Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I have to tell you this: I hate pot pie.

As a kid at school when it was served, it seemed disgusting to me. As I have noted in previous posts, I hate peas. I absolutely abhor them to the point where even smelling them will make me throw up if I can not get away from the stench. That's the truth, and so the fact that peas were a common sight in any pot pie I ever saw immediately gave it a negative point in my book.

It wasn't just that, tho. You know those little single serving ones you get at the grocery? Yeah. They seemed even more yucky to me, even as I grew older. It wasn't just the peas. It just.....looked.....disgusting. Maybe it was the fact that those pot pies have dark meat in them, I don't know.

Anyway, pot pies were just one of those things on my 'never eat' list.

In January, my father became ill and subsequently had to go into the hospital. Along with this came food from various angels who considered dinner for my mother and I when we could not think beyond the immediate second with which we were dealing. One of those angels - my mother's sister (and NOT the one actually called "Angel", altho she brought us food as well) - brought us a homemade pot pie one evening along with some fixings.

My thought on pot pie changed in that circumstance. First, it was homemade. Second, when famished and you have a fully cooked meal in front of you, something becomes much more appealing when before it had little appeal at all. Thus, I ate my aunt's pot pie and.....really loved it! It didn't taste or look like the frozen monstrosities I had seen, and learned to loathe, from my past.

I had gone back to my home and gotten somewhat settled after my father's return to HIS home and started to think about that pot pie. I'll bet I can make one. And I can tweak it to include the veggies I like. My aunt's had peas in it, but I had simply eaten around them. But I could leave peas out altogether!!

I searched for recipes and considered several. Below is the one I settled on. I tweaked it some on the second time I made it, and even on the first time I left out the peas and corn. You, however, do not need to do so. It turned out really good, too! I made my own crust, and I will include the recipe for that as well, but two 9 inch refrigerated pie crusts will do just as nicely if you are not inclined to crust making (like me).

The good news is this is an easily freezable dish!


Buttermilk Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 3 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/3 cup buttermilk, or as needed
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1. Whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl. With a pastry cutter, cut the shortening and butter into the flour until the chunks are the size of small peas. Stir in buttermilk and vegetable oil with a fork until the dough is moistened and beginning to gather together. Form the dough into a compact shape.
2. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a ball. Roll out each pie crust between 2 sheets of parchment paper.

Chicken Pot Pie
(makes one pie)

Ingredients

• 1 cup diced peeled potatoes
• 3/4 cup sliced carrots
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1-1/2 cups chicken broth, sodium free
  
• 1/2 cup evaporated fat free milk
  
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts, 9 inch
  

1. Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots; remove from the heat.
2. Line two 9-in. pie plates with bottom pastry; trim even with edge of plate. Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pies. Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges.
3. Bake one potpie at 425 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Cover and freeze remaining potpie for up to 3 months.