Chicken Pot Pie

My friend Jamie asked that I post my chicken pot pie recipe, so here it is! It is pretty easy and SO yummy! Along with the beef empanadas I posted about, this is one of my husband's favorite dishes. I believe I found it on Food Network, but I don't remember. This is the recipe as I found it. It says it makes 4 individual pot pies. We usually cut the recipe in half and make one big pot pie in our corningware. Half the recipe makes PLENTY for the two of us (Baby Girl gets little bites and she really enjoys it, too) with leftovers.

Chicken Pot Pie


Filling
- 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (we rarely use yellow onions in anything... we always get vadalia onions)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas ~ about 2 cups (we just use canned)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions (we never put this in, actually)
- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Pastry
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
- 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water, for egg wash
- Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, and cut chicken into a large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade (we use our stand mixer). Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water (not letting the ice fall in, of course); process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls (again, we just put it in corningware - 2 if we make the whole recipe). Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle (or as large as whatever you are putting it in). Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2 inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.


It is delicious! And one great thing is that we always end up with extra dough so we make a quick pie filling and make pie pops with the extra. Easy and delicious... always a good combo!