Chicken Pot Pie

It's almost unheard of these days, but Nate & I don't have TV. We have a TV that's hooked up to his PS3, but we don't get any shows on it. No cable, satellite, or even local channels. The few shows that we like, we can watch on Hulu after they air. 

The downside to this is that we tend to watch the same commercials over & over.... and those Marie Callender commercials were starting to kill me. Have you seen them? It goes on about how no one has time to make fresh, from scratch chicken pot pies, but Marie Callender does! (Or something like that.) And then they try to sell you frozen chicken pot pies. 

I'm sorry, but there is no way those things, from the freezer and full of sodium, taste as good as homemade. Sure, I don't always have time to roll out a pastry shell and bake a chicken pot pie from scratch.... but after seeing that commercial a few too many times, I made the time.

So, I grabbed my pastry shell recipe, and threw together a chicken pot pie for dinner on Sunday! 


Aside from the pastry shell, I don't usually measure much when I am making chicken pot pie. (And now I've said chicken pot pie so many times it's lost it's meaning....) The only thing I ever really measure is the gravy, and that's only to make sure there isn't too little or too much. The rest of the measurements are an educated guess. You want the pie to be full-to-rounded, without having it stacked too high. I am usually careful to not make it too full; I want a good pastry shell-to-filling ratio. (Wow, that makes it sound like it's a science....)

You can see in that picture that it's full, but not mounded. It's all personal preference, really.... (Oh, and ignore the atrocious crimping job there. I was trying to make the edges look wavy, then crimp with a fork..... hahahaha. Oh well, it tasted great.)

Oh, and if you aren't sure what to do with that extra pastry shell dough? I have a really good idea for you.....


Remember, comments are love! And so is food, so go share your pie!
   

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour    
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ⅔ cup butter flavored shortening    
• ¼ - 1 cup cold water
• ½ pound chicken, cooked    
• 1-2 cups frozen vegetables, diced if necessary
• 1-2 potatoes, peeled & diced    
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cups chicken gravy (homemade, canned, or from the packets; whatever you want!)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. In a medium bowl stir together flour and ¾ teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle small amounts of the water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using small amounts of the water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened. Form pastry into 2 balls.
3. On a lightly floured surface, slightly flatten each pastry. Roll from center to edges into a circle about 12” in diameter. Wrap pastry circle around the rolling pin. Unroll into a 9” pie plate, without stretching it. Trim pastry to ½” beyond edge of pie plate.
4. In a separate bowl, combine chicken, vegetables, potatoes, onion, salt, and pepper. Spread into prepared crust, cover with gravy.
5. Cut slits in remaining pastry shell and cover pie; crimp as desired.
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until pastry shell is browned and filling is steaming. (If edges appear to be getting too browned, cover edges in foil part way through baking.)

Yield/Time

8 servings

1 ½ hours

 Source (for original): Pastry shell is from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook