This is a pretty simple Chicken Pot Pie.  Absolute comfort food!  No spices other than salt and pepper, so the true taste of sauteed chicken and fresh veggies shine whilst snuggled up in a smooth gravy and encased in pastry.  Yummmm!

The hardest part of this pie comes after removing it from the oven—you have to wait!  You have to wait for the gravy to set up a bit, or it will run all over your pastry, so at least 20 minutes, maybe longer. If you can’t wait, it’s not really a bad thing!  The first slice will still taste delicious, even if the gravy is just be more runny. And by the time you are ready for your second slice, the filling will have set a bit 🙂

After making your own Chicken Pot Pie, you will never buy one from the frozen foods section again.  You might never order one from a restaurant either!

There is one cheat you can use—Pillsbury Pie Crust, the one from the red box. You cannot use a store brand or Trader Joe’s brand. They are definitely not good enough for this pie. Of course, If you can make your own pie crust, then do that!

The top picture is of a Chicken Pot Pie I made for Pie Day, March 14th. The pictures below were made from this recipe, one was made by Lenay and the other one was made by Danette.

Chicken Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken—breasts, thighs, or a combination
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 can condensed chicken broth OR 1½ cups homemade chicken broth
• ½ cup half-and-half OR milk
• ½ cup fresh OR frozen corn kernels
• ½ cup petite frozen peas
• 2 9″ Pillsbury pie crusts (1 box) OR 1 homemade double crust pastry
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Melt the butter along with the olive oil (you can use all oil, if you want) in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. When the butter has melted and the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and saute over medium heat for a few minutes.
4. Stir in the diced carrot and celery and saute for approximately 5 more minutes, still over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
5. While the veggies are sauteing, dice the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Stir the diced and seasoned chicken into the veggie mixture and saute for three more minutes, still stirring occasionally.
7. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and veggie mixture, stir constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes—the flour might try to stick to the bottom of the pan, try to release it by stirring vigorously. If necessary add another tablespoon or so of butter or oil. Do not burn the flour!
8. While the chicken/veggie/flour mixture is sauteing, combine the chicken broth and half-and-half or milk and microwave for three minutes.  When the microwave beeps, remove the pan from the heat and remove the liquid from the microwave.
9. Now you are going to make the gravy.  Turn the heat off the pan.  Stir in ½ cup of the hot broth-milk mixture.  Stir until mixture is smooth.  Add another ½ cup of broth-milk mixture. Stir until smooth.  Repeat two more times using ½ cup broth-milk mixture each time.
10. Return chicken-veggie-gravy mixture to heat.  Stir in corn and peas. Simmer for gently over medium heat to defrost any frozen veggies.
11. Turn off heat and let filling sit while you unroll the pasty and place one sheet in the bottom of a pie pan.
12. Pour the filling over the pastry in the bottom of the pie pan, and cover with the second roll of pastry.  Cut 3-5 vent holes in top of top pastry (with scissors or a knife).  Crimp the edges of the pastry so the filling is fully encased.
13. If you want a nice, shiny crust, brush pastry lightly with egg wash—egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water.  This is optional, but nice if you want to show off! You won’t need all of the egg wash. (Scramble the leftover egg for the baby, or the dog!)
14. Bake in preheated 350° oven for 40 to 45 minutes.
15. Remove pie from oven and let sit for as loooong as you can.  The longer the pie sits, the thicker the gravy will get. Letting the pie sit for 30 minutes to an hour, is about right—don’t worry, the filling will remain hot.
16. Serve, and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!  Hope you enjoyed your visit!