Monday, January 14, 2008

CHICKEN POT PIE

My bishop's wife made this for our family the week after Audrey and I came home from the hospital, and I had to get the recipe because it was so delicious! I made it last night but forgot to take a picture (sorry!)

Filling:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-3/4 cups chicken broth (about 1 can)
2/3 cup milk (or half-and-half to make the filling a bit richer, which I did)
2 cups chicken, cooked and cut into pieces
1 package peas and carrots

Pastry dough:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
5 tablespoons ice water

(Note: I found the dough to be fragile, tearing easily. You may want to make the dough first, then refrigerate it while preparing the filling to make it easier to handle.)

In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Blend in flour, onion and seasonings. Cook, stirring, until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat and whisk in chicken broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil, stir one minute. Gently stir in chicken and vegetables, remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425◦ F.

Prepare pastry by sifting together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in shortening. Sprinkle in ice water one tablespoon at a time, until all flour is moistened and dough almost cleans sides of bowl. Gather dough into a ball. On a lightly floured board, roll 2/3 of the dough into a circle. Ease pastry into a 9" or 10" pie dish. Pour filling into pan. Roll remaining dough into
a circle; place over filling. Crimp edges and cut slits in center of crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake at 425◦ F for 30-35 minutes. Serves 8.