Oven Baked Chipotle Wings were appetizers I brought. I am working on a recipe for the sriracha wings.

My other appetizer was this Homesyle Sushi Bar. This time I added some spam spears and tempura shrimp. The tempura makes for a nice and crunchy temaki--handroll sushi. Serve the sushi bar with a half-sheet of nori so people can make their own sushi the way they like it.

I wonder what the theme of next month's gathering will be!

***

Chicken Pot Pie

serves 6 to 8

2 Tablespoons olive oil (or butter), plus 1 T butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium sweet onion, diced

3 cups diced celery

3 cups chopped carrots

1 cup diced potatoes

1 cup peas

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4-6 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

4 cups cooked chicken, cut or shredded into bite-sized pieces

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons corn starch, if needed

1 teaspoon dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

2 prepared pie crusts

1 egg plus 1 Tablespoon milk

In a heavy pot, saute vegetables with 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter over medium heat until vegetables are softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.

In the same pot, add 1 tablespoon butter and saute the sliced mushrooms until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the vegetable mixture, add 1/4 cup flour and mix over medium heat until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add chicken broth, stirring constantly, and bring to simmer. Add bay leaf, dried thyme and season with salt and pepper.

Add cooked chicken and cream, return pot to simmer. Adjust thickness of broth if necessary--in a cup, mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water--add a little at a time to pot, while stirring, to thicken gravy. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Using prepared or homemade pie crust, cut pie crust to size of ramekins plus about 1-inch. Fill ramekins. Moisten edge of ramekins and place pie crust on top, pressing gently to seal. Cut 4 slits into crust and garnish with thyme leaves. Place ramekins on baking sheet and bake in 400ºF oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbling.