Chicken Pot Pie!

As I have been getting more and more into FoodSAZm, I've noticed so has my fan following.  I am getting more hits per day, and I'm not going to lie, it's totally giving me a boost in blog confidence. After this surge of confidence to expand FoodSAZm to take over the culinary blog world, my next thought was, how do I expand FoodSAZm's following? I immediately thought of facebook and creating a FoodSAZm page where people can get direct updates, post on the FoodSAZm wall, etc.  It's a means of keeping people who like this site connected, interacting and clicking! So as a first experiment, I decided to post a poll of what to cook for dinner last night.  The choices were Beef Burritos, Chicken Pot Pie, Vegitarian Bean Chili, and Baked BBQ Chicken Tenders.  The big winner was Chicken Pot Pie so that's what I made! I have never made this before, so I pretty much winged it.  I knew what was supposed to be in a pot pie and went from there. For the crust, I used my trusty apple pie crust recipe which can be used in both savory and sweet meals. So let's get cookin!

For the Dough:

In a Quisinart mix together...

2 1/2 cups of Flour

2 Sticks of Butter

1 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

6-8 tbsp of water

>Mix in the Quisinart until the dough forms -- if you find the dough is too watery, add flour, if you find it's too crumbly, add water (...very simple thought process there).

>On a floured surface divide dough into two equal parts

 >Roll out first dough ball (this will be the base to your pie)

 >In a GREASED pie pan, carefully lay down your rolled out dough (save the second half of dough for the last step!)

Now for the Chicken Pot Pie filling - I made mine EXTREMELY healthy (since the 2 sticks of butter were used in the crust!) Lots of veggies and a lower-fat version of a cream sauce.

Chicken Pot Pie Filling:

1 lb of Chicken Breasts

1 Carrot

2 Celery Stalks

1 Medium White Onion

2 Garlic Cloves
1 cup Frozen Peas
1/2 tsp Celery Salt
1/2 tsp Rosemary
Pinch of Turmeric and Cumin
3/4 cup Flour
1 1/4 cup Fat Free Milk
2 tbsp Butter

>Dice up your Celery and Carrot

 >In a large saucepan, add celery, carrot at chicken.

 >Cover with water, place a lid on top and cook for 15 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through)

 >While the Chicken is cooking, chop up your onion.

 >Dice up your 2 cloves of Garlic.

 >Get your spices ready... and in a separate pot, add about 2 tbsp of Olive Oil.  Cook your onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add your spices and cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat until your chicken is done.

 >Once your chicken is done, you're going to drain the water from the saucepan.

 >Cut up your chicken into bite sized pieces...

 >Mix the carrots and celery back together with the chicken cubes

 >Add in your peas (they don't have to be thawed, they can go in still frozen) - mix thoroughly!

 >Add this mixture into your pic crust...Looks sooo delicious already!

 >Now, go back to your pot of onions/garlic/spices.  Heat up a little over a low heat and add in your 2 tablespoons of butter - mix.

 >Add in the 3/4 cup of flour and mix some more...

 >Then lastly, add in your 1 1/4 cup of milk - mix and cook down on a low heat until the mixture becomes like a roux (a thicker cream sauce).

 >Once the roux has gotten a thick enough consistency, pour on top of the pie mixture evenly.

 >Take your second half of dough, roll out like you did the first, and lay on top of your pie.  Be sure to cut 3 slivers in the top of the pie so it doesn't explode in your oven! For an extra pretty [and impressive] look, take a fork and pat around the edge of the crust.

 >Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes -- you'll know it's ready when the edges of the crust start to turn golden brown.

 Ta-da! You've just made a whole Chicken Pot Pie!

YUM! The "roux" almost becomes a Bechamel, coating all of the ingredients inside.  The Chicken is lean, the veggies are great for you, and the roux was made with very little butter and fat free milk! It's a meal that can feed a family or just yourself! (I will attest that the leftovers this morning were fantastic!) Enjoy & happy cooking!

Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Pie!