Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Chicken Pot Pie...ANOTHER pie!

Finished Chicken Pot Pie....gone by the end of the evening!
Pies seem to be on my mind alot these days...well, more in my mouth i should say.  The spaghetti pie was such a success with several of my friends that read the blog, not to mention some facebook friends.  So i decided to blog about another favorite pie of mine : a wonderful chicken pot pie that i have been making for many years now (and by the way, is still a fave!).
My mom never made chicken pot pie.  Instead i remember her cramming a whole chicken in the crock pot and dumping a bag of frozen mixed vegetables in on top.  She worked many long hours each day as a factory line worker at one of our local GM plants. (That was back in the day when General Motors was the key employer for most folks in my town.  Now, GM is gone along with  much of our population in this dead, dried up town...ugh.!)  As you can imagine, my brothers and i didn't exactly love this so much and picking the bones out was kind of ...ummm...gross too.  But, i guess it's the closest i got to a chicken pot pie back then...or at least the filling part. And i should tell you that my mom was an awesome cook...but this one just lacked...most likely due to a time issue!

I think the first time i had a chicken pot pie (a REAL one) was at a restaurant when i was in college....and it was my new favorite thing and to this day, rules with my family as well.  When i was in my 20's, i came up with a recipe that seemed to fit the bill and the only thing i have changed within the last several years is to make the filling without flour so that my youngest daughter (who has a gluten intolerance) is able to eat some of the reserved filling over rice or even her gluten free pasta.  Trust me, the taste has not suffered one bit!

Now, i was reminded not too long ago about the first time that one of my dearest friends (since high school) ever had my pie.  She reminded me that I had made it when i was living in an old house that my then future husband and i were renting, along with another room-mate.  We were both attending Anderson University at the time.  Jenny, my high school friend, was attending Purdue University at the time and had come back to visit with me over the weekend.  We were, all of us, non-traditional college students...making another go of it.  I was trying to complete the first degree ....while Jenny was going for yet another degree (some of us are slower and less motivated than others!)  Anyway, lucky for us all....i was a great cook who could cook cheaply and in mass quantities!  College students rejoice!  This was the meal i made for us all on that weekend.

This recipe included all of my favorite veggies...and i like to do it with big chunks of potatoes, a big turnip (yes, a turnip!), carrots, celery, mushrooms, onions, peas, and corn.  The chicken should equally be in big chunks and lots of it.  And it's in the best 'chickeny' , creamy, bubbly sauce you have ever tasted.   So..the filling is wonderful...without an equally great crust, it is RUINED! 

Let's talk about the crust for a minute.  There is nothing like a real old time home made crust...made with Crisco or even better...good old lard, like back when our grandmothers made a  REALLY good crust.  Yes, i know...but we are talking flaky, light, and tasty.  But i will just say ONE thing here.  IF you can't make a good crust, DON'T put a crappy one on this pie or any other.  It will ruin the whole thing!  There's nothing wrong with not being able to make a crust...after all, just like the meringue on many pies, it takes lots of practice to be able to do it well.  So...to make things easy, go ahead and cheat with the Pillsbury pie crusts in your refrigerated section of the store.  Nope..not as good as grandma's but better than a cardboard crust. 

To prove my point, a friend of mine recently had a birthday and requested Grandma's Pie recipe of Lemon Meringue.  Now, I will at least give kudos to the spouse for  ATTEMPTING to make this recipe (she is not much of a cook except for reheating things that come in a bag...his words, not mine!).  But she made the mistake of trying to make a homemade crust and let's just say that when it came time to cut the pie, i was told that she had to actually pound on the knife to make it go through!  Was it flour or a bag of cement she used??  So..people...know your limits!  (Note:  If there is still pie left the next day and you have more than one person in your family....it could be sign that your pie wasn't the most successful creation and you should probably never make it again!)  

I can't harp too much on making mistakes.  After all, if you don't make the mistakes, how will you ever learn?  None of us are perfect cooks or ANYTHING.  I can definitely remember putting baking soda in some brownies instead of baking powder.  If you want brownies to come out like rocks, this is your recipe!

Back to my friend Jenny.... Lucky for her, she has a husband who is a wonderful cook.  Jenny, you know i love you..but we all know that cooking was never your thing.  (But a true engineer...she can fix anything that breaks inside or OUT of the house!)  This recipe, however, (using the store bought crust) is easy enough that even she has been able to manage and she told me recently that she has made it for her own family and even her parents...and that ALL love it.  So, try it...it's good and not so hard...and a real comfort food that everyone will love. 

To the girls at IU...let me know if you want this chicken pot pie to come visit y'all!  :-)
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                                      Kim's Very Best Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients for one deep dish pie  (I usually use a shallow bowl to put mine into instead of a regular pie dish):
  • 2 lbs or more of breasts of chicken
  • 1 small can of chicken broth (gluten free if need be)
  • 1 1/2 cups each of chunked veggies - carrots, potatoes, turnips, celery (tops included), mushrooms...frozen peas and corn.
  • About 2 cups of milk
  • corn starch
  • Bottom and top pie crust - either Grandma's or store bought
  • Salt, pepper, onion powder, parsley to taste.


Preparing the filling
 Preparation:

Boil chicken in chicken broth and enough water to barely cover.  When fork tender, remove on plate to cool and reserve broth. 

Chunk veggies and cook in broth in same pan...hard veggies first...then celery, onions, mushrooms last.  When veggies are nearly cooked but not mushy (remember this goes in oven also for 30 minutes or so!) add frozen veggies and chicken chunks.  Add about a cup of milk to make as much liquid (sauce) as you want.  Make sure there is enough liquid or your pie sauce will be too thick and too dry.  Add about two heaping tablespoons of cornstarch to about a half cup of milk and stir well.  Then add this mixture to the pot pie filling.  It should thicken up as it cooks on med heat.  (if after about 5 minutes, it has not thickened up, add another TBSP of cornstarch.) Add frozen veggies at end, along with seasonings...taste to see how it is.  Allow to simmer for about 5-10 mins to blend all flavors and cook frozen veggies.

Add mixture to deep dish with bottom crust.  Don't get it too full but i do like to heap the veggies and meat.  Then put top crust on, making slits for steam escape.  Follow directions on a two crust pie...usually the oven is set at 375 for about 25 minutes or so.  Be sure to put the dish on a baking pan in case of over flow. 

Serve with a nice salad and rolls...perfect!!!  Enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. Hi this is Allie from floor 9....YES PLEASE! MMMMMMMM MMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!! LOOKS INCRRRRREDIBLE!

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