[recipe] Chicken Pot Pie

So, here's the deal. Nick and I were eating store bought personal meat pies and somehow it was brought up that we could make them ourselves and it would be so much better. Challenge accepted. We made plans to create our own chicken pot pie for our Valentines date. It's become tradition to make a homemade dinner and watch something on Netflix for Valentine's Day. This is the recipe we came up with this year for a delicious 9 inch pie:

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 cups flour
- water

Filling
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup frozen green beans
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower
- 1/2 cup frozen broccoli
- 1/2 cup cooked carrots
- 1 10 oz can chicken, drained
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 3/4 tsp parsley
- 3/4 tsp sage
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper


First thing is first. The crust.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour and shortening with a fork until little pea-sized pieces result. (Just make sure there aren't any big clumps of shortening.)

3. Add two tablespoons of water and mix. Continue adding one tbsp at a time until dough clumps together. I add about 3.5-4 tbsp TOTAL.

4. Form your dough into a ball. Cut a little over half of the dough away and place on a silicone baking mat (the orange thing pictured above). This is what I use, but you can use any other surface that allows you to pick it up. Flexibility is key!

5. Roll out dough until large enough to cover 9 inch pie pan - about 11 inches. (I have a clear pan so I just hover it over my crust to see if it will fit.)

6. Once large enough, carefully flip the making mat into the pie pan, lining up your dough with the edge of the pan. Carefully remove baking mat and press crust lightly into pan, pulling off excess/overflowing crust.

7. Scoop in filling (see recipe below). Be careful not to overfill. Your pie should look something like this:

8. Roll out remaining dough and repeat step six to cover pie. Use your thumb to press and seal the bottom and top crust edges.

9. Use a butter knife to create a pretty pattern for ventilation and pop the pie in the oven for 30-40 minutes (Mine is perfect at 30 minutes).

10. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before eating! Enjoy!

Pie Filling:

1. Heat up chicken broth (lo-med heat). Add cream of chicken and stir occasionally until smooth. Turn heat to lo.

2. While waiting for that to mix, put your frozen veggies in a microwave safe bowl and add a couple tbsp of water. Cover and microwave for 2-3 minutes to soften/thaw a little. (Your carrots won't soften this way. Make sure to steam/boil them before hand.) Drain.

3. When broth and cream of chicken are smooth, and add chicken and vegetables. Stir.

4. Remove from heat. Stir in seasonings.

5. Ready to bake!

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Ok, guys! I hope this is understandable! If you have any questions, please ask in a comment below and I'll respond. Also, if you try out this recipe, let me know! Send me a picture or let me know how it turned out! Enjoy!