Chicken Pot Pie

I was going through the freezer and refrigerator, seeing what I needed to use up.  When the girls are home, it seems like we stock up and don't use everything.  Let's see....there are plenty of vegetables; carrots, mushrooms, celery.  In the freezer I have more vegetables...2 bags of frozen peas.  And a frozen pie crust leftover from Thanksgiving.  That needs to be used up but I don't need one more sweet dessert right now.  Wait....there is a bag of frozen cooked chicken in broth.  OK!!! Chicken Pot Pie it is.

In my husband words,  "Wow this is good. This is soooo good.  Can I have more?"

Bonnie’s Chicken Pot Pie

½ cup of butter

½ cup of all-purpose flour

½ yellow onion, chopped

¾ teaspoon of kosher salt

½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

2 cups of chicken broth

2/3 cup of milk

2 cups of cut up cooked chicken

8 ounces of peas (may be frozen)

3 carrots, peeled, diced, and steamed (may use 8 ounces of frozen)

1 rib of celery, diced and steamed

6 ounces of button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

One recipe of pie crust (recipe below)

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the salt, pepper, mushrooms, celery and onion and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the flour, stir to mix well and cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Do not brown. Make a roux by adding the milk and chicken broth to the flour mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute. When mixture has thickened,

add the remaining vegetables and the chicken. Set aside.

Make the Pie Crust:

This recipe makes a double crust for a 9-inch pie.

2 ½ cups of all–purpose flour

½ teaspoon of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of celery seed (optional)

3 Tablespoons of sour cream

½ cup of butter (4 ounces), ice cold and cut into 1-inch pieces

½ cup of butter-flavored shortening (4 ounces), ice cold and cut into 1-inch pieces

5 to 6 Tablespoons of ice water

Place the flour, salt, sugar and celery seed (if using) in a bowl. Whisk to blend. Add the butter and shortening and cut in with a pastry blender or fork until the fat resembles large peas in size.

Add the sour cream and toss to blend. Add the water one tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork as you add. Do not over mix. When the dough is moist, gather it into a loose ball. You should be able to see chunks of fat pieces in the dough. Divide it into two pieces and put each piece onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the balls tightly and form into two discs by pressing down on the plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before rolling out.

*You could also make this crust in a food processor, pulsing gently so as not to overwork.

Assembly and Baking:

Preheat the oven to 425 º F.

Flour a counter or pastry board. Roll the dough into a circle and cut out circles to fit into ramekins or roll one large square piece of dough to fit a 9 x 9-inch square pan.

Gently lay the dough into your chosen vessel and trim if necessary to fit.

Spoon the chicken filling into the dough. Add a top piece of pastry and crimp. You can also just fold the sides of the pastry over without trimming

 or you can use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place them decoratively over the filling. If you chose to add a top crust that encloses the filling, be sure to cut a vent into the top with a sharp knife to allow the steam to escape.

Place into a hot oven and bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Let pie rest for 5 minutes before cutting.