Chicken Pot Pie

[Marsha Gupton]

Just had chicken pot pie. I went to Kroger not knowing what to have for dinner and purchased this wonderful pot pie in the deli.:fav16

[Sara Sheppard]

YUM...I'll look for it next time I'm in there.

Sara

[Doris Grant]

My mom used to make homemade pot pies. Now that is something I've never made. I'm not much of just a regular pie maker so I guess that's why.


Doris

[Marsha Gupton]

My mom used to make homemade pot pies. Now that is something I've never made. I'm not much of just a regular pie maker so I guess that's why.


Doris

I'll have to send you my recipe for chicken pot pie. Its good and easy.

[Doris Grant]

I would really appreciate that. If you send it I promise to make it.

Doris

[Anita F. Henck]

More than a dozen years ago, I tried a chicken pot pie recipe from the Washington Post (hometown paper at the time). It was so yummy that I made it again for Christmas Eve, after our church service. We all liked it so much that it has become one of our family Christmas Eve traditions. It's great because you can make it small, large, in multiple pans, freeze it ahead, etc. It is great with just a salad and rolls, or as part of a larger buffet.

I always decorate the top for Christmas Eve by cutting slits into it in an evergreen tree shape and spell out NOEL in the cuts. Brush it with water and egg and it is nice and crispy shiny.

Here's our family recipe for Christmas Eve Chicken Pot Pie... It sounds more complicated than it is! But, it is great comfort food ..

4-6 c of cooked chicken (I boil chicken breasts in broth and save the broth for the sauce below). Cool and cut or shred into bite-size pieces. (You can also use a roasted chicken, including dark meat.)

3 c of cooked carrots (I cut them into match-stick shapes that are about 1/4 inch around and 2-3" long. After they are cooked, run cold water over them so they don't continue cooking and get mushy). Drain well.

Sauce -- use the chicken broth above, add a chopped up carrot, 1/2 onion chopped, about 2" of celery top, fresh or dried parsley, 4-5 peppercorns, teaspoon of thyme, and a bayleaf. Add enough broth to make 2 cups of rich stock. Strain and remove the vegetables, bay leaf, etc. Degrease the stock.

In a pan, make a roux -- melting 2 T butter and adding 2 T flour. Stir over low heat, until the mixture browns and takes on a faintly nutty smell. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Add the chicken stock and cook until the sauce thickens. It shouldn't be so runny that it will run off the plates but not so thick that it won't coat the chicken and carrots.

Pile the chicken in the bottom of a pie plate (or double the recipe and use a 9x13 casserole pan). Add the carrots to the top.

Sometimes I also add a handful of frozen peas on top of the carrots (and under the sauce).

Pour the cooled sauce over the mixture. Roll out a pastry crust (homemade or store-bought) and place it on top of the pie, crimping the edges and making slits to let the steam escape.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes; lower the heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 1/2 hour or until the crust is golden brown.

Serves 4-6.

And, it is as easy to make 4 of these and freeze the rest as it is to make 1. Well worth the effort!

==anita==