Chicken Pot Pie: An Evolution

My cooking skills have evolved considerably in the 6 years that I've been cooking for Kellen and I. I've always enjoyed it and I was lucky to have two parents with above average cooking skills. So my foundation was strong, but since I got married at the ripe old age of (barely) 20, I hadn't really refined my skills! Kellen has kindly eaten many a crisply burned, over salted, or slightly soggy meal. He's a champ. But I think his kindness has paid off! 

A favorite of ours in our newly wedded years was Chicken and Dumplings. It was a recipe I found, I don't even remember where. It was just chopped up chicken, frozen mixed veggies all mixed in cream of chicken soup, baked with Bisquik biscuits on top. It was super good and easy to make! 

Since those days, I've taken more of an interest in from-scratch cooking. A lot of times it ends up saving money, and lets be honest, it just tastes way better! If you're not someone who loves standing over a hot stove cooking for hours (like I do haha), this is still a good scratch recipe to start out with. It's not terribly time consuming but it has all of the yummy-tummy goodness of the rich comfort food that it is! 

So here's my evolved chicken pot pie recipe. Since I'm only cooking for Kellen and I,  I've learned to cater my recipes to only yielding 2 1/2 to 3 servings. This recipe can be easily changed to feed more people. Or doubled to make two pies.

Rustic Chicken Pot Pie

For the filling:

1 chicken breast

1/4 yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 carrots, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

3-4 baby bella mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup milk (any % you prefer)

Heat up a large pan with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Salt and pepper the chicken breast to taste. Cook the chicken breast over medium heat for about five minutes while you chop and prepare the other ingredients. Add the onion, carrots and celery with just a pinch more salt. Flip the chicken breast and allow the veggies to sauté for a few minutes until they start looking softened. Add the minced garlic and mushrooms. At this point assess the amount of oil in the pan, if the veggies look dry, add another tablespoon or so. 

The chicken breast should be almost cooked through by now, although you can continue even if it's not, it will continue cooking in the pan and then later in the oven so don't sweat it. I just use my wooden spoon to chop and shred the breast so that the chicken is well distributed in the filling. If you prefer to remove it and chop it properly, by all means, do so. I'm just lazy. :) And prefer keeping my uncooked chicken away from other surfaces. 

Next add the remaining veggies (peas and corn) and any seasoning you would like to add. Feel free to experiment here and find out what spices and herbs your family loves! Here's how I season mine:

1 tsp ground sage

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika

Once you've given those a toss, add the butter and flour, mixing until incorporated. Raise the heat a bit. Then add the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Add the milk. Bring back to a simmer and turn down the heat to low. Let it simmer uncovered until the sauce has thickened, should only take a few minutes. 

For the Crust:

I usually make the crust in advance so that I can have it chilling in the refrigerator before I need to roll it out. 

Pie crust can be intimidating. It took me years to get it right, and it's been only recently that I've felt good about it. Honestly, having tools, like my Kitchen Aid mixer, has helped. It's harder to mess things up when all you have to do is toss everything in and mix until it's done! 

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup shortening

2 Tbs butter

2 tsp salt

Cold water

Add the flours, salt, shortening and butter to the bowl of your mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment until the shortening and butter are well incorporated and it looks kind of crumbly. Pour the cold water in slowly while the mixer is on, add just a tablespoon at a time and stop as soon as the dough comes together. Careful not to over mix or over moisten. (those are the trickiest parts)

Wrap in plastic wrap and toss in the fridge until you're ready to build your pie!

This recipe makes a little more than I need for my medium sized, oval shaped dish that I prefer using. I cut the dough in half and roll out one half to use for the bottom of the pan. Make sure you use some Pam or butter first so it's easier to serve. Then just transfer your rolled out dough and press it into place. It will likely lay over the edges, and I don't mind that, in fact we prefer it! We like the crust to filling ratio to be high! 

Once you have the bottom layer in place, pour the filling in. Next roll out the other half of the dough. Like I said, there's usually a little more dough than you need so use however much you prefer. Just lay the top over and gently press around the edges. Be sure to make some cuts in the top of the crust so your filling doesn't go spilling out the sides.

Next for a little added luxury! I like to brush it with egg wash (an egg with a little water, beaten) and sprinkle it with some Fleur de Sel. Just be careful not to over do it with the salt sprinkling or you'll be sorry. (I speak from sad experience...)

Bake for 30-45 minutes at 375 degrees. Just until golden and crisp.  Make sure to place it on a baking sheet, just in case you have a little filling spillage-- it won't go making a mess in your oven. 

 Check out that gorgeous specimen! That shiny, golden crust makes my mouth water!