Chicken Pot Pie

Ahhh! Comfort food! The crust is what makes chicken pot pie so good to me. A long time ago I started using store bought pie shells. They are reliably good, they store in the freezer, and they save a lot of time (and maybe you have a leftover crust in your fridge right now?)

I generally make this with leftover chicken but it is easily substituted with turkey.



1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cooked
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk (preferably whole milk)
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 (9 inch) pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a measuring cup combine chicken broth and milk. Cut cooked chicken into 1/2 inch pieces, set aside.

In a large sauce pan melt butter over medium heat. Add the celery. Saute, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in flour until well blended. Gradually stir in broth mixture and salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and boils. Add the chicken, vegetables, parsley and thyme. Pour mixture into a 1 1/2 quart deep casserole dish.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out pastry 1 inch larger than the diameter of the casserole dish on a lightly floured surface. Cut slits in the pastry for venting air. Place pastry on top of casserole. Roll edges and cut away extra pastry; flute edges by pinching together. Brush pastry with beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

This recipe is easily divided into ramekins for individual servings. Bake on top of a cookie sheet until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.