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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

My Homemade Chicken Pot Pie


I really love homemade chicken pot pie and to me the best part is the flaky pie crust that has just started to soak up the rich white sauce! And since I am going to all the trouble of making a homemade crust why use frozen veggies? I like to use fresh veggies which I play around with according to what's in season--or in my fridge-- like maybe some fresh corn in summer or a few potatoes diced in winter.  If you need a pie crust recipe I have one here: Pie Crust Recipe 
Ingredients
2 pie crusts (homemade or frozen puff pastry)
4 chicken breast
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 large onion
2 carrots diced
2 celery ribs diced tops included
several thyme sprigs (remove the greens from the twigs)
1/4 cup dried mushrooms that have soaked in boiling hot water for 15 minutes with liquid reserved!
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour all purpose
1 cup milk
Directions 
Preheat oven to 375.
Prepare your pie crust atleast an hour before using and have it resting in fridge. Or use a pre-made pie crust or puff pastry!
Wipe chicken dry and rub a liberal amount of salt and pepper on both sides. Fry chicken in the olive oil until just cooked through. Remove and set aside to rest. Once it is cooled chop into small pieces or tear.
Drain the mushrooms from the water but reserve the liquid, chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
In the same pan you fried the chicken in add some more olive oil and then the carrots, thyme, celery, mushrooms, onions, and garlic and a little salt and then fry until soft.
In a separate pan over medium heat melt the butter and add the flour, cook for for about 5 minutes stirring constantly.
Add the milk and stir until thickened, add the mushroom liquid and do the same. You want a sauce about the thickness of heavy cream before it's whipped. Taste for salt and add some if needed.
Add the chicken and sauce to the veggie mix and stir, set aside to cool slightly as you prepare the crust.
Roll out your first crust and place in pan making sure to bring the sides up to top then poke a few holes with a fork to prevent bubbling up. Place in fridge to cool. I always roll my pie crusts between 2 pieces of parchment!
Roll out the second crust and place in fridge to cool as well. The parchment keeps it from drying out as well.
Pour the mix into the pan with the bottom crust and add the top crust pinching to seal and then make a few slits.You can add some egg wash on top if you want a more golden crust.
Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes.
Allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting into it.

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