Chicken Pot Pie – COLLECTION

Tips and Tricks

Use leftover shredded chicken (thighs are best)
Use frozen vegetables
Dice and saute onions and celery
Make your own roux, not Cream of XYZ
- 2 TBL butter, 2 TBL flour, 1 C chicken stock or milk
Create a lid with puff pastry – Dock the crust – Alternate, cut moons or shapes
Bake before filling at 350º for 5 minutes

Basic Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is much like the one shown below. You may use my ingredients, but be sure to watch the video for some important tips.
Ingredients – Filling

4 TBL butter
1/4 C AP flour
1-1/2 C chicken broth
(or 1 can Campbells Cream of Potato Soup instead of above three ingredients)
IN A SEPARATE MIXING BOWL, COMBINE
1 small carrot – diced small
1/2 C baby peas
1 small stalk celery – diced small
(or 1 C mixed veggies instead of above three ingredients – Skip to Step 7)
1 C shredded chicken
1/2 C shredded cheese
4-6 black olives – diced – Optional

Ingredients – Crust

1 C AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 C shortening
3 TBL cold butter
2 TBL granulated sugar
1/4 C ice water
(or prepared pie crust from the grocery store)

You will also need one egg yolk and one egg white (separated) in two separate bowls.
A pastry brush will be helpful, but you can use your fingers at the pastry brush step.
Step by Step

Bring sauce pan up to medium heat
FILLING – – – –
Add butter to hot pan
As soon as butter is melted, add flour
As soon as flour starts to ball, add half your broth
Stir until it starts to turn smooth
Add the rest of your broth
Stir until it starts to thicken
When it has thickened (per video below) add it to the mixing bowl with your chopped veggies
CRUST
Pulse flour, salt, baking powder, shortening and butter in a food processor till combined
Add 1/4 C ice water all at once and pulse until a ball forms
Dump onto the counter to finish kneading
Separate into 4 pieces and let rest five minutes
Meanwhile, spoon your filling into ramekins for cooking
Roll out your crust to a near circle. If necessary, cut slightly bigger than diameter across top of ramekin.
NOTE: My cutter was the exact size of my ramekin top, so I cut it, then rolled it more to make it slightly larger
Brush the bottom with egg white and press into your pot pie filling, pressing around the edge
Brush the top with egg yolk
Poke holes in the top so that steam can escape, otherwise your pie crust will fail.
Bake at 350º for 35 minutes until browned
Let rest five minutes before serving, or cool on counter and refrigerate for reheating later.

Scratch Chicken Pot Pie

1 C chopped onion (1/4 inch pieces)

1 C chopped celery (1/4 inch pieces)
1 C chopped carrot (1/4 inch pieces)
1/2 C melted butter
1 C frozen tiny English peas (canned peas, in a pinch)
1/4 C AP flour
2 C chicken broth
1 C whole milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 C diced cooked chicken
2 pkg. frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg yolk
1 TBL whole milk

1. Saute onion, celery and carrot in butter for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in peas and flour, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Gradually add broth and 1 cup whole milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly.
4. Stir in salt and pepper.
5. Add chicken, stirring well.
6. Ladle chicken mixture into cooking ramikins – just to the top
7. Set aside.
8. Roll pastry sheets to 1/8 inch thickness.
9. Cut pastry 1/2 inch larger than bowl(s).
10. Combine egg yolk and 1 tablespoon milk.
11. Brush one side of pastry. Place brushed side down over bowl(s), folding edges under and pressing firmly to sides of bowl.
12. Brush top with remaining egg mixture.
13. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until top is puffed and browned.

Chicken Pot Pie – From a whole chicken

Piece an entire chicken.
Use dark meat (legs and thighs) or light meat (breast and back)
Place into stock pot with cut up carrots, celery, onion and garlic
Pour one can of chicken stock into pot, then add water until it covers the chicken
Bring up to simmer over medium high heat
When it starts to simmer, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes
Strain out solids, retaining liquid
Set both aside to cool

To prepare dough:
(Bisquick or Puff Pastry is also acceptable)
Add to a food processor:
– 1 1/2 C flour
– pinch of salt
– 1 stick of cold butter – cubed
– 8 ounces of cold cream cheese – pieces
Pulse together until it forms crumbs
– Add 1 egg yolk
– Drizzle in water until it STARTS to come together
Remove from food processor and finish on a floured surface (the counter)
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour to 24 hours

To prepare vegetables:
Cut butternut or acorn squash into 1/2 inch cubes
Cut 1/4 onion into pieces
Cut 1/2 stalk celery into 1/4 inch pieces
Cut carrots into 1/4 inch pieces
Toss in EVOO and salt and bake on baking sheet for 30 minutes at 350 degrees

Cut string beans into 1/2 inch pieces
Add a small can of peas (or fresh if you desire)

To finish up:
Set dough on counter to start to come up to room temperature
Shred or cube chicken
Make a roux (see recipe here) with the leftover strained chicken stock – be sure to stir constantly
Mix chicken, fresh veggies and cooked veggies together
Roux should be thickened, but not pasty or lumpy
– If necessary, thin by whisking in 1/2 C chicken stock

Flatten dough to about 1/4 inch
Fill ramekin with veggie mixture
Label roux over top of veggies about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up
Top with dough, brush with melted butter and trim edges
Poke holes (or a smiley face) into top of crust to let steam vent
Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes

Third Party Recipes

The information below this section is from a third party. It is part of Grandpa's Personal Recipe box. Feel free to browse, but know that this information is from someone else.

Clipped from People Magazine

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 PKG (about 8 OZ) frozen vegetables
1 CU cubed or shredded cooked chicken or turkey
1/2 CU milk (or less)
1 egg
1 CU Bisquick
1 prepared pie plate

Instructions
1. Mix soup, vegetables and chicken in bowl, then pour into 9″ pie plate
2. Mix milk, egg and Bisquick (very thick) and spread over chicken mixture
3. Bake @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden

Special Steps
Variations If you are feeling energetic, cut your own vegetables: onion, broccoli, bell pepper, carrot, green beans, Anaheim chilies