Chicken Pot Pie

A few days ago, I overheard a gaggle of my favorite teenage girls discussing the foods their moms made best, the things that reminded them of home and family. Now granted, I'm in the South, but invariably, the favorites were macaroni and cheese, chicken and dumplings, and chicken pot pie. Sara and I have discussed macaroni and cheese at great length because neither of us have found THE ONE, and I do have a chicken and dumplings recipe that I love. Which means...drum roll please...chicken pot pie is up today!

Two years ago, our family kind of found our world turned upside-down. It was an unbelievably stressful, scary, unexpected, fish-out-of-water experience. You know, one of those times when you have really fabulous plans and then those plans totally change without your permission? Yeah, it was one of those. On top of everything else, I had a brand-new baby, meaning I wasn't really going anywhere. So let's combine emotional trauma and lots of nursing/web-surfing and that is when I discovered Dani and her chicken pot pie. I made it. I loved it. My family loves it. Even my cat, who, strangely, doesn't like human food, will hide and pounce at us unsuspectingly in Hobbes-like fashion when we're eating this. This would be the perfect recipe to show up show off to your mother-in-law when she questions whether her baby boy/girl is being properly cared for.

I've tweaked just a few things--I use leftover Fauxtisserie chicken (although an actual rotisserie chicken would also work great) instead of boiling chicken breasts, just to save on time and mess (and the fact that I have gaggy sensory issues with boiled chicken). I also cut the potatoes into significantly smaller pieces because my husband refuses to eat a cooked vegetable larger than about 1/4 of a cubic inch. Additionally, I use homemade cream of chicken soup because, well, I like it. Same goes for the homemade pie crust. Dani, I hope I haven't completely destroyed your mom's chicken pot pie! :)

Chicken Pot Pie

2 unbaked pie crusts (or double the pie crust recipe here)

1 lb. leftover roasted fauxtisserie chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 12-16 oz. bag of peas and carrots or mixed vegetables, thawed

1 onion, minced

butter

5 medium-small red potatoes, diced

2 cans cream of chicken soup (or one recipe of homemade cream of chicken soup)

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt (more or less, to taste)

Ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Bring a large pot of water (salt optional) to a boil. When ready, add potatoes and boil until tender. Meanwhile, heat about 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet. When the butter is bubbly, saute the onion until it's translucent and fragrant. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, chicken, vegetables, onion, and potatoes. Season to taste.

Now...the pie can be done a couple of ways. Normally, I make one family-sized chicken pot pie like Dani does, but my most recent adventure in Chicken Pot Pie-Land involved little individual mugs/ramekins of chicken pot pie. It was a big hit! The baking directions are exactly the same, except that the mug pies ONLY have a crust on top (which cuts down on the fat; in fact, you could get away with 1 pie crust if you do it this way).

ANYWAY. If you're making one whole pie, place one pie crust on the bottom of a pie plate, transfer the filling to the pie plate, and then top with the other pie crust. Crimp the edges and then cut a few vent holes on top.

If you're making individual pies in oven-safe jars, mugs, or ramekins, fill the dishes with the chicken mixture
and then top with a piece of pie crust slightly larger than the opening of the dish. Crimp the edges and cut some vent holes.

Place pie plate/individual pies on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.