Beyond Easy Chicken Pot Pie

So, I decided last nite I wanted to really make a pot pie. How hard could it be?

I had spent weeks (not every waking second mind you!) analyzing what goes into a good pot pie. I knew two things about this would be difficult to master- the crust and the gravy. Yes. You read that right. Gravy.

The gravy has to have a creamy consistency with a strong chicken flavor and the consistency of good old-fashioned country gravy, complete with pepper! So what goes into your basic gravy? Water and flour I'd imagined. I called my mom and asked what she thought went into pot pie. She cautioned against using water but agreed it needed to be like gravy. I said I'd start with cream of chicken soup. She told me what happened to her when she went down a similar path. Heavy whipping cream was key to this dish. You don't have to tell me twice.

Using these pieces, I gathered my supplies. And then I realized. I did not have oven-to-table dishes! Time to add to the kitchen collection. While I wanted to get the cute ones that look great on the table and for presentation, I went  for a tried and true Pyrex option. These were more versatile, came with lids and had that great nesting factor that would make my dad proud. (He is one for getting the most out of your space. Especially in the kitchen and fridge.)

In my research, I had read about how to make various crusts and decided that until I could locate and make a crust I loved, a quick, rolled crust from Poppin' Fresh would have to do.

As I cooked, I had two goals. Keep the gravy a gravy texture and keep the crust crusty. Sounds easy enough, right? For a girl who just learned to correctly fried eggs for breakfast and has never made gravy, this was going to be interesting. Go team! I mean, go me!

I totally made this recipe up. But carefully so. And tried to not get ahead of myself. I documented every piece and remained patient. Here's what happened!

With these dishes, I will conquer the great chicken pot pie!

Cutting the pie circles...

Creating quite the stir!

filling the pie shells...

If you liked it then you shoulda put a lid on it...

Fresh from the oven!

...just look at that shine!

Hungry?

You'll need:

- 16oz. (1 lb.) bag of frozen mixed veggies (or equivalent veggies YOU like)
- 1 can of cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg (divided yolk from white)
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- 1 Tbsp pepper
- 1 cup cooked chicken chunks (the smaller the cubes, the better!)
- 1 package pie crusts (the ready-to-roll variety. Unless you have a good crust recipe.), room temperature
- 2 oven-safe, 2 cup bowls (I used Pyrex)

Yield: 2 servings


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a microwave-safe covered dish, heat veggies on high for 8 minutes or until tender in microwave oven.

Gravy:

While the veggies are cooking, in a medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat cream of chicken soup (no water or milk added, just the soup.) and heavy whipping cream until the mixture starts to bubble, stirring occasionally to prevent scalding or scum to form on top. Add flour while stirring. Add egg yolk, bouillon cube and pepper. Mix until well- blended. When mixture starts to thicken, remove from heat. Set aside.


Crust:

Unroll 1 pie crust on wax paper. Cut crust in half with knife. Shape into circles, keeping thickness similar to how it came in package. Place one of the re-shaped circles into oven-safe dish, removing excess dough (or, you may also choose to leave the excess dough as long as the excess is the same around the bowl.) With fork, poke holes all over crust in dish. Repeat process for second dish. Place dishes on cake or cookie pan and bake in oven for 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. (crust should not be brown but no longer soft)

With remaining crust roll, cut in half with knife. Shape into circles as before. Set aside.


And blend!:

Remove veggies from microwave and drain any water. Add veggies to soup/cream/egg mixture, stirring with spoon until well-blended. Add chicken cubes until well-blended. Heat over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Divide mixture over the two dishes. Top each dish with remaining crust circles, leaving around 1/2 inch of dough overlapping. With thumb and forefinger, pinch around dish outline of pie joining inside crust with top. Roll overlapping portion. Pinch as desired. With fork, poke holes on top of pie. Brush egg white over top of crust.

Bake pies for 11 minutes or until golden brown. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm! Enjoy!

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Notes: I did not use all of my crust or about a cup of my veggies. I thought it would be too much! I also used turkey slices instead of chicken. You can leave the pepper out if you are not a pepper fan. Cooking times vary with microwave oven, oven, range top and elevation. Adjust to achieve desired results.