Winter is in full swing here in Utah. We’ve got piles of snow everywhere and it was 14 degrees F when I woke up this morning. BRRRR! All I want to do is bury myself in a big pile of warm laundry fresh from the dryer and wait for spring. That’s obviously not a viable option, so if I can’t count on comfy laundry to warm my chilly extremities I guess I’ll have to choose the next best thing…cozy comfort food. I thought about mac and cheese (for the obvious reason that a mix of carby pasta and a decadent cheese sauce can cure WHATEVER ails you), but I was fresh out of cheese (and due to frigid temperatures I was obviously not willing to go buy some). But you wanna know what I did have in my fridge??? Pie crust!
Yep, you know those pre-packaged ones you buy at Thanksgiving because you are too busy to make real ones? Yep, that’s what I found! And yes, it is still in there from Thanksgiving! The beauty of those preservative-enhanced pieces of buttery, flakey goodness is that they have a surprisingly long shelf-life in the fridge or freezer and can save the day in a moment like this! So with a pie crust in hand and thawing chicken in the sink I was struck with a beautiful idea for a creamy chicken pot pie! Um hello comfort food all-star!
I’ve consumed many a chicken pot pie in my day, yet I’ve never actually made one. So I did what I always do when I’m looking for a perfect, down-home classic family recipe…I google-searched for a Pioneer Woman recipe! She’s the queen of comfort food and her recipes always turn out awesome. So I foraged the fridge for ingredients and lucky for me had some carrot sticks, celery, and an onion on hand! I was GOLDEN. Yesssss! This is recipe is largely hers, but I did make a few changes…I doubled the vegetables, decreased the broth so it was thicker, and put a pie crust on the top and the bottom (because in my mind it’s not chicken pot pie without a delightful crust on the top and the bottom! See recipe details below and google Pioneer Woman “chicken pot pie” if you want her recipe.
			
			- 3 cups of shredded chicken
 - 4 tablespoons of butter
 - 1 cup finely diced onion (usually one onion)
 - 1 cup finely diced celery
 - 1 cup finely diced carrots
 - ¼ cup flour
 - 2 ½ cups chicken broth
 - ¼ teaspoon of turmeric (not necessary if you don’ have it)
 - Salt and pepper, to taste
 - Chopped fresh herbs (any combination you like—I used thyme, rosemary, sage, to taste (about 3-5 tablespoons)
 - ¼ cup of cream or half and half (also not necessary if you don’t have it)
 - 2 unbaked pie crusts
 - 1 egg
 - 2 tablespoons of water
 
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
 - Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and stir until onions become translucent—about 5 minutes.
 - Add the shredded chicken to the vegetable mixture and stir.
 - Next sprinkle flour over chicken and vegetable mixture and continue to stir and cook for one minute.
 - Pour chicken broth over mixture and continue stirring while mixture thickens.
 - Once it thickens to your desired consistency add in the turmeric, salt, pepper, and herbs.
 - Add the splash of cream and continue to stir (if mixture is too thick just add more chicken broth).
 - Remove pan from heat and set aside.
 - Place one unbaked pie crust in the bottom of a pie dish or pan.
 - Pour warm chicken and vegetable mixture on top of bottom crust.
 - Place unbaked pie crust on top of chicken mixture and seal it well with bottom crust by pressing them together using fingers.
 - Cut 3-5 slits in the top crust to allow for ventilation while cooking.
 - Mix egg and water to make a basic egg wash and brush egg wash on the crust.
 - Place in the oven and cook uncovered for 30 minutes (or until the crust is a deep golden brown).
 - Allow pot pie to cool for about ten minutes prior to serving.
 - ENJOY!
 

					




1 Comment
Easy Summer Project: DIY Doormats! · Sweet Lemon Made
May 29, 2017 at 10:00 pm[…] food, etc). Eating a watermelon basil salad in November just feels wrong, almost as weird as eating cozy chicken pot pie in May. Am I right?? This seasonal framework carries over into my decor, especially on my porch! […]