Chicken Pot Pie

My Mom use to make chicken pot pie often. My sister makes it for supper for her girls a lot. I'm unsure why I don't. It could be my husbands adverse fear of peas. We once had a family member make it for us and she had omitted the peas. I figured I would do the same and make my husband happy. However, I figured I would do most of the prep the day before to make it easy on me. The day before I made this chicken for supper. Since I normally roast vegetables with the chicken, I went ahead and used the same type of vegetables. I just chopped additional vegetables in preparation of making this dish. I also made the pie crust and stored it in the refrigerator. The chicken had lots of flavor which added a nice touch to the dish. My husband loved this dish. The pie crust had flavor. The kids ate it up. Anytime I have leftover chicken/turkey, I may just be making this dish again.

Chicken Pot Pie
3 celery stalks, finely diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 (8") pie crust


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the chicken.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and vegetables. Gently, mix to combine.
6. Add the chicken broth and stir.
7. Add the milk and stir. Cook for 5 minutes.
8. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper. 
9. Pour the mixture into a deep dish pie pan or casserole dish.
10. Roll out the pie crust so it will be slightly larger than the casserole dish.
11. Place the pie crust over the chicken mixture. Cut slits on top of the pie crust.
12. Bake the pot pie for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
13. Allow the pot pie to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks Cookbook.

One year ago..............................I made PB Nutella Oatmeal.
Two years ago............................I made Agent P Sandwich.

Did you already know..................
-Chicken pot pie consists of chicken, gravy, and vegetables.
-Meat pies have been around since Roman times.
-Early pot pies were cooked on open hearths. 

Pot Pie

My oldest daughter decided to straighten her hair. So, I am going to take a poll to see what you think. I prefer the curls. She was born with dark straight hair then after a couple of months her blond curls came in and we have never known anything else. What do you think?

Straight? Curly as before? You are welcome to vote here. The next day she washed her hair and the curls were instantly back. I remember how my Grandmother always would curl her hair and Allie has instant curls.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving or a great day yesterday. Did you eat a lot of turkey? Do you have a lot left? My husband loves leftover turkey. How do you eat your leftover turkey? My husband's favorite way is to make a sandwich. My son doesn't care since he just loves turkey. Growing up, my Mom always made a turkey pot pie the next day. My husband is afraid of pot pies because he thinks there are peas hiding out in there. I made his pea free.

Turkey/Chicken Pot Pie
Filling:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and ground pepper
3 cups cooked turkey/chicken, cut into bite size pieces

Cream Sauce:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp hot pepper sauce
Salt and ground pepper

Crust:
1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups all purpose flour
8 oz. chilled cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1 large egg, beatened

Directions:
To make filling:

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and potato. Saute for 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Saute for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4. Stir in the crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper to taste.
5. Stir in the turkey/chicken meat until incorporated.
6. Set aside the filling.

To make the cream sauce:

1. In a large saucepan, melt the 1/2 cup unsalted butter over medium heat.
2. Add the flour and whisk until smooth.
3. Whisk in the stock and cook over medium heat until sauce thickens.
4. Add the cream. Also, add the hot sauce, salt, and white pepper to taste.
5. Pour the cream sauce over the chicken mixture and mix well.

To make the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cut the 1 cup of butter into 16 pieces.
3. In a food processor, pulse the butter with the flour until crumbly.
4. Add the cream cheese, salt, and white pepper.
5. Pulse just until the dough forms a ball.
6. Set the dough onto a clean surface dusted with flour.
7. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.
8. Cut the dough about 1 1/2 larger than the container using for the filling.

To assemble Pot Pies:

1. In 1 1/4 cup individual oven safe bowls with the chicken filling.
2. Lay the dough over the dish, making the dough hang evenly over the dish.
3. Brush the dough with the beaten egg.
4. Place the dish or bowls onto a cookie sheet lined with tin foil/parchment paper.
5. Bake the Pot Pies for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Serve immediately. 

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen Cookbook by Rebecca Rather.

One year ago.....................I made Buffalo Chicken Dip.

Did you already know............
-The average Thanksgiving turkey weighs 15 pounds.
-An average Thanksgiving turkey is 70% white meat.
-A group of wild turkeys are called a rafter.